Philly Police Officer, Brother Accused Of Tax Fraud - Fox 2 News Headlines

Philadelphia police officer Jose Tirado was arrested Friday on an accusation of tax fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Tirado and his brother, Victor Tirado, are charged with taking the names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers of several adults and children between January 2008 and March 2010.

Prosecutors say that with that information, the brothers prepared false, federal individual income tax returns and fraudulently received tax refunds, including earned income tax credits. On some forms, they claimed false dependents.

A total of $507,974 in false claims was submitted, prosecutors said.

They allegedly filed the false returns using a computer program and had the refund money sent to two different Bank of America accounts.

Both brothers are charged with conspiracy to defraud the government. Jose Tirado is additionally charged with 14 counts of false claims. His brother is charged with three counts of false claims, a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

If Jose Tirado is found guilty on all counts, he faces a maximum 80 years in prison and will have to repay over $400,000 to the government, prosecutors said. Victor Tirado could face a maximum 25 years in prison and will have to repay the same amount as his brother.