By Farai D Hove| When Gen SB Moyo on November 15th 2017 announced that the military is targeting criminals around the President as the reason for the November coup, it was not known that the nation would get to where it is right now.

A Zimbabwean convicted and imprisoned for serious fraud for nearly 6 years in the US, Campion Takura Mugweni, wants to represent President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s party. Coincidentally, this will be in Grace Mugabe’s Mazowe area.

Below is the full text from US state justice records on Mr Mugwemi:



U.S. Department of Justice

United States Attorney Richard B. Roper
Northern District of Texas

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA INQUIRIES: KATHY COLVIN

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2008
WWW.USDOJ.GOV/USAO/TXN

PHONE: (214)659-8600
FAX: (214) 767-2898

MAN SENTENCED TO 66 MONTHS IN FEDERAL PRISON FOR
CREATING AND FILING FRAUDULENT INCOME TAX RETURNS
TO APPLY FOR AND OBTAIN REFUND ANTICIPATION LOANS FROM BANKS

DALLAS — A man who pled guilty to conspiracy to defraud the government with respect to claims, Campion Takura Mugweni, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade to 66 months (five and one-half years), announced U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper of the Northern District of Texas. In addition, Judge Kinkeade ordered that Mugweni pay $1,965,637 in restitution. Mugweni, who stated in a motion for downward departure that he was a citizen of Zimbabwe, will be deported after serving his sentence.

In addition, as part of the Government’s agreement with Mugweni, he must forfeit the more than $40,000 in funds seized during an execution of a search warrant in April 2007 and funds IRS-CI seized from his bank accounts. In addition, the Government has begun legal proceedings seeking the forfeiture of Mugweni’s 2005 Hummer H2 vehicle and his 2006 Land Rover Range Rover vehicle. Mugweni has been in custody since his arrest in April 2007.

According to the factual resume filed in the case, Mugweni admitted that from October 2006 until April 2007 that he schemed with others to prepare and electronically file fraudulent income tax returns by using personal identification information without authorization, and then used those fraudulent tax returns, which showed that refunds were owed to the taxpayers, as a basis for obtaining fraudulent refund anticipation loans from banks.

“Identity theft is a serious crime with serious consequences. CI will continue to aggressively pursue those who file false tax returns with stolen identities to claim refunds to which they are not entitled,” said Michael Lahey, IRS Special Agent in Charge for the Dallas Field Office.”

An Electronic Filer Identification Number (EFIN) is needed to electronically file tax returns, and the IRS maintains records of all tax returns filed under a specific EFIN. Mugweni persuaded a person to apply for an EFIN in her name with the agreement that he would pay her for it. He ultimately paid her $11,000 for it.

1 Court documents further state that beginning in January 2007, Mugweni and his coconspirators prepared and began filing the fraudulent returns and then used the fraudulent returns as a basis for obtaining refund anticipation loans from federally insured banks, including HSBC Bank USA, N.A. and Santa Barbara Bank and Trust, a subsidiary of Pacific Capital Bank, N.A. Mugweni gave the checks to coconspirators who cashed the checks in Fort Worth. Mugweni shared in the cash proceeds and other proceeds of his scheme and admitted that he personally received at least $40,000 in cash as a result of his fraudulent scheme.

When agents with IRS-CI executed a search warrant at Mugweni’s apartment on April 10, 2007, they discovered, in a shoe box in his bedroom closet, 27 empty “stored value cards,” (debit cards), which were provided by the banks to store the proceeds of the refund application loans. He also had in his apartment credit applications for numerous persons who had not given him permission to possess their personal identification information such as their Social Security numbers.
U.S. Attorney Roper praised the investigative efforts of IRS-CI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Penley prosecuted the case.