Mailman In The Bronx Accused In Bogus Tax Return Scheme

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A mail carrier is accused of stealing over $1 million through a scheme that delivered bogus tax refunds.

Oscar Lopez, 36, was charged Thursday with conspiracy and theft of government funds.

The Brooklyn resident allegedly carried out the crime from June 2010 to May 2012 while he was delivering mail in the Bronx.

"As a taxpayer and a United States Postal Service employee, I find the allegations against the defendant disturbing,'' said Philip Bartlett, head of the New York office of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. "I have little tolerance for those who would use their position of public trust to facilitate criminal activity."

U.S. Postal Service Agent Kevin Adams said in a criminal complaint that Lopez and others stole Social Security numbers from unsuspecting U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico in order to rip off the U.S. Treasury.

Adams said the victims in Puerto Rico were unlikely to file tax returns because they were not required to as long as their income was derived from Puerto Rican sources.

Lopez allegedly arranged for the refund checks to be mailed to addresses along his delivery route, enabling him to pick up the checks and give them to his co-conspirators, who deposited them in accounts at several banks before giving a portion to Lopez.

Adams wrote that the case was built with the help of a cooperator who pleaded guilty with the hope of leniency in return for his help.

Shantelle Kitchen, head of the New York office of the IRS' criminal investigative division, said in a release that fraudulent tax refund schemes typically involve a "web of co-conspirators who obtain taxpayer information, file the tax returns and secure and negotiate the refund checks.''

If convicted, Lopez could face up to 15 years in prison.

(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)