MOSCOW, October 2 (RAPSI) – Four federal grand jury indictments were unsealed last week accusing 55 people – Russian, Kazakh, Turkmen, and Uzbek nationals among them – of having engaged in various illicit acts including large-scale identity theft and fraudulent tax refunds.

According to a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) statement accompanying the unsealing of the indictments yesterday, those who were indicted stand accused of having participated in a range of illegal schemes, “including the theft of more than 2,000 identities that were used to claim more than $20 million in bogus IRS tax refunds.”

22 of the suspects have been arrested, while another 33 remain at large.

The first indictment centers on the complex methods allegedly employed by the suspects in their efforts to remain undetected, such as disguising IP addresses while filing electronic tax returns, and using cryptic language and nicknames to communicate with one another. Furthermore, they tended to use burner phones, which were frequently disposed of – according to the statement.

The second indictment charges three of the individuals with having filed upwards of 400 false tax returns, and then claiming upwards of $3 million.

A third indictment involves an elaborate scheme of disguises and role play. According to the statement, “defendants obtained bank account and other personal information about wealthy Wells Fargo customers and then sent imposters to branches to withdraw large sums of money. The imposters altered their appearances with haircuts and new clothes and prepared by role-playing. In all, they attempted to withdraw more than $3 million and succeeded in obtaining $551,842.”

A fourth indictment focuses on a fraud scheme involving stolen identities, bad checks, and an effort to get $600,000 from Bank of America.

Notably, many of the defendants were very young, many in their early 20s.

US Attorney Laura Duffy commented in the statement, “This case is staggering in terms of the number of victims, its level of sophistication, its audacious methods, and the callous disregard for victims. These arrests are the first strike back on behalf of taxpayers and more than 2,000 victims who now have to reclaim their good names—a frustrating task that can take years. We will continue to make these cases a priority.”