A Houston man pleaded guilty on May 9 to claiming fraudulent tax refunds with information stolen from an IRS database.
Denzel Roberts, 24, is charged with theft of public money for his role in a scheme to file bogus tax returns with information taken from the "Get Transcript" database, an online feature that allows a taxpayer to access copies of their tax accounts.
IRS officials discovered that the database had been breached in May 2015, with the information of more than a million taxpayers at risk.
DOJ officials said in a press release that other scheme participants filed bogus tax returns with information stolen from the "Get Transcript" database.
Roberts used a fake passport to open a series of bank accounts for which the refunds were deposited. He admitted to withdrawing the fund from the account for a fee.
He faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. As part of a plea deal, Roberts agreed to pay $74,341.39 in restitution.
Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 8.
