Today, Klobuchar took to the Senate floor to press for passage of her legislation to crack down on tax identity thieves and protect victims; legislation passed the Judiciary Committee unanimously in February, but is still awaiting a vote in the full Senate

Criminals are increasingly filing false tax returns using stolen identity information to rip off taxpayers – including Attorney General Eric Holder, who became a victim of tax identity theft last year; in 2012, identify thieves filed nearly 2 million false returns, almost doubling the number from 2011 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — With a key tax deadline looming and taxpayer’s money at risk, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) today called for action to pass her bipartisan legislation to combat tax identity theft. Klobuchar took to the Senate floor to press for passage of her legislation to crack down on tax identity thieves and protect victims. Klobuchar’s bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously in February, but is still awaiting a vote in the full Senate.

Criminals are increasingly filing false tax returns using stolen identity information to rip off taxpayers – including Attorney General Eric Holder, who became a victim of tax identity theft last year. In 2012, identify thieves filed nearly 2 million false returns, almost doubling the number from 2011.

“Identity thieves are becoming more and more brazen in their attempts to rip off taxpayers and steal their hard-earned money,” Klobuchar said. “From one of my constituents in Circle Pines, Minnesota to Attorney General Eric Holder, these fraudsters prey on millions of Americans every year, wreaking havoc on peoples’ lives and costing billions in the process. With this year’s tax deadline rapidly approaching, there’s no time to waste – we need to take action now and immediately pass my bipartisan legislation to crack down on identity thieves and protect peoples’ tax dollars.”

In cases of widespread fraud across the country, criminals using stolen information such as Social Security numbers have been electronically filing false tax returns before the legitimate taxpayer files in order to steal the taxpayer’s refund. The victims often experience long delays in receiving their rightful refund or never receive it at all. According to recent news reports, Attorney General Eric Holder became of a victim of tax identity theft last year when his tax return was fraudulently claimed by two men in Atlanta, Georgia.

The STOP Identity Theft Act of 2013 would direct the Department of Justice to focus its resources in areas with a high rate of tax-return identity theft and to coordinate investigations with state and local law enforcement agencies. The bill would increase the maximum jail sentence on perpetrators from 15 to 20 years and expand the definition of a victim of identity theft to allow for prosecution in cases where organizations and businesses—not just individuals—are victims of fraud. 

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