Michael David Anastasia, a 69-year-old man from Redmond, Oregon, has been sentenced to 24 months in federal prison for identity theft and tax evasion. After his prison term, he will serve three years of supervised release. Anastasia is also ordered to pay $777,899 in restitution to his identity theft victim, with additional restitution to the IRS to be determined later, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Anastasia has a long history of financial crimes, including using a stolen Social Security number to open over 30 bank accounts and credit cards, and defrauding a victim of $1.4 million with a fake government contract. He was convicted of tax evasion in 2007 for not paying taxes on that money. In 2015, after being released from prison, he agreed to pay off his $1.1 million tax debt if he earned more than $4,526 a month. However, he avoided payments by having extra money sent to his roommate, who withdrew the cash and hid it, allowing Anastasia to dodge over $180,000 in taxes between 2016 and 2018, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
On February 15, Anastasia was charged with wire fraud, identity theft, tax evasion, and false statements to financial institutions. After a detailed investigation by the FBI and IRS, he pled guilty on September 4, to tax evasion and identity theft. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gavin W. Bruce and William M. McLaren, with the sentencing showing the serious consequences of breaking financial laws and misusing identities, as stated by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
