NEW YORK - PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that FELIX NKANSAH, 28, was found guilty, following a one-week trial in Manhattan federal court, of participating in an identity theft ring and defrauding the United States Treasury.

According to the Superseding Indictment and evidence presented at trial before United States District Judge JED S. RAKOFF:

Beginning in 2007, NKANSAH participated in an identity theft ring whose purpose was to file, via the Internet, fraudulent tax returns in the names of unwitting taxpayers and other individuals. The defendants sought federal income tax refunds that would be deposited into various bank accounts in the
Bronx, in NKANSAH'S own name and in the names of various coconspirators.

The identity theft ring attempted to steal over $1 million in federal tax refunds from the United States Treasury. To file these phony returns the defendants used personal taxpayer information, such as names, social security numbers and dates of birth, belonging to other people. When he was arrested, hundreds of pages of documents containing personal identity information were seized from NKANSAH's house and car.

Some of the thousands of identities were stolen from hospital patient records and records of children in foster care homes. NKANSAH of the Bronx, New York, was found guilty of conspiring to file false or fraudulent income tax returns, filing a false or fraudulent income tax return, participating in a scheme to defraud federally-insured banks, identity theft, and aggravated identity theft.

NKANSAH faces a maximum potential sentence on all of the charges of 62 years in prison, as well as a maximum fine of the greater of $1,750,000 or twice the gross pecuniary gain or loss from the offenses. NKANSAH also faces forfeiture of the proceeds that he obtained from his illegal activities.

NKANSAH is scheduled to be sentenced on June 1, 2010, by Judge RAKOFF.

Mr. BHARARA praised the investigative work of United States Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, the United States Secret Service, and the United States Postal Inspection Service. Mr. BHARARA also extended his thanks to the Special Investigations Unit of the New York State Police and the New York Police Department for their assistance in the
investigation.

Assistant United States Attorneys TELEMACHUS P. KASULIS and NICHOLAS J. LEWIN are in charge of the prosecution.