Roderick Dewayne Neal, 49, pleaded guilty to felony charges of aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to make false claims in federal court in Montgomery on Thursday afternoon. The former bail bondsman at A-Advantage Bonding now faces a mandatory sentence of two years in prison for the aggravated identity theft charge and a maximum sentence of 10 years for the conspiracy charge.
Neal and two women, Ivory Minnette Bolen and Nina McKinnie Macena, have been charged with conspiring to defraud the government by filing false federal income tax returns in the names of third parties without their knowledge or consent. The scheme is believed to have lasted from January 2012 to December 2013 and caused the IRS to pay out $209,243 through the false tax returns.
According to the indictment, Neal obtained identification information of the victims and provided it to Macena, who then gave it to Bolen. Bolen used the stolen personal information to prepare and file the federal income tax returns. She then had the refunds deposited into the accounts for pre-paid debit cards and had them mailed to addresses linked to herself and Macena.
The charges against Macena remain pending and she ix expected to appear for trial at the federal courthouse in Dothan next week. Bolen has already pleaded guilty using stolen identities to electronically file false federal income tax returns and will now serve a 42 month prison sentence.
Neal has been released on bail and a sentencing hearing will be scheduled within the next 60 to 70 days.
