A federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia has indicted three Atlanta-area men over a scheme prosecutors say pulled in more than 16,000 IRS refund checks worth over $74 million. The U.S. Attorney’s office announced the charges on October 14, the day the men were arraigned in Atlanta. The men are accused only. The indictment is not a finding of guilt, and none has been tried.
What the Atlanta indictment alleges
The defendants are Gustavo Rojano Salazar, 41, Gabriel Rojano Salazar, 49, and Andres Huerta Rendon, 43, all Mexican nationals living in the Atlanta area. The grand jury returned the indictment on October 6. They were arraigned October 14 before Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Justin S. Anand and are held by the U.S. Marshals Service while the case proceeds.
All three face charges of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, mail fraud, and conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering. Gustavo and Gabriel Rojano Salazar also face a count of making a false statement on an immigration form. Prosecutors say the two denied on immigration applications that they had ever committed a crime. The release gives no count totals and no maximum penalties.
Prosecutors say the scheme ran from January 2019 to the present. The men allegedly obtained Mexican identification documents and used them to request Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers from the IRS. An ITIN is a nine-digit number the IRS issues for federal tax purposes to people who are not eligible for a Social Security number.
Once the numbers were issued, the indictment alleges, the men prepared hundreds of returns in the ITIN holders’ names that reported false tax withholdings. The refunds were mailed to P.O. boxes the defendants controlled. According to the release, the men and their co-conspirators received more than 16,000 refund checks.
The checks were allegedly cashed at a north Georgia check-cashing business in exchange for bulk cash, which is the basis for the money laundering count. The release does not name the business. It also does not say who the ITIN holders were, which leaves a plain question for anyone with a Social Security number or an ITIN: what stops a stranger from filing a return under it?
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Charged, not convicted: where the case stands
Nothing in the announcement shows a plea, a conviction or a sentence. The U.S. Attorney’s office says the indictment contains only charges, that the defendants are presumed innocent, and that the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial. Anything described as fact in the case is, for now, an allegation.
Three agencies investigated: IRS Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly K. Connors of the Northern District of Georgia and Senior Litigation Counsel Michael C. Boteler of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division are prosecuting.
U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said his office is committed to “prosecuting and punishing those who steal or fabricate identities to plunder public coffers.” Maisha Horton, the acting special agent in charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation field office in Atlanta, said investigators used “extensive financial analysis” to identify the people involved.
The release does not identify specific victims. It refers to American taxpayers and does not address the people whose ITINs were used or whether they knew a return had been filed in their names. It also does not say whether more defendants could be charged.
The IRS number that locks out a second filer
The IRS offers an Identity Protection PIN that, in its words, prevents someone else from filing a tax return using a Social Security number. Anyone with an SSN or an ITIN who can verify identity is eligible. Parents and guardians can request one for a dependent.
The fastest route is the IRS online account, in the IP PIN section of the profile. Form 15227 is available to people whose adjusted gross income on the last return was below $84,000, or $168,000 for joint filers, and who cannot set up an online account. Others can book a Taxpayer Assistance Center appointment with a photo ID plus a second ID.
Mailed PINs usually take four to six weeks by Form 15227 and about three weeks after an in-person visit. A new PIN is generated every year and is valid for one calendar year. Online enrollees have to retrieve it again each year, because the IRS mails no notice to them.
The IRS says it never asks for the PIN by call, email or text, so any request for it is a scam. The PIN also has to be entered on federal returns, including prior-year returns.
The PIN guards a number that already belongs to someone. The indictment describes numbers allegedly requested with fraudulent documents, which is a different problem from a thief using a number already issued to its owner. The first is a matter for the court. The second is what the PIN is built to stop.
The Georgia case is at its first stage, and the next filings will show whether the men contest the counts. Until then, the question facing anyone with an SSN or ITIN is whether the number is protected before the next return is filed.
Is the IRS PIN set up before the next return?
A return filed first under a number can leave the rightful owner learning about it only when a real return is rejected, and the Georgia indictment alleges refunds were mailed to P.O. boxes the defendants controlled. Once a check is cashed through a casher, the money is gone before anyone checks.
Scam-Proof Your Accounts in a Weekend lays out ten moves in weekend order, including how to get an IRS Identity Protection PIN and how to freeze credit at all three bureaus, free by federal law. Its first-hour plan covers what to do if a scam gets through anyway.
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More Financial Reading
- 21 Ways to Stretch a $2,087 Social Security Check
- 15 Places to Find Your Share of the $4.25 Billion States Give Back
- 15 Steps to Stop the Scams That Took $7.7 Billion From Seniors
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
