A Luzerne County man has been sentenced to more than 14 years in prison for his role in a money laundering scheme.
Jonathan Jacome, 30, of Mountain Top, was sentenced on Tuesday to 169 months in prison after plea agreement on one count of money laundering conspiracy.
According to federal prosecutors, Jacome was a leader and organizer in a sophisticated scheme that used stolen identities to file fake tax returns in 2011 and 2012 and obtained over $7.7 million in fraudulent federal tax refunds.
Jacome opened three check-cashing businesses in Luzerne County solely to carry out the fraud scheme, and through which he processed the fraudulently obtained treasury checks.
Jacome pleaded guilty pursuant to a plea agreement with the government to a single count of money laundering conspiracy. as part of that agreement, Jacome admitted that he committed the underlying crimes of theft of public money, wire fraud, and bank fraud.
Jacome also conspired with others to present false testimony to a federal grand jury investigating the scheme. the fabricated testimony was intended to hide the fact that Jacome used stolen funds to purchase a house in Mountain Top, and to otherwise shield Jacome from criminal liability. Jacome's sentence reflected an enhancement for the obstruction.
Jacome was also ordered to pay over $7.7 million in restitution and must forfeit certain properties acquired with stolen funds.
