Four from northeast Ohio sentenced for stealing identities of dead people to get tax refunds

CLEVELAND - Five people, including four from northeast Ohio, will now spend time in prison after they pleaded guilty to using the identities of dead people to get tax refunds.

The U.S. Department of Justice said they each played a role in a scheme to defraud the country of $1.7 million between 2009 and August 2011. They were ordered to play $177,744 in restitution to the IRS.

"The theft of anyone's identity is a serious offense, but stealing the identities of the recently departed to defraud all the other taxpayers is particularly egregious," said Steven M. Dettelbach, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, in a news release on Friday. "These sentences should cause anyone who would engage in this conduct to reconsider."

Court documents said they would file false tax returns and send the refunds to Florida. Co-conspirators in Ohio also sold U.S. Treasury checks to businesses and banks.

Each of the five defendants entered guilty pleas on March 13.

- Muuad Salem, 33, of Akron, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to commit mail fraud, and one count of mail fraud. Salem was sentenced to more than two years in prison.

- Fahim Suleiman, 46, of Lutz, Florida, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to commit mail fraud, three counts of mail fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft. Suleiman was sentenced to more than fire years in prison.

- Najeh Widdi, 45, of Cleveland, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to commit mail fraud, and one count of mail fraud. Widdi was sentenced to three years in prison.

- Hazem Woodi, 31, of North Olmsted, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to commit mail fraud, and one count of mail fraud. Woodi was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

- Hanan Widdi, 38, of Cleveland, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Widdi was sentenced to 21 months in prison.