NewsWhore
02-26-2009, 02:40 PM
The First Court of Instruction in Santiago has ordered preventative custody for 11 people accused of fraud worth more than US$100 million against the United States Treasury Department. Three of the accused were sent to jail while the rest are under house arrest and banned from traveling. Among those subject to coercive measures were Elvin Quiroz, Alfy Tavarez, Carlos Balbuena and Elvis Balbuena. According to the investigation carried out jointly with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, the accused cheated the Treasury Department for US$100 million in checks cashed. Meanwhile, this year the requests for fraudulent tax returns corresponding to tax year 2008 that have been presented total over US$70 million, but none of the tax return checks were sent because of the fraudulent operation. The Prosecutor General of the Dominican Republic Radhames Jimenez Pena and Santiago district prosecutor Raul Martinez stated that several of the people accused of the fraud could be extradited if it is proven that they are responsible for committing the crime.
Those arrested are accused of filling out forms on the Internet that were then printed and sent by e-mail to the United States to get tax returns for payment of excess taxes. FBI agents are involved in most of the inspections in the investigations that are being carried out. Together with District Attorney Martinez, the investigative commission is composed of General Claudio Peguero and Colonel Alejandro Dipre.
Lawyer Victor Breton, who is defending several of the accused in the fraud case, said that two of his clients are university students who were allegedly paid on a weekly basis to fill out the forms. Breton pointed out that his clients were supposedly tricked by a person who is currently on the run and who allegedly stole the identity of his defendants through the Internet in order to commit the fraud against the US Treasury.
The Prosecutor General said that this is an international ring that spans the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and the United States. Meanwhile the US authorities say that an important amount of the fraudulent tax refund requests presented in 2008 were made from the Dominican Republic via Internet. The addresses that appear on the checks are grouped in specific areas.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#11)
Those arrested are accused of filling out forms on the Internet that were then printed and sent by e-mail to the United States to get tax returns for payment of excess taxes. FBI agents are involved in most of the inspections in the investigations that are being carried out. Together with District Attorney Martinez, the investigative commission is composed of General Claudio Peguero and Colonel Alejandro Dipre.
Lawyer Victor Breton, who is defending several of the accused in the fraud case, said that two of his clients are university students who were allegedly paid on a weekly basis to fill out the forms. Breton pointed out that his clients were supposedly tricked by a person who is currently on the run and who allegedly stole the identity of his defendants through the Internet in order to commit the fraud against the US Treasury.
The Prosecutor General said that this is an international ring that spans the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and the United States. Meanwhile the US authorities say that an important amount of the fraudulent tax refund requests presented in 2008 were made from the Dominican Republic via Internet. The addresses that appear on the checks are grouped in specific areas.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#11)