Eight people from Eastern Massachusetts have been charged in a federal case involving the theft of $8.8 million in U.S. Treasury tax refund checks. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the defendants allegedly intercepted the checks between 2023 and 2024, altered them to appear payable to shell companies they controlled, and deposited them into local banks and credit unions in the Metro Boston area.
Those charged include Gino Rosario Tyler Alexander Allegra of Brockton, accused of stealing $861,646, and 70-year-old Eric Banks of Quincy, accused of taking $1,173,482. Others charged are Jesse El-Ghoul, Nnamdi Opara, Gurprit Singh, Amarpreet Singh, Lonnie Smith-Matthews, and Domingo Villari, with alleged theft amounts ranging from $150,000 to over $2.5 million.
Federal authorities have arrested Banks, El-Ghoul, G. Singh, Opara, and Smith-Matthews. Allegra, A. Singh, and Villari have not yet been taken into custody.
The defendants face charges that carry serious penalties: up to 10 years in prison for theft of government funds and up to 30 years for bank fraud, along with fines and supervised release. All defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
The investigation involved the U.S. Attorney’s Office, IRS Criminal Investigation, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), and the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, with assistance from the Needham Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kriss Basil and Brian Sullivan are prosecuting the case.
