STOLEN IDENTITY REFUND FRAUD (SIRF) Corey J. Smith Senior Litigation Counsel Tax Division U.S. Department of Justice Corey.Smith@usdoj.gov

Directive 144 and Expedited Review Directive 144 – October 1, 2012 Delegation of authority in SIRF cases to USAO Criminal Complaints Arrest and Detention Plea Agreements Streamlined documentation – informal prosecution package Copies to the IRS and Tax Division Dedicated Mailbox SIRF.Tax-N@USDOJ.GOV Wholly fraudulent tax return and refund Expedited Review Defendant in custody Expedited review of proposed indictment – 3 days 10 day or 30 day speedy trial clock running Need to avoid preliminary hearing Non-historical case

United States v. Hieu Minh Ngo, 12cr00144-PB (District of New Hampshire) “Unauthorized access” to Infosource, Court Ventures, databases Posed as a private investigator to obtain “court information” Obtained 175,000 “Fullz” Sold the “Fullz” to tax return preparers and credit card cloners in the United States via a dedicated web site Undercover Special Agent posed as a “customer” Email search warrants used to trace purchases Charges: Conspiracy to commit wire fraud (18 USC 1349) Wire fraud (18 USC 1343) Conspiracy to commit identity theft (18 USC 371) Identity theft (18 USC 1028(c)(7) Aggravated identity theft (18 USC 1028A) Conspiracy to commit access device fraud (18 USC 1029(b)(2) Access device fraud (18 USC 1029(a)(2) March 3, 2014: plead guilty to a three count information charging: Wire fraud, identity theft, and access device fraud July 14, 2015: Sentenced to 13 years imprisonment