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Two Escambia Men Sentenced To Federal Prison In Tax Fraud Scheme
February 11, 2015
Two Escambia County men were sentenced to federal prison Tuesday in a tax refund and identity theft scheme.
Andrey C. Cook, 34, and Richard J. Beverly II, 25, were sentenced by United States Senior District Court Judge Lacey Collier on charges of mail fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Cook, who worked in a group home for disabled patients, stole the personal identification information of the patients and gave it to Beverly in August 2013 for use in filing fraudulent tax returns. In exchange, Beverly agreed to give Cook a percentage of the refunds that were issued as a result of the fraudulent tax returns. Between 2012 and 2014, Beverly used the stolen identities of deceased persons, severely disabled people, and others, in an attempt to steal more than $265,000 from the United States Treasury, through the filing of at least 40 fraudulent tax returns.
Cook was sentenced to 12 months in prison and Beverly was sentenced to 102 months in prison. Beverly was also ordered to pay $87,783 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service. Cook was ordered to pay $10,682 in restitution.
Comments
6 Responses to “Two Escambia Men Sentenced To Federal Prison In Tax Fraud Scheme”
@Jane, they stole the identities’ of seniors, the money they stole was from all of us. Tax money The problem is it will cost us about that much to keep these two criminals behind bars, per year.
They stole from the disabled and helpless? They need longer sentences!
I wouldn’t want to be either one of these guys but… if you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime. Hey, I call it as I see it!
@Patriot,
I agree – they may not pay the full amount, but it will hurt. Any assets they have will be seized, along with whatever monies were left from the scheme. Any money they have sent in to the prison will be taken and any money they may earn (they will be sent to work and paid around 12 cents an hour) will be taken as well. The guy that got a year won’t have to suffer for long, but the other guy will be in for quite a while. And, the fine does not go away when they are released. There will be a lien on tax refunds, etc.
Gman,
Restitution is for the amount that was stolen. The article states that they “attempted” to steal $265,000, it does not say they were successful.
Ordering restitution is largely symbolic anyway, where are these 2 knuckleheads going to get that kind of money?
Just wondering why restitution is not for the whole $265,000. Guess crime does pay.