Bean Town Times

A Brooklyn, N.Y. man pleaded guilty today in connection with a scheme to steal over $3 million in COVID relief tax credits using the stolen identity of a corporate executive in New Jersey.

Isaac Aaron Tenryk, 28, pleaded guilty to bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for Dec. 12, 2024. Tenryk was arrested and charged in May 2024.

Tenryk used a fraudulent driver’s license as well as the name and Social Security number of a corporate executive in New Jersey to open an account at a bank in Boston. He then deposited an approximately $3 million Employee Retention Tax Credit check, payable to the corporate executive’s company, into the fraudulent account.

The charge of bank fraud provides for a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. The charge of aggravated identity theft provides for a mandatory two years in prison in addition to any sentence imposed on the bank fraud charge, one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Harry Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division, Boston Field Office; and Ketty Larco Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kriss Basil of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.