GREELEY, Colo.—A judge is questioning the legality of search warrants issued in a Weld County investigation into the alleged use of stolen or fake IDs to claim $2.6 million in tax refunds.
District Judge James Hartmann this week ordered authorities not to arrest anyone else in the case if the arrests are based on information from federal tax returns, saying that information is confidential.
He also demanded that District Attorney Ken Buck explain the legality of the search warrants.
Buck said last month that about 1,300 people may have used stolen or phony Social Security numbers to get refunds. About 35 had been arrested on charges of identity theft or criminal impersonation when Hartmann halted the operation.
Buck said the warrants are legal. He said he’ll address the issue with Hartmann.
Authorities seized two years of federal tax returns from a Greeley tax preparer’s office last month in the investigation.
Hartmann, in a written order, said federal tax return information is protected by privacy provisions of federal law when it’s in the possession of a tax preparer.
Buck said his staff researched the privacy issue and consulted with the IRS before getting arrest warrants.
“I am very confident we will prevail with the judge,” he said.
Weld County Sheriff John Cooke also predicted the arrest warrants would be upheld.
“I don’t care for the order the judge issued because I think these people committed a crime and they need to be held accountable,” he said.
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Information from: Greeley Daily Tribune,
