Massapequa Man Charged in Tax Scheme

A Massapequa man is one of six people charged in connection with a tax fraud scheme that was designed to get the government to send out $73 million in bogus refunds, federal prosecutors said  Thursday.

Carlos Soto, 26, of Massapequa allegedly used stolen social security cards, to file false tax returns asking for the refunds.

The six defendants were charged in three separate indictments, according to the office of Lorretta Lynch, the US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. 

Soto and two others were indicted for filing over 2,500 fraudulent tax returns between August, 2011 and June 2012, seeking about $12 million in refunds, prosecutors said. Refund checks were sent to several addresses including ones in Amityville. 

Prosecutors said all of the defenants exploited tax laws which exempt Puerto Rican citizens from filing federal income tax returns provided all of their income was earned on Puerto Rico.