JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Two Jacksonville men have been sentenced for their roles in a conspiracy involving theft of government property and cashing numerous false and fraudulently filed federal income tax refund checks.
Roberto Bisono and Juan Ruiz were sentenced to a year and a half and a year and three months in federal prison, respectively. Both were also ordered to pay $711,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.
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According to court records, between November 2011 and April 2012, Bisono obtained U.S. Treasury checks that had been mailed to bogus taxpayers in the Bronx, New York. The checks were the results of false and fraudulently filed tax returns.
In November 2011, Bisono deposited the first seven checks into a business bank account that belonged to Ruiz. He later furnished the remaining 104 checks to Ruiz, who operated a check cashing business in Jacksonville.
Ruiz deposited the additional checks into his business bank account and wrote checks totaling over $227,000 to Bisono and others associated with Bisono.