Justin Tollefson avoids jail
Staff Sergeant Justin Tollefson, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, Washington, thought that he found a solution for his money problems – he bought the personally identifiable information (PII) of four University of Pittsburgh Medical Center employees on the “Dark Web” and filed for income tax refunds totaling $56,333 in their names. The IRS wasted no time in rolling up on him – he was busted before he got a dime. The IRS calls the crime SIRF – stolen identity refund fraud and they have special units that keep an eye out for it.
Well, SSG Tollefson pleaded guilty to his crime last April, according to the Justice Department and he went to sentencing on Friday, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He could have been sentenced to 20 years in prison and a million-dollar fine.
He got quite a bit less;
U.S. District Judge Mark Hornak on Thursday said Justin Tollefson, 27, a staff sergeant who joined the Army two weeks after high school and served two tours in Afghanistan, has led an otherwise law-abiding life.
He gave him three years of probation instead of the prison term that the government had asked for as a warning to other “hackers of the world lurking on the dark web,” as Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Melucci put it.
Judge Hornak granted a defense request for leniency.
“If there is an example of aberrant behavior, this is it,” he said. “I think it highly unlikely that you will do anything like this again.”
For his part, Tollefson and his lawyer said he lost his way when he learned that his pregnant wife was having an affair while he served in Afghanistan. Although they remain together and have two children, he said that knowledge drove him to crime.
He didn’t profit from the crime, so the judge went easy on him, that and the fact that the Army is probably going to boot his felonious ass, now.
Thanks to Chief Tango for the links.
Category: Army News
Yeah, the ever poupular, “My dependa made me do it!” defense.
This is the part where I throw a little brown flag and call bullshit.
Whatever happened to the concept of, “Pour encourager les autres?”
I hate to say it but, … yeah.
We played hell trying to file our taxes after one of these shitbags did this to my wife. IRS wouldn’t let us file because she had already filed. Took us a year to sort that crap out and get OUR money back.
Eff this guy.
I’m dealing with some asshole in Colorado using my info.
Major asspain involved.
I especially liked the line from the IRS “If you know who the individual using your information is, please forward this information to the IRS.”
How the f$&* am I supposed to know this?.
Here’s a thought, the asshat clearly has a bank account and/or a physical address if he’s filing using my information. Maybe y’all could use some of those assault weapons and shit-ton of ammo y’all acquired and go arrest the douchenozzle.
Instead, you make me jump though hoops trying to prove that I WASN’T in Colorado doing construction work.
Yes, the IRS wants you do all the work, and who hos those kind of resources?
The IRS is utterly corrupt.
No, not all IRS personnel are corrupt. The old saw about one bad apple spoiling the bushel comes to mind.
It’s probably the other way around my friend.
One good apple in a barrel of bad apples.
It’s been my experience that most people in government service as bureaucrats tend to be loathing, nasty, shit for brains asswipes that couldn’t function in any job that required actual work other than moving pencils from one side of the desk to the other side of the desk…
I would be unsurprised to find that as accurate. Alas …
Maybe even send one of their armed Criminal Investigators to investigate the criminal who stole the money!
Blames his wife, huh? No personal responsibility there at all, nope. It’s all HER fault. Sounds like this jerk just pulled a bernathian wank right there in court, to me.
Yeah …. that was Adam’s defense when God busted him for eating the apple.
“But, but, but …. Eve gave me the apple.”
The Judge didn’t buy it then, either…..
Simple tip for not receiving a tax refund that some fraudster could steal – don’t get a refund! The IRS offers a free W-4 withholding calculator that determines just how many withholding allowances a year you should make so that you get a $0 refund each year; the more allowances made, the less tax withheld. That way you don’t give a cent more to the government than required.
The w-4 calculator is updated annually to reflect increases in the standard deduction and other tax deductions; if you itemize, it also takes that into consideration. The tool also allows you to customize your tax situation based on your income profile (salary vs commission).
I don’t know about you all, but I prefer to give the government as little of my money as possible. Refunds are basically zero percent interest loans that you are giving the US government. Wouldn’t you want to have more take home pay each check to invest by your choosing? Here is the link for the w-4 calculator on the IRS website: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/irs-withholding-calculator
This is what I do.
I try to plan on a small refund each year $200/300.
I’m not a bank and the government does not need a loan from me.
Also it would chap my cheeks to write uncle Sam a check come April.
I could see how the cushion strategy could work; especially when accounting for state and local taxes which don’t offer a withoulding calculator tool. Everyone has different strategies in tax planning. I have been doing this for years now, and I can confirm the tool has been 100% accurate at getting me to $0 federal tax owed and $0 tax overpayments refunded to me.
That being said, I have been paid salary since I graduated from college, so it has been far easier for me to use the tool than someone who is paid hourly and has the possibility of working overtime, thereby increasing their annual wages and making their income less predictable at the beginning of each tax year.
Hack has it easier. At the proud but humble woman owned business that he works for, the Vice President set us up on a straight commission salary. Due to the ever changing environment of third party vendors selling outdated software to the federal government, our company has gone through some restructuring, vacating the corporate headquarters in Bethesda MD for a P.O. Box. Zero sales equals zero commissions, which equals zero tax liability. I am just happy that the local Goodwill gives a 10% discount when I flash my employee ID.
Speaking of “woman owned businesses”, how’s Psul/Palmer of the Ballsack doing? Any word on the annual Christmas Party? Or is he still dodging the law?
The first mistake Tollefson made was keeping the whore. That was his choice, as all the others following. He chose to steal.
He should have received 20 years, IMO.
Denial is the longest river in the world and is not located in Egypt…
He’s now a convicted felon and soon to be booted out of the Army… play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
You don’t fuck with the IRS…
If he was hard up for cash, just do what the Sergeants did when Hack was a young Lance Corporal and set up an Amway franchise, and get everyone in the Platoon sign on. Absolutely no conflicts with NCO’s being in business with the troops.
IMHO the POS should have gotten prison time.
Now if we could only get IRS to go after all the people (mostly illegals) getting fraudulent tax credits and refunds for children they don’t have or are living in Mexico. This type of tax fraud has been reported by the IRS inspector general every year for over five years. Multiple billions of dollars have been paid out to these supposed “taxpayers.”
He needs to get the double D and a reduction to E-1 with a few years at the USDB.