Perfecto Ruano and his wife Walda Luna, both of Wallace, were sentenced Tuesday in federal court to prison terms of 57 months and 81 months, respectively, for operating a fraudulent federal income-tax refund scheme using fake identities. The couple was featured in three Carolina Journal news stories earlier this year (here, here, and here) as part of our continuing coverage of Stolen Identity Refund Fraud, which has included reports from North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and New York.
(The press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina is here.)
Ruano and Luna also must forfeit nearly $1.8 million in cash seized from their car during a traffic stop in Arkansas along with four Duplin County properties the couple own. They also are required to pay nearly $3 million in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.
The couple created hundreds of false identities and filed income tax returns claiming refunds due to those phony “taxpayers.” They also used a convenience store they owned to launder money through a licensed check-cashing service they operated. All in all, they were charged with more than $12 million in refund fraud.
Luna is not a U.S. citizen, so she will be subject to deportation after serving her prison sentence.