Florida woman sentenced for fabricating counterfeit checks, fraudulent tax returns

FLORIDA – A Tampa woman has been sentenced to prison for fraud and identity theft crimes related to the fabrication of counterfeit checks, fraudulent tax returns, and credit cards.

Kemi Lim-Tom, 38, of Tampa, has been sentenced to eight years and four months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge William F. Jung for bank fraud, tax fraud, credit card fraud, and aggravated identity theft, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida (USAO).

Lim-Tom was ordered to pay $345,943.49 in restitution. She pleaded guilty on July 26, 2022.

According to court documents, in February 2018, officers from the Tampa Police Department found Lim-Tom and her coconspirator, Sonya Seago, in possession of stolen personal identifying information for more than 1,500 people. A subsequent investigation revealed that Lim-Tom used these identities to commit bank fraud, tax fraud, and credit card fraud.

According to court documents and evidence presented at the sentencing hearing, between 2012 and February 2018, Lim-Tom orchestrated a scheme to defraud financial institutions by manufacturing counterfeit checks with fraudulent company names and bank account numbers belonging to victim businesses and cashing these checks for profit.

Lim-Tom reportedly recruited and paid others to receive some of these checks and provide her with the proceeds. The face value of the fraudulent checks involved in the scheme was more than $600,000, the USAO said.

Between March 2013 and July 2014, Lim-Tom is said to have committed tax fraud by using stolen identities to obtain tax refunds from the Internal Revenue Service. Lim-Tom reportedly obtained four fraudulent tax refunds totaling more than $27,000 and attempted to obtain an additional 56 refunds totaling more than $300,000.

Between January 2015 and February 2018, Lim-Tom and Seago used stolen personal identifying information to obtain fraudulent credit cards, which they used to make more than $215,000 in purchases, the USAO said.

On February 15, 2023, Sonya Seago, 50, of Tampa, was sentenced to 32 months in federal prison for her role in the fraud offenses.

“Greed is a strong motivator for illegal activity and these sentencings demonstrate our commitment to hold criminals accountable for their corrupt behavior,” said IRS-CI Acting Special Agent in Charge Ronald A. Loecker.

“These individuals demonstrated a blatant disregard for the United States tax system and caused immeasurable damage to innocent victims. IRS Criminal Investigation, along with our partners at the United States Secret Service, the Tampa Police Department, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, remains committed to the pursuit of identity theft and other related crimes.”

IRS-Criminal Investigation, the United States Secret Service, and the Tampa Police Department investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorneys Jennifer L. Peresie and John Cannizzaro prosecuted it.