New York man sentenced for identity theft

Date: September 8, 2025

Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov

Wheeling, WV — Bolarinwa Salau of Rockaway Beach, New York, was sentenced today to 24 months in federal prison for identity theft.

According to the court documents and statements made in court, during a traffic stop of Salau’s vehicle, West Virginia State Police found identification documents for other people which were being used in connection with a stolen identity refund fraud scheme, often referred to as “SIRF.” This type of fraud involves the use of stolen personal information, including social security numbers, used to file tax returns for purposes of obtaining fraudulent refunds. Salau attempted to file fraudulent tax returns that would have yielded nearly $1 million in refunds.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jarod Douglas prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, and the West Virginia State Police, with assistance from the Ohio County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey presided.

IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a 90% federal conviction rate. The agency has 19 field offices located across the U.S. and 14 attaché posts abroad.