IRS Scammer Pleads Guilty to Charges in Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN (KROC-AM News) - Federal prosecutors in Minnesota have obtained a guilty plea from a California man caught running one of the IRS scams that have become common throughout the country. Officials say 27-year Yu Zhang admitted to a single count of wire fraud for participating in a scheme to take money from people by posing as IRS agents and threatening to arrest the victims if they did not make immediate payments to cover delinquent taxes.
The victims were directed to purchase gift cards at Target Stores and provide the card numbers and activation codes to the scammers. Prosecutors say Zhang admitted redeeming cards worth about $250,000 through transactions at Target Stores in Minnesota and Colorado.
A sentencing date for Zhang has yet to be scheduled.
If you believe you may have fallen victim to an IRS impersonation scam, you may file a report with the Target store or other retailer where the gift cards were purchased, the local police department, or TIGTA at https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/contact_report_scam.shtml