Man Indicted for Posing as IRS Agent to Get Money

A federal grand jury this week indicted a Los Angeles man for fraud and impersonation of an Internal Revenue Service agent after he allegedly posed as a tax collector who notified people that they had won a sweepstakes contest and were required to pay an income tax to collect valuable prizes.

John Kevin Zachary, 32, allegedly called victims across the country, telling them they should send about $500 each via Western Union in order to collect their “prizes,” which often included a Mercedes Benz, federal prosecutors said. The victims were given the name of a fictitious IRS agent to whom the payments should be sent, prosecutors said.

About 37 victims have been identified. More than $10,000 has been sent since May, 1990, prosecutors said. Zachary, also known as Dominique Xavier and Xavier Donald, was arrested June 5 by IRS agents, who trailed Zachary after a tip from a suspicious “winner.”