Out-of-work job seekers may be surprised when they find that IRS records show they not only already have work but are due a refund.
A federal indictment charged Petr Murmylyuk with stealing identities of more than 300 unemployed people and e-filing their returns, receiving refunds for more than 100 of them. They had applied for jobs through a bogus Web site he operated.
In a separate indictment against Murmylyuk, the SEC alleged that he stole money from a victim’s online brokerage account and fraudulently caused that account to engage in unauthorized options trading with another account that he controlled, opened under a fictitious name using a stolen social security number.
Between the two scams, Murmylyuk stole close to $1.5 million, according to the two indictments. He faces five to 15 years and multiple fines.
