Blackwood Man Gets 33 Months for Defrauding IRS

A Gloucester Township man was sentenced to 33 months in prison Friday and hit with a massive restitution order for his check-cashing scam, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Jose Adames, 32, who lives in the Blackwood section of town, was convicted in March in the check-cashing scam that netted more than $650,000 for the man and his wife. Adames had faced up to 10 years in prison.

Adames’ wife, Angelita Adames, 34, who pleaded guilty to the same charges, will be sentenced Dec. 19.

The Adameses negotiated 102 tax refund checks at a Camden check casher, according to evidence and court testimony. The IRS traced the checks, totaling $668,298.73, to fraudulent 2006 tax returns. The Adameses used fake Social Security numbers and directed the refund checks to co-conspirators.

Jose and Angelita Adames cashed the checks between February and November 2007 at Imperial Check Cashing (ICC) in Camden. Angelita Adames cashed between three and six refund checks, ranging from approximately $3,000 to $9,000, once or twice a week at ICC—where she paid three employees $100 per check.

The check-cashing bureau employees deliberately circumvented controls at the business by entering phony names, address and other information, including changing the New York addresses on the checks to New Jersey locations. ICC is not allowed to cash out-of-state checks.

Jose Adames’ chattiness helped lead to his arrest, authorities say. Law enforcement officers taped Adames talking about the scam and how he paid off ICC cashiers not to take pictures of the refund checks.

In addition to the prison term, Jose Adames was ordered to pay $668,298.73 in restitution and sentenced to three years supervised release.

Adames was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Noel L. Hillman in Camden federal court.