A Westchester man who posed as an IRS employee and a state Labor Department representative has been sentenced to more than three years in prison for a tax fraud and identity theft scheme.
Jared Brewton, 27, of Yonkers, pleaded guilty in White Plains federal court to a six-count indictment before U.S. District Judge Vincent L. Briccetti.
“Jared Brewton concocted an elaborate charade in his efforts to steal thousands of dollars from the IRS," said Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. "His substantial sentence should deter others who contemplate doing the same thing.”
Brewton was charged in an indictment unsealed on Jan. 26, 2012. He was accused of running a scheme from 2006 to 2010 in which he prepared false income tax returns in his name and the names of other people, falsely and fraudulently inflating income and withholding taxes.
“Jared Brewton victimized the people whose identities he stole -- and the IRS through his fraudulent tax scheme," said Bharara. "Making his scheme all the more audacious, he did it by impersonating an IRS official on multiple occasions.”
In one example, Brewton was accused of falsely reporting that his wages for the calendar year 2006 were $783,981 and that $359,750 in taxes had been withheld by his employers. Brewton also fraudulently obtained tax refunds in other people’s names by stealing their identities, and then filing fraudulent tax returns in their names, directing refunds be sent to his address.
Bharara said Brewton posed as someone affiliated with the New York State Department of Labor in order to persuade a taxpayer to provide him with the taxpayer’s name, date of birth, and Social Security number. On multiple other occasions, Brewton posed as an employee of the IRS claiming to be an “Audit Group Representative” named “Susan Waters.”
Briccetti sentenced Brewton to 41 months in prison during sentencing in federal court in White Plains.
