Police Arrest Man Accused of Stealing Tax Returns
POSTED: Tuesday, June 14, 2011 - 3:18pm
UPDATED: Wednesday, June 15, 2011 - 8:35am
SOCORRO- Police have arrested a Socorro man accused of stealing thousands of dollars in tax checks.
Jorge Ivan Venegas, 30, of Socorro was arrested today for his involvement in cashing tax return checks that were not issued to him.
Venegas worked at the K-Square Tax Returns office next to City Hall.
Starting in Mid-April, Socorro Detectives received complaints about missing tax return checks. Investigators looked into the case and found at least 4 valid complaints, with missing checks worth from $2,000 to $6,000.
Officials say Venegas took confidential information from K-Square customers including copies of their IDs. He would then write fraudulent notes authorizing him to cash the checks. Venegas was recorded on video cashing the checks at local business on several occasions.
Venegas was arrested on two felony counts of forgery and two felony counts of theft. Each count is punishable by up to 10 years in jail.
