U.S. Department of Justice

United States Attorney

Southern District of Florida

99 N.E. 4 Street

Miami, FL 33132

(305) 961-9001

March 1, 2013

NEWS RELEASE:

Owner of North Miami Beach Dry Cleaner

Sentenced in Identity Theft Tax Refund Fraud Scheme

 Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, José A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CID), Miami Field Office, and Larry Gomer, Interim Chief, North Miami Beach Police Department (NMBPD), announce the sentencing of defendant Frantz Auguste, 53, of Sunny Isles, on one count of access device fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft in connection with an identity theft tax refund fraud scheme.   U.S. District Judge Donald L. Graham sentenced Auguste to 45 months in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release.

According to documents filed in Court, law enforcement searched Auguste’s dry cleaning business in North Miami Beach on October 4, 2012, and found the following in a locked room for which Auguste had the only key:

·         Handwritten notes and lists with the personal identification information, including names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers, of approximately 100 individuals.  Several of these lists appeared to have originated from a local nursing home and rehabilitation center.

·         Multiple tax refund checks in different individuals’ names.

·         Multiple tax returns in different individuals’ names.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of IRS-CID and the NMBPD for their work on the case.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael N. Berger.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.