WASHINGTON–A Crystal Lake, Illinois, woman pleaded guilty to stealing more than $197,000 from the United States, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo, head of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, said Wednesday.
According to the plea agreement, Nellyvette Mojica, 34, admitted that from February 2012 to July 2015, she participated in a scheme to steal money from the United States through the filing of fraudulent income tax returns. According to the plea agreement, Mojica deposited into her bank accounts income tax refunds that she knew were the proceeds of fraudulently filed tax returns. Mojica admitted that as part of the scheme she caused 81 fraudulent tax refunds totaling more than $197,000 to be deposited into accounts that she controlled. Mojica also admitted that following the deposit of these fraudulently obtained refunds, she withdrew some of the money for her own use.
Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 7. Mojica faces a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, along with a fine of up to $250,000 and three years of supervised release and $197,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). She is the second defendant who pleaded guilty in this case. Her codefendant, Rosa Alverio, pleaded guilty to stealing government funds and is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 10.
