Four indicted in $2.8M ID theft, fraudulent check scheme

PROVIDENCE – A federal grand jury indicted a 55-year-old Pawtucket businessman and three others charged with an alleged stolen identity and tax refund scam that targeted mostly Puerto Ricans and yielded $2.8 million.
Juan Vasquez, of Pawtucket, and Erika Tomasino, 43, Belkis Vasquez, 49, and Doris Morel, 43, all of Central Falls, have been charged with aggravated identity theft, theft of government property, money laundering and mail fraud, according to U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha.
The U.S. attorney’s office alleges Vasquez and the others participated in fraud conspiracy using the stolen identities of “hundreds of individuals, mostly residents of Puerto Rico,” to file fake tax returns in order to obtain tax refunds, according to court documents. Investigators found 448 fraudulently obtained U.S. Treasury checks totaling $2.8 million deposited into 26 bank accounts under the control of those accused. The deposited funds were quickly withdrawn from the different bank accounts and “used for a variety of personal expenses as well as transferred to the Dominican Republic,” according to a press release.
The alleged scam happened between January 2010 and November 2014, according to documents.
Vasquez is the owner and operator of Dominican Market in Pawtucket, which is where much of the alleged crime happened, according to court documents. He was arrested by federal agents in Tampa, Fla., on Sept. 9 on an arrest warrant issued from Rhode Island. The state is in the process of extraditing him back to the Ocean State for arraignment. Tomasino, an employee of Vasquez, and his sister Belkis Vasquez, were arraigned on Wednesday at U.S. District Court in Providence. Both were released on personal recognizance.
Morel, also an employee of Vasquez, was arraigned on Tuesday and released on an unsecured bond.
All three pleaded not guilty, according to a press release.

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