BY IRIS B. HOLTON
Sentinel City Editor
A federal judge sentenced a Tampa businessman to prison on Monday. He was arrested in September 2011 as part of an income tax fraud investigation.
U. S. District Judge James D. Whittemore sentenced Russell B. Simmons, Jr., 42, to 15 years in prison. The court also ordered Simmons to forfeit a 2005 Bentley, more than $100,000 in jewelry, $25,000 in cash, and more than $118,000 worth of fraudulently obtained tax refunds, which are traceable proceeds of the offense.
Simmons was among 47 suspects originally arrested as part of the “Operation Rainmaker” investigation in 2011. The joint investigation included law enforcement officers from the city, county, state, and federal levels.
During the investigation, police seized computers, vehicles, televisions, expensive purses, shoes, clothing, and other electronic devices from the homes of the suspects.
According to court documents, Simmons began engaging in tax fraud at his business, Simmons Auto Sales, during the summer of 2011.
Court records show that Simmons filed $8.9 million in attempted refunds with Intuit and Turbo Tax. Approximately $5.5 million of those were rejected by either Turbo Tax or the IRS. Of the remaining amount, returns with refunds totaling approximately $3.2 million were accepted by the IRS. Refunds were issued, but some were stopped or cancelled by the IRS, Turbo Tax, or the debit card companies.
The Internal Revenue Service confirmed that Simmons filed approximately 120 false returns, with refunds totaling $1,176,787 for the tax year 2010.
He began selling cars in exchange for fraudulent income tax checks at a higher price than the sales price of the vehicles. Police said he negotiated the checks and laundered the money through his business accounts.
He also filed fraudulent tax returns on his home and business computers and maintained a ledger that contained several “personal identifiers associated with the fraudulent filings,” police said.
Law enforcement interviewed several individuals whose names appeared on the pre-paid cards Simmons used. None of the victims acknowledged knowing Simmons, nor giving him permission to use their personal information.
Investigators learned that on July 22, 2011, a tax refund in the amount of $9,997 was loaded onto a card. Simmons’ photograph was captured on video on July 27, 2011, using the same card to withdraw money from an ATM in Gibsonton. The following day, Simmons was captured on video using a pre-paid debit card at a Wal-Mart.
During that transaction, Simmons received $2,050.04. The transaction included four money orders valued at $500 each.
On August 7, 2011, Simmons was videoed at a Wal-Mart in Brandon, where he made a purchase of $11,500. That transaction included a withdrawal of $200 in cash, the purchase of twenty-one (21) money orders valued at $500 each. He also purchased two other money orders valued at $400 each.
Police said Simmons used seven different cards, each loaded with fraudulent income tax refunds, and none of which were in his name. A total of $76,088.20 was loaded onto cards.
Once Simmons had obtained the money orders, he made them payable to Simmons Auto Sales and endorsed them with his name, court documents showed.
Simmons pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft December 11, 2012. He was sentenced to 13 years for mail fraud, and he was also given a 2-year sentence for aggravated identity theft that must run consecutively to the 13-year sentence.
