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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Rogue Valley pair hope supporters will breathe life into 'Don't Die' ... Mail Tribune 100: Oct. 19, 1915 ... RCC lands $14.6 million job-training grant for low-income students ... Rogue Valley pair hope supporters will breathe life into 'Don't Die' ... Mail Tribune 100: Oct. 19, 1915 ... RCC lands $14.6 million job-training grant for low-income students ... COURTS Feds allege Georgia, Maryland residents defrauded Oregon taxpayers of more than $2 million Comment By Thomas Moriarty Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Thomas Moriarty Mail Tribune Posted May. 13, 2015 at 4:06 PM By Thomas Moriarty Mail Tribune Posted May. 13, 2015 at 4:06 PM » Social News Federal prosecutors in Medford are pursuing wire fraud charges against five East Coast men they say fraudulently filed tax returns worth over $6.6 million using information stolen from Oregon taxpayers, including some who lived in Medford, according to an indictment unsealed Tuesday in U.S. District Court. Lateef Aina Animawun, Oluwatobi Reuben Dehinbo, Oluwaseunara Temitope Osayinbi and Oluwamuyiwa Abolad Olawoye, all of Marietta, Georgia, were arrested after federal law enforcement agents served a series of search warrants in Georgia and Maryland in connection with the indictment, which charges the men with conspiracy to commit mail fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. The men are expected to be arraigned in Oregon at a later date. Another defendant, Emmanuel Oluwatosin Kazeem of Maryland, has an outstanding warrant for his arrest. According to the indictment, filed under seal May 7, the men stole the Internal Revenue Service PINs for over 125,000 taxpayers and used the PINs to file tax returns in the victims' names. According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, the IRS rejected $4.6 million of the returns, but the defendants were able to fraudulently claim $2.2 million in refunds. The defendants face a minimum of two years in prison for each count if convicted of the aggravated identity theft charges, the release said. Gerri Badden, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Portland, said she couldn't comment specifically on why the case was being handled by the agency's Medford division, but did point to sections of the indictment that identified some of the victims as living in Medford. Badden was unable to provide the date for when the investigation began but said the IRS Criminal Division was the lead agency in the joint investigation, which also involved the FBI, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the State Department and the Oregon Department of Revenue Fraud Unit. Reporter Thomas Moriarty can be reached at 541-776-4471, or by email at [email protected] . Follow him at @ThomasDMoriarty . By Thomas Moriarty Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Thomas Moriarty Mail Tribune Posted May. 13, 2015 at 4:06 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. MailTribune.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501