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SALT LAKE CITY — Three Utah County men reaped thousands of dollars from bogus tax returns using the stolen identities of dead people, federal authorities say.
Indictments filed this week in U.S. District Court allege the men obtained names, addresses, Social Security numbers and other personal information from a website listing people who died in California. They used the information to file false tax returns and get refunds from the IRS, according to the indictment.
Joshua Erle Garrison, 20, Nathaniel Jay McGee, 31, both of Provo, and Kaden John Ashton, 19, of Orem, are charged in separate indictments returned by a federal grand jury.
Garrison filed false tax forms for five individuals using information he obtained from the website and false records of employers and wages that he created, according to the indictment. The IRS sent the refunds, which range from $1,046 to $1,125, to Garrison’s bank account in Utah.
Indictments filed this week in U.S. District Court allege the men obtained names, addresses, Social Security numbers and other personal information from a website listing people who died in California.
Ashton, the indictment alleges, also filed five false tax forms and received refunds ranging from $1,402 to $2,624.
McGee filed false tax forms for five individuals and received five refunds of $1,046, according to the indictment.
Garrison, Ashton and McGee are charged with five counts each of aggravated identity theft, making false claims on fraudulent tax forms and wire fraud. The charges carry terms ranging from two to 30 years in prison.
McGee and Garrison were arrested and pleaded not guilty in federal court earlier this month. An arrest warrant has been issued for Ashton.
