Pennsylvania Woman Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to File Tax Returns Using IDs of Puerto Rico Residents

Cashed More than $4 Million in Fraudulently Obtained Refunds

An Allentown, Pennsylvania woman pleaded guilty to conspiring to file federal tax returns using stolen IDs, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Louis D. Lappen for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

According to the indictment and information presented to the court, Jessenia Cordero, 37, operated MJ & Associates and Express Tax Services, both located in Allentown. These businesses provided tax preparation, check cashing and other services to customers. Cordero and her co-conspirators obtained lists of Puerto Rico residents’ names and social security numbers and used these IDs to file fraudulent tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The conspirators directed the IRS to mail the refund checks to addresses they controlled and to deposit the refunds onto pre-paid debit cards. Cordero used her businesses to cash fraudulently obtained refund checks totaling approximately $4,316,103.

Cordero is scheduled to be sentenced on June 12, before U.S. District Judge Edward G. Smith. She faces a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Goldberg and Acting U.S. Attorney Lappen commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, HSI and FBI, and the Allentown Police Department, who conducted the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Ignall and Trial Attorney Matthew J. Kluge of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case.

Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.