Norcross Man Busted For Laundering $400K In Phony Tax Refunds

A Norcross man is now a convicted felon after a federal jury on June 5 found Festus Anyiam, 41, guilty of four counts of theft of government funds and one count of money laundering following a one week trial. Prosecutors say he helped turn fraudulent federal tax refunds into money orders and bank deposits that hid the source of more than $400,000. Sentencing is set for Sept. 10 before U.S. District Judge Mark H. Cohen.

How prosecutors say the scheme worked

According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia, the scheme kicked off in 2015, when stolen personally identifiable information from taxpayers in Illinois and Missouri was used to file bogus federal tax returns. The resulting refunds did not go to the real taxpayers. Instead, they were sent to a third party tax preparation business, loaded onto prepaid debit cards, then used to buy money orders that were cashed and funneled into accounts connected to Anyiam.

How the money moved through the metro

Court records and local coverage indicate that during a three week stretch in June and July 2015, Anyiam used ATMs across the Atlanta metro area to deposit hundreds of these fraudulent money orders into his personal bank account. Prosecutors say he then tried to distance the cash from its crooked origins by purchasing a $406,000 cashier’s check and putting it into another bank account, financial maneuvers investigators describe as classic money laundering, as reported by Atlanta News First.

Officials respond

U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said Anyiam attempted to hide a brazen theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars by converting stolen tax refunds into money orders and shuffling the proceeds through accounts he controlled. "This verdict is a victory for the U.S. tax system," added William Steenson, special agent in charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in St. Louis, in a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia.

Next up: sentencing and penalties

Anyiam faces statutory maximum penalties of up to 10 years in prison on each theft of government funds count and up to 20 years on the money laundering count. The judge will weigh the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors at the Sept. 10 hearing. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sekret T. Sneed and Daniel Grill are handling the prosecution, according to reporting by WSB‑TV.

Part of a wider crackdown

Investigators say the case is one piece of a broader federal push to dismantle schemes built on stolen identities and fraudulent tax refunds. In a separate Atlanta area case, IRS Criminal Investigation agents arrested a man accused of trying to cash a more than $32 million tax refund check, a reminder that these frauds can range from six figures to jaw dropping sums, according to IRS Criminal Investigation.

How to protect your refund

To cut the risk of tax related identity theft, officials advise keeping a close watch on bank and credit accounts, considering a credit freeze or fraud alert, and paying attention to unexpected mail or online notices about your tax returns. The Federal Trade Commission offers a step by step guide on how to spot identity theft, what to do if it happens, and how to report it.

The jury’s verdict wraps up the trial phase of the case, but Anyiam’s ultimate punishment, which could include prison time and an order to pay restitution, will not be final until the Sept. 10 sentencing. For additional local coverage, see FOX 5 Atlanta.