Russian national pleads guilty to wire fraud

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Russian National has pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Anton Vikharev, 31, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Between on or about January 2015 and continuing through March 1, 2018 Vikharev and others engaged in a scheme to defraud the United States by filing false and fraudulent federal income tax returns using stolen identities.

Tax returns claimed fraudulent refunds, which were deposited into bank accounts defendants controlled. The proceeds from the fraudulent refunds were withdrawn from ATMs in cash, deposited into other bank accounts, and wired to bank accounts in Russia. In this scheme, 7,167 false and fraudulent tax returns were filed for tax years 2011- 2016. The returns claimed $11,178,361 in fraudulent refunds. The Internal Revenue Service paid at least $2,020,569 in fraudulent tax refunds. Conspirators wire transferred at least $1,411,082 to bank accounts in Russia.

As part of his plea agreement, Vikharev will be required to pay restitution.

Under federal statutes, Vikharev is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as the sentence of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen D. Mahoney. It was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service.