Six Coloradans have been charged in federal court in connection with a six-year prison tax refund scheme that prosecutors say used the identifying information of inmates and their relatives.
Indictments against the six were handed down by a federal grand jury on April 7 and unsealed last week when the group made first appearances in court, Colorado’s U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Monday.
Prosecutors say Raul Caraveo, 43, while locked up in a Colorado prison, obtained the information of fellow inmates and inmates’ relatives, including their date of birth and social security numbers.
Caraveo and fellow inmate Eugene Chavez, 43, used that information to generate false tax return forms listing inmates and inmates’ relatives as either the primary tax payer or as a dependent, the indictment alleged.
The requested refunds ranged between $2,491 and $3,052, prosecutors say.
“During the course of this conspiracy, over 250 false claims for income tax refunds were submitted to the Internal Revenue Service in an attempt to receive fraudulent refunds,” the attorney’s office said in a news release.
The all six were charged with conspiracy to file false claims for a refund. The group also faces counts of false claims for a refund. The others indicted are Pamila Lucero, 40; Sabrina Caraveo, 31; Carolina Aragon, 58; and Christina Portillos, 35.
Conspiracy to file false claims for a refund carries a penalty per count of up to 10 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine. False claims for a refund carries a penalty per count of up to five years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine.
The IRS investigated the case, prosecutors say.
Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or
Those indicted:
– Raul Caraveo, 43
– Pamila Lucero, 40
– Sabrina Caraveo, 31
– Eugene Chavez, 43
– Carolina Aragon, 58
– Christina Portillos, 35
Source: Colorado’s U.S. Attorney’s Office
