Houston woman convicted of IRS refund fraud

HOUSTON (KIAH) – A Houston woman will now spend time in prison for allegedly committing bank fraud. Whitley Rachelle Carter, 33, pleaded guilty to cashing stolen tax checks. Law enforcement discovered in January 2022 that a Houston couple had not received their $2 million refund check from the IRS.

Further investigation revealed that Carter and his conspirators, Kuljinder Singh Hunjan and Benjamin Thomas, used false identification to open accounts at Regions Bank.

“Carter brazenly broke into banks with false identification and stolen checks on multiple occasions – one for $2.9 million. Thanks to the efforts of law enforcement, Carter won’t be near a bank (or a check) for years.”

U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani

Bank surveillance footage helped identify the two suspects, with Hunjan’s fingerprints found on the fake check. CashApp transactions later helped investigators connect Carter to the crime. Thomas was arrested in April 2022 while driving a stolen vehicle. Two fake debit cards and an ATM receipt with an $800 withdrawal from Regions Bank were found in his possession. Thomas’ cell phone records also showed that he contacted Hunjan several times during this investigation.

Thomas and Hunjan both pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud in 2023. Hunjan was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison while Thomas received a 7 1/2 year sentence from prison. Carter will serve 2 1/2 years in prison with the possibility of parole. She is ordered to pay more than $4 million in restitution.