FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) _ A South Florida woman convicted in an identity theft and tax fraud ring faces a potential maximum prison sentence of 351 years behind bars.
Trial testimony showed that 36-year-old Alci Bonannee of Fort Lauderdale was the leader of a ring that filed some 2,000 fraudulent tax returns over a two-year period.
Those fake returns sought about $11 million tax refunds, some of which was paid.
Prosecutors said Tuesday that Bonannee obtained much of the personal information used in the returns from a nurse at a local hospital.
A jury convicted Bonannee of 33 separate counts including identity theft, wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the government.
Two others pleaded guilty and face maximum prison sentences of 10 and 12 years, respectively. Bonannee will likely get less than 351 years.
