Raleigh man indicted on tax fraud charges

Christian Rhodes was charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, 17 counts of presenting false claims to the Internal Revenue Service, three counts of wire fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft, according to an indictment, which a federal grand jury handed up two weeks ago.

The indictment alleges that Rhodes and others solicited at least nine people to prepare their federal tax returns and used false information, such as inflated wages and withholding amounts and extra deductions, to claim tax refunds ranging from $4,900 to $19,300 that the individuals weren't entitled to receive. Rhodes then directed the IRS to deposit refunds electronically into bank accounts in his own name and in the names of third-party taxpayers, and he used stolen identities in order to file false claims for tax refunds, according to the indictment.