Score:   1
Docket Number:   SD-FL  1:19-cr-20092
Case Name:   USA v. Marcellus et al
  Press Releases:
Two defendants involved in a stolen identity and tax refund fraud scheme were sentenced to federal prison terms by U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke.  The scheme involved using stolen identities to file fraudulent income tax returns that falsely claimed refunds. 

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Michael J. De Palma, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office made the announcement.

Maurice Marcellus, 37, of Miami, Florida, received a prison term of 60 months and three years of supervised release.  Ludrick Joseph, 38, of North Miami Beach, Florida, received a prison term of 48 months and three years of supervised release. Both defendants are jointly responsible for paying $563,210 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.

A federal grand jury indicted Marcellus and Joseph on February 14, 2019. They pled guilty on November 13, 2019. 

According to court documents, Joseph worked for Capital Financial Management, LLC, a tax preparation business incorporated in Miami-Dade County. Marcellus was the manager and sole registered agent of the company and ran the day-to-day operations of the business. Between 2012 and 2014, Joseph and Marcellus prepared and electronically filed federal tax returns for individuals who either did not authorize Joseph or Marcellus to possess their personal identifying information or did not authorize the defendants to file returns on their behalf. Some of the returns were electronically filed under an Electronic Filing ldentification Number (EFIN) assigned to a person later determined by agents to be a victim of identity theft.

Joseph and Marcellus stored thousands of victims’ personal identifying information in electronic and physical files at Capital Financial Management, LLC. One of the lists in Joseph’s folder contained the personal identifying information of people who Joseph knew were deceased. A spreadsheet located in both Joseph’s and Marcellus's computer files contained the names, addresses, phone numbers, and social security numbers of over two thousand students who attended the ATI College of Health in Miami, Florida.  Marcellus obtained that spreadsheet while working for the ATI College of Health as an academic advisor. He provided a copy to Joseph in order to file fraudulent tax returns using the student victims’ information.

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of the IRS-CI. She also thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, U.S. Secret Service (USSS), Miami Field Office, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), and U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Miami Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shane Butland prosecuted this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Zloch is handling asset forfeiture.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

Docket (0 Docs):   https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1r1UOtRCFUZf_2uXpcYCjq7vV31YrEbCfwwaYWzsb9JU
  Last Updated: 2024-03-18 12:34:52 UTC
Description: The fiscal year of the data file obtained from the AOUSC
Format: YYYY

Description: The code of the federal judicial circuit where the case was located
Format: A2

Description: The code of the federal judicial district where the case was located
Format: A2

Description: The code of the district office where the case was located
Format: A2

Description: Docket number assigned by the district to the case
Format: A7

Description: A unique number assigned to each defendant in a case which cannot be modified by the court
Format: A3

Description: A unique number assigned to each defendant in a case which can be modified by the court
Format: A3

Description: A sequential number indicating whether a case is an original proceeding or a reopen
Format: N5

Description: Case type associated with the current defendant record
Format: A2

Description: A concatenation of district, office, docket number, case type, defendant number, and reopen sequence number
Format: A18

Description: A concatenation of district, office, docket number, case type, and reopen sequence number
Format: A15

Description: The status of the defendant as assigned by the AOUSC
Format: A2

Description: A code indicating the fugitive status of a defendant
Format: A1

Description: The date upon which a defendant became a fugitive
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The date upon which a fugitive defendant was taken into custody
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The date when a case was first docketed in the district court
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The date upon which proceedings in a case commenced on charges pending in the district court where the defendant appeared, or the date of the defendant’s felony-waiver of indictment
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: A code used to identify the nature of the proceeding
Format: N2

Description: The date when a defendant first appeared before a judicial officer in the district court where a charge was pending
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: A code indicating the event by which a defendant appeared before a judicial officer in the district court where a charge was pending
Format: A2

Description: A code indicating the type of legal counsel assigned to a defendant
Format: N2

Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the highest severity
Format: A20

Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE1
Format: N2

Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE1
Format: A4

Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE1
Format: A4

Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE1
Format: A3

Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the second highest severity
Format: A20

Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE2
Format: N2

Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE2
Format: A4

Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE2
Format: A4

Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE2
Format: A3

Description: The FIPS code used to indicate the county or parish where an offense was committed
Format: A5

Description: The date of the last action taken on the record
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The date upon which judicial proceedings before the court concluded
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The date upon which the final sentence is recorded on the docket
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The date upon which the case was closed
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The total fine imposed at sentencing for all offenses of which the defendant was convicted and a fine was imposed
Format: N8

Description: A count of defendants filed including inter-district transfers
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants filed excluding inter-district transfers
Format: N1

Description: A count of original proceedings commenced
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants filed whose proceedings commenced by reopen, remand, appeal, or retrial
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants terminated including interdistrict transfers
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants terminated excluding interdistrict transfers
Format: N1

Description: A count of original proceedings terminated
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants terminated whose proceedings commenced by reopen, remand, appeal, or retrial
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants pending as of the last day of the period including long term fugitives
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants pending as of the last day of the period excluding long term fugitives
Format: N1

Description: The source from which the data were loaded into the AOUSC’s NewSTATS database
Format: A10

Description: A sequential number indicating the iteration of the defendant record
Format: N2

Description: The date the record was loaded into the AOUSC’s NewSTATS database
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: Statistical year ID label on data file obtained from the AOUSC which represents termination year
Format: YYYY

Data imported from FJC Integrated Database
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