Scranton — The United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that on March 9, 2021, Marien Torres-Acevedo of Allentown, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 75 months' imprisonment by United States District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani, for conspiring to defraud the government and for committing aggravated identity theft.
According to Acting United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, Torres-Acevedo pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the government between January 2015 to July 2016. Torres-Acevedo and her conspirators obtained fraudulent U.S. Treasury checks by stealing victims' identities and using those stolen identities to file false tax returns that generated significant refunds. Torres-Acevedo and her conspirators then secured the fraudulent U.S. Treasury checks and cashed them at various check cashing businesses, including several in Pennsylvania. Torres-Acevedo admitted that between $550, 000 and $1.5 million in losses occurred as a result of the criminal activity.