According to the Federal Trade Commission, Florida had the highest rate of identity theft in the United states in 2013: 192.9 complaints per 100,000 residents However, the FTC termed Miami's rate as reaching "near epidemic proportions" at 340.4 complaints per 100,000 residents. The indictments involving 25 accused range as far back as September and as recently as last week.

The indictments resulted from the work of the South Florida Identity Theft Tax Fraud Strike Force, which was established in August 2012 by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern Deistrict of Florida.

The most recent action was a one-count information charging that Freddie Howard, 56, of Davie, used stolen identifies to claim $22 million in fraudulent refunds. About $4.5 million was paid by the Internal Revenue Service. Howard, who operated Quality Tax Service (QTS1) in Broward County. Howard utilized both stolen IDs and IDs of willing participants to seek refunds that ranged from $60,000 to $1.4 million per return.

Howard was accused of concealing his identify by mailing the returns to the IRS and not including preparer information. He also blocked out tax preparer software information, and used others to contact the IRS to inquire about the status of these returns. Howard was charged with access device fraud and identity theft

Last month, another paid preparer, Stevens Nore, 35, of Port St. Lucie, was indicted on twenty-one counts of preparing false tax returns, two counts of filing false tax returns, three counts of theft of public money, and two counts of aggravated identity theft.

Nore owned and operated Fraternity Tax and Services, a tax preparation business located in Fort Pierce from June 11, 2009 through April 2012. The indictment charges he claimed false deductions and tax credits for clients for tax years 2009 and 2011. He was also accused of reporting pony amounts of gross receipts and sales in 2010 and 2011 and used the identity of two individuals without their permission to obtain $26,349.30 in refunds for himself.

A Port St. Lucie preparer, Rony Maurical, 38, faces forty-four counts of preparing false tax returns, two counts of filing false tax returns, three counts of theft of public money, and three counts of aggravated identity theft.

The indictment says Maurival's RJ's Tax & Services, located in Fort Pierce, operated from July 3, 2008 through March 23, 2012. During that time, Maurival used bogus deductions and credits to get refunds for clients for tax years 2008 through 2011. He also improperly claimed Head of Household and filed bogus gross receipts and sales income in 2009 and 2010. The indictments allege he stole three refunds, totaling $3,292, through the theft of the identities of three individuals.