HAMMOND United States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana, Thomas L. Kirsch II, announced that Hulian Terrell III, age 34, of Schererville, IN, was sentenced before Hammond Senior Judge James T. Moody for filing false claims and identity theft.
Terrell was sentenced to 27 months followed by 2 years of supervised release. Terrell was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $551,647.
According to documents in this case, the defendant pleaded guilty to filing fraudulent federal and state tax returns utilizing the names, dates of birth, and social security numbers of incarcerated individuals without their knowledge, authority, or permission. Terrell obtained the personal identifying information of these individuals by accessing various websites including Department of Corrections websites. The fraudulent refunds were received through the United States Mail and electronically. These fraudulent filings led to fraudulent federal and state refunds being issued in the names of these individuals, but received by the defendant.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations Division, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the United States Secret Service, and the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General. The case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Toi Denise Houston.
--DOJ Northern District of Indiana
Source: U.S. Secret Service