New Mexico Man Pleads Guilty to Stolen Identity Refund Fraud Crimes

Douglas Kuester, a tax preparer from Silver City, N.M., pleaded guilty Friday to one count each of filing false claims and aggravated identity theft the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced today. Kuester was indicted on Jan. 18, 2012.

According to the plea agreement, Kuester used stolen identities to file false tax returns which fraudulently claimed refunds. He would direct the fraudulently obtained refunds to various bank accounts and prepaid debit cards, retaining portions of the proceeds for himself.

The case was investigated by Special Agents of IRS - Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Jason H. Poole and Gregory P. Bailey of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. Tax Division Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally thanked U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales and his entire office their assistance in the prosecution.

Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found at www.justice.gov/tax.