Man sentenced for passing stolen $27K tax refund check

A Brooklyn Park man has been sentenced for passing a stolen tax refund check, federal officials say.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, 46-year-old Wesley David Richards admitted to participating in a fraud scheme in which he deposited counterfeit, stolen or otherwise illegitimate checks into a fraudulent bank account and then making withdrawals from that account.

Prosecutors say Richards arranged for a stolen federal tax refund check worth $27,167.57 to be deposited into a fraudulent account in April of 2017. When the check was deposited, he and others withdrew cash from the account.

Richards pleaded guilty back in September to aiding and abetting passing a treasury check bearing a false endorsement.

He was sentenced to one year and one day in prison for his role in the scheme.