Cuban man set to plead guilty in IRS tax return scam

PITTSBURGH – A Cuban national has pleaded guilty to his role in an international conspiracy to file 900 phoney federal tax returns seeking $2.2 million in refunds by using employee information stolen from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

Yoandy (yoh-AHN’-day) Perez Llanes (YAHN’-es) pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy and aggravated identity theft Monday before a federal judge in Pittsburgh. He faces between two and 22 years in prison when he returns for sentencing Aug. 18.

Federal prosecutors say Llanes’ role was to track phoney tax refunds that were to be paid as Amazon.com credits. The service offered by online filing service Turbo Tax is known as monetizing.

The credits were then used to buy smartphones, computers, video games and other easily re-sellable electronics, which Llanes tracked and received in Venezuela. He was arrested there last year.