California Man Sentenced In Stolen Tax Refund Checks Scheme

A California man was sentenced to five years in federal prison without parole for his role in a scheme to cash more than $447,000 in stolen refund checks.

Prosecutors say the multi-state scheme involved cashing the checks by using fake driver's licenses. Dante Chestnut, of Ontario, California, pleaded guilty in July to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.

Chestnut admitted that he and others stole tax refund checks from the mail in April 2016.

They then used fraudulent driver’s licenses and identification documents to cash the checks at Academy Bank branches in Arizona, Colorado, Kansas and Missouri.