Tampa tax fraudster sentenced to 5 years

TAMPA - James Early Smiley, 41, was sentenced to five years and one month in federal prison and a forfeiture money judgment of $98,719.65, for committing stolen identity tax refund fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida.

On March 6, Smiley pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government property and one count of aggravated identity theft.

In October 2012, Smiley was stopped by the Tampa Police Department. Several Turbo Tax Visa debit cards and receipts not in Smiley's name were found in his possession.

After further investigation, it was discovered that the debit cards were funded with fraudulent tax return earnings. Smiley was captured on surveillance video using the fraudulent credit cards and admitted that the cards contained proceeds from the illegally filed tax returns.