A 29-year-old Charlotte resident was sentenced Wednesday morning to 57 months in prison and two years of supervised release after being found guilty in a stolen identity refund fraud scheme, based on a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

According to court documents, Boakai Boker had been submitting fake tax returns to the IRS using stolen personal identifying information beginning in 2014, gaining access to more than $40,000 in fraudulent proceeds.

Court records show that Boker directed the IRS to send the fraudulent refund checks to addresses in Mooresville, North Carolina, which he controlled. Boker then deposited the proceeds of the scheme into fraudulent bank accounts to which he had access.

In July 2017, a federal jury convicted Boker of wire fraud, bank fraud, false claims, and aggravated identity theft in connection with the scheme.

For 2018, the IRS, the states and the tax industry joined together to enact new safeguards and take additional actions to combat tax-related identity theft.

Among other things, the IRS maintains an identity protection website with information and guidance that can be found here.