Man Pleads Guilty to Mail Fraud in Tax Refunds

A man who used the names and Social Security numbers of dead people to obtain phony income tax refunds has pleaded guilty to mail fraud, U.S. officials said Monday.

Harold Leroy Jackson, 58, who lived in Tijuana, pleaded guilty to charges that he illegally obtained up to $70,000 in refunds through the scheme. According to a report by the U.S. attorney’s office, Jackson and his son, Ryan Jackson, conspired to bilk the government.

The older Jackson was arrested May 17, but Ryan Jackson remains a fugitive, officials said.

Father and son obtained the names and Social Security numbers of dead people and filed for refunds, authorities alleged. The Jacksons leased mailboxes at various locations to receive the illegal refunds, prosecutors said.

The refund checks were then endorsed as payable to Ryan Jackson and deposited in Harold Jackson’s bank accounts. Locally, the Jacksons used mailboxes in Chula Vista, National City and San Ysidro to receive the checks.

Harold Jackson will be sentenced Oct. 7 in U.S. District Court. Although he was indicted on 52 counts of conspiracy, mail fraud and filing false claims for payments, he pleaded guilty to single counts of mail fraud and filing false claims.

He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.