Tax Schemer Indicted on Tax Day

It was announced, yesterday, on Tax Day that Peter Murmylyuk was indicted for masterminding a money swindling scheme that robbed taxpayers of $450,000, after a joint investigation by the Manhattan DA and the Department of Homeland Security. Murmylyuk, a Russian national living in Brooklyn, created the fake employment website jobcentral2.net, where he is accused of stealing the personal information of more than 300 people. The site, which purported to have government sponsorship and was intended for people with low income, was emailed through job search forums and college listservs. Murmylyuk is alleged to have taken the information submitted to the site and created falsified wage information to receive tax returns in victims' names. He successfully obtained refunds ranging from approximately $3,500 to $6,500 each from 108 different stolen identities. "At a time when many unemployed New Yorkers are turning to the Internet to find work, this defendant is charged with preying upon online job seekers and tricking them into divulging personal information," said District Attorney Cyrus Vance in a statement. The 31-year-old schemer recruited 11 Kazakh students to the US to open bank accounts around the country where the stolen tax returns were deposited. They then passed on the information to Murmylyuk's use, and many returned to their native Kazakhstan shortly after. Those students, who range between 19 to 23 years of age, are being charged in absentia. Murmylyuk is charged with scheme to defraud, money laundering, grand larceny, identity theft, and computer trespass, which have been added to his existing charges from the Department of Justice. Murmylyuk was indicted earlier this year for his alleged role in $1 million scheme where he hacked into retail brokerage accounts and executed fraudulent trades. He will be arraigned on May 2.