Sting Targets Illegal Identity Thieves Filing Fraudulent Tax Returns
The problem of illegal immigrants becoming participants in identity theft is more widespread each year, and federal tax returns prove it.
Operation Number Games
Back in November, officials from both the Weld District Attorney’s Office and the Weld County Sheriff’s Office officially announced they were working together on Operation Number Games. This sting involved a sweep of more than 1,300 illegal immigrants who were suspected of using false or stolen Social Security numbers and identities.
The operation was set into motion when a local man got arrested for stealing a Social Security number. The man confessed that he had obtained the tax identification number and filed federal returns with the help of an official tax preparer. In the course of the investigation, warrants were obtained to seize more than two years worth of federally approved tax returns from Amalia’s Tax Service, 1501 9th St., in Greeley, CO.
At least 37 suspects have been arrested and charged with identity theft, criminal impersonation or both, and it is suspected that well over a thousand more also filed fraudulent returns using stolen SSNs – the total bill running by some estimates in excess if $3 million.
Judge Stalls Case
Weld District Court Judge James Hartmann threw a monkey wrench in the operation last week, when he questioned the arrests, citing a federal statute that he believed guaranteed a right of privacy of such tax information and assumed federal enforcement.
Weld District Attorney Ken Buck officially responded on Tuesday, claiming the federal law Hartmann cited does not govern the case and charging the judge with forming a biased opinion against prosecuting the case.
“This statute is targeted at the IRS and tells the IRS, ‘You cannot disclose tax returns unless you comply with these provisions,’ ” Buck said in an interview Tuesday. “It’s not targeted at the rest of the world.” He went on to cite part of the actual statute in question, pointing out that the federal statute addresses when the Internal Revenue Service can release information, but it doesn’t prohibit people from getting tax returns in other ways. Buck also reiterated that he did follow all the rules and obtained a lawful court order before proceeding.
Weld District Court Chief Judge Roger Klein has sealed all the current and future cases involved in Operation Number Games to protect personal tax information on suspects. Weld District Attorney prosecutors will continue to defend their right to prosecute Operation Number Games in Weld District Court at a hearing set for 1:30 p.m. Dec. 29.
Beware Tax Fraud
The ongoing battle between federal and state jurisdiction in cases such as these has made it difficult for identity theft by illegal immigrants to be properly prosecuted. Hopefully this case will set precedent for local enforcement in cases the federal government seems unable or unwilling to pursue. In any case, it is a good plan to keep an eye not only on your own SSN in regards to the IRS, but those of anyone in your family who for some reason may not be filing a return and may not be listed on anyone else’s. The door is wide open for abuse, and again, those who are trusted with sensitive information are not always worthy of that trust.
