Four people have been indicted on multiple charges, including identity theft, in an elaborate tax fraud scheme.
According to investigators, Raquel Odegbaro, Abdirizak Aden, Alexander Limihagati and Zia Kajanja scammed thousands of dollars from the IRS over the course of several years.
In the 35-page indictment, Odegbaro, who is from Olathe, is accused of creating several fake businesses for the purpose of filing tax returns on employees who never worked for her. The names, social security numbers and personal information of the victims listed on the returns were given to Odegbaro by Limihagati and Kajanja, according to the indictment.
Some of the victims used in the scam were incarcerated or had not lived in the United States for years.
Investigators were able to track the refunds to a UPS mailbox in Olathe that was being rented out by Aden. They said the mailbox was listed under the alias, Ahmed Aden.
Refunds were also sent to Limihagati's home. Investigators say he then turned them over to Odegbaro.
It's not clear how Limihagati or Kajanja got the personal information belonging to the victims.
With tax season about to kick off, the Federal Trade Commission suggests taking the following steps to protect your identity:
- Read your credit card and bank statements often.
- Know your payment due date. If a bill doesn't show up when you expect, look into it.
- Read the statements from your health insurance plan. Make sure the claims made match the care you received.
- Shred any documents with personal and financial information.
- Review each of your three credit reports once a year.
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Jessica McMaster can be reached at jessica.mcmaster@kshb.com.
