A Russian man was sentenced to 18 months in prison Monday for a phishing attack that diverted $100,000 in U.S. tax refunds to bank accounts under his control.
Maxim Maltsev, 24, of the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, ran the caper while he was living in the sunnier climes of San Diego in 2006, according to court records. Maltsev used a spam campaign to trick people into submitting their tax returns to his fake e-filing site. Before re-submitting them to a real e-filing website, he modified the returns to direct the refunds into bank accounts he and his accomplices opened at several San Diego banks.
By the time the feds caught on to the scam, Maltsev had apparently returned to Russia. But he was arrested last April at San Francisco International Airport after flying back to the states.
Prosecutors recommended the low end of the 12 - 18 month range suggested by federal sentencing guidelines, and Maltsev's defense attorney asked for even less time. But U.S. District Court Judge Larry Burns in San Diego suspected Maltsev's return to America wasn't for a vacation.
"The judge was convinced that Maltsev had come back into this country with the design of opening accounts and making some more money," says defense attorney Stephen Brodsky. "I think he probably came back just to spend more time here."
In all, Maltsev and his team collected 65 refunds (.pdf), which they withdrew in cash from ATMs. In addition to the prison term, Judge Burns ordered Maltsev to pay $136,000 in restitution.
Updated 3:00 p.m. with response from Brodsky.
