Pro tip: Don't impersonate Eric Holder when filing your tax return

Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Pro tip: Don't impersonate Eric Holder when filing your tax return
(Image credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

If you want to become the nation's top law enforcement official, you'll need to study hard, get a law degree, toil away for decades in civil service, and then hope the president is a big fan of your work. Or, failing that, you could totally fake it.

Two Georgia men apparently went the latter route, filing a tax return using Attorney General Eric Holder's name, birthday, and Social Security number in hopes of snagging his refund. Holder was just one of their attempted targets. From November 2012 through April 2013, the men tried to pull the same trick on more than 10 individuals, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle.

One of the men, Yafait Tadesse, pleaded guilty and was sentenced Wednesday to one year and one day in prison. The other defendant, Eyaso Abebe, pleaded guilty as well and will be sentenced in August.

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According to The Wall Street Journal, the fraudulent tax refund in Holder's name was not paid out.

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Jon Terbush

Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.