More than 16,000 Treasury refund checks were cashed at a single check-cashing business in north Georgia, which paid out bulk cash, according to a federal indictment. Prosecutors say the checks were part of a tax refund scheme worth more than $74 million. Three men living in the Atlanta area were arrested on October 14 and arraigned the same day.
They are Gustavo Rojano Salazar, 41, Gabriel Rojano Salazar, 49, and Andres Huerta Rendon, 43. A grand jury returned the indictment on October 6, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia announced it on October 14. The three are presumed innocent.
How the scheme allegedly ran
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office announcement, the scheme began in January 2019 and continues to the present. Prosecutors say the defendants and others obtained Mexican identification documents and used them to request Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers, or ITINs, from the IRS. An ITIN is a nine-digit number the IRS issues to people who must file but cannot get a Social Security number. The defendants then allegedly filed hundreds of fraudulent returns in the names of the ITIN holders.
The returns reported false tax withholdings, which produced refunds. The refunds were mailed to post office boxes the defendants controlled, prosecutors say. The defendants and co-conspirators allegedly received more than 16,000 refund checks, and the checks were cashed at the north Georgia business. In total, prosecutors say, more than $74 million was taken from the U.S. Treasury.
The indictment charges all three with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, mail fraud and conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering. Gustavo and Gabriel Rojano Salazar face an added count of making a false statement on an immigration form. The announcement says they allegedly claimed they had never committed a crime. It states no maximum penalties.
The detail that matters for ordinary filers is how the refunds were produced: a return with made-up withholding, filed under a taxpayer number, with the check sent somewhere the real filer does not control. People who file their own returns can add a layer of protection to their number.
The three men are in U.S. Marshals custody pending further proceedings, and the announcement gives no trial date.
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Who investigated and who is prosecuting
IRS Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Homeland Security Investigations worked the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly K. Connors of the Northern District of Georgia and Senior Litigation Counsel Michael C. Boteler of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division are prosecuting.
U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said his office is committed to prosecuting and punishing those who steal or fabricate identities. Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Justin S. Anand conducted the arraignment, and the defendants were ordered held in marshals’ custody.
Rodney M. Hopkins, the Postal Inspection Service’s inspector in charge in Atlanta, said law enforcement will keep pursuing criminals who threaten the financial integrity of Americans. Maisha Horton, the acting special agent in charge of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Atlanta office, said the agency remains committed to working with partners to protect the integrity of the tax system, and Ellen Johnson, acting special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Georgia and Alabama, said her office will keep working with partners on these schemes.
The second-largest case in a national tax surge
The Georgia case was announced as part of the Justice Department’s National Tax Enforcement Surge, which the department says reached 76 defendants and more than $490 million in estimated intended loss over about six weeks. At $74 million, this is the second-largest of the 16 cases the department highlighted. Only a $200 million sham-trust shelter case in Texas is bigger.
Attorney General Todd Blanche said every dollar stolen through tax fraud is a dollar taken from the American people. Frank Bisignano, the IRS chief executive, said the surge delivered results for taxpayers.
The department’s tally for the surge counts estimated intended loss. In this case the $74 million is the amount prosecutors say was taken, which they will have to prove at trial.
Locking a taxpayer number with an IP PIN
The IRS offers a defense for people who want one. An Identity Protection PIN is a six-digit code that, in the IRS’s words, “prevents someone else from filing a tax return using your Social Security number.” It also covers an ITIN. Anyone with an SSN or ITIN who can verify their identity can get one, and parents or guardians can request one for a dependent.
The fastest way is the IP PIN section of an IRS online account. Filers who cannot set up an account can use Form 15227 if their adjusted gross income on the last return was below $84,000, or $168,000 for a married couple filing jointly. The IRS then calls to verify identity, and the PIN arrives by mail, usually in four to six weeks. An in-person appointment at a Taxpayer Assistance Center is the third route.
A new PIN is generated every year and is good for one calendar year. If the number is missing or wrong, an e-filed return is rejected, and a paper return is delayed until the IRS verifies it. The IRS page does not list a cost.
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This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by The Financial Wire’s editorial team.
Warren Cohen is a finance writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, covering personal finance topics including credit, banking, and beginner investing. He earned his degree in business administration from Arizona State University and began his career working in consumer finance, where he gained direct experience with lending and credit systems. He now writes for personal finance websites and fintech platforms, focusing on clear, practical content that helps readers make informed financial decisions.
