A partnership created in 2012 called the South Florida Identity Theft Tax Fraud Strike Force, including the Police Departments of North Miami Beach, North Miami, Aventura and Miami-Dade County, as well as other federal, state and local (Broward County) law enforcement agencies, kicked some serious criminal butt earlier this month.

As first reported by CBS Miami on October 13, 2013, in 45 Charged After Sweep For ID Theft & Tax Fraud, Miami U.S. Attorney Wilfredo Ferrer stated that, “the cases were investigated by the South Florida Identity Theft Tax Fraud Strike Force,” and that “those charged were responsible for at least 22,000 stolen or compromised identities. Many were insiders that used jobs at places such as health care providers, restaurants, schools and prisons to gain access to the identities.  The identities were used in attempts to claim more than $38 million in fraudulent tax refunds. Of that amount, about $11.5 million was actually paid out in these latest cases.”

Forbes.com just reported this morning in Massive Tax Fraud Takedown During Government Shutdown, “Members of Strike Force and participating agencies include the United States Attorney’s Office, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Miami Division, Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General (SSA-OIG), Aventura Police Department, North Miami Beach Police Department, Miami-Dade Police Department, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Miami Field Office, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Division, Town of Davie Police Department, Florida Highway Patrol, Lee County Sheriff’s Office, Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO), Ft. Lauderdale Police Department, Coconut Creek Police Department, Sunrise Police Department, Coral Springs Police Department, Miramar Police Department and North Miami Police Department.”

The Forbes article also reported that “Since its creation, 269 defendants have been charged with stealing 76,700 identities (that’s more than the population of Wilmington, Delaware). That includes a number of high profile cases like Rashia Wilson (the self-proclaimed “Queen of IRS Tax Fraud”) and Maurice Larry. This latest take down, however, is the largest to date in the region.”

If yours is one of the “more than 20,000″ identities stolen by any of these defendants, “which resulted in more than $11.5 million in fraudulent tax refunds,” that really sucks for you.

If your identity is still intact, be grateful.

Then say a great big “Thank You” to our local Police Departments for helping prevent you from becoming the next victim.

Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”