Thursday March 28th, 2024 12:50PM

Prisoner and two family members sentenced in tax fraud case

Three people with Gainesville ties were sentenced this week in a tax fraud case federal prosecutors said involved two prison inmates.
 
One of the prisoners, Enrique Toribio, 30, of Gainesville, gave 39 stolen identities to a tax preparer using a contraband cell phone, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
 
In a media release, prosecutors said he had his mother, Rosa Toribio-Gama, 48, and sister, Lupita Rodriguez-Toribio, 25, meet with the preparer to sign the fraudulent income tax returns. 
 
Marcus Burke, 35, of Atlanta, a fellow inmate of Toribio at Hancock State Prison, was sentenced in the case last year.  Burke provided 29 stolen identities to the same tax preparer by using a contraband cell phone.
 
"This case highlights the continuing problem of inmates in state prisons using contraband cellular phones to reach beyond the prison walls and continue to victimize our community," U. S. Attorney John Horn said in the news release. "Identity theft is bad enough, but victims shouldn't have to defend themselves against those who are already serving time for other serious crimes."
 
Enrique Toribio, already serving an 18-year sentence for aggravated assault, was sentenced to four years in prison and three years supervised release.  Burke received a three-year three-month prison term and three years supervised release in December.  Burke's original 20 year sentence was for voluntary manslaughter.
 
Toribio-Gama and Rodriguez-Toribio were each sentenced to three years probation and ordered to jointly pay $3,650 restitution.  Toribio-Gama must serve six months of the probation on home confinement.
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