Shelton man charged with stealing government funds through altered U.S. Treasury tax refund checks

Date: Sept. 18, 2026

Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Thomas Demeo, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in New England, today announced that a federal grand jury in Bridgeport has returned an indictment charging Juaveel Wright of Shelton with five counts of theft of government property related to the depositing of altered federal tax refund checks with a combined value of more than $520,000.

The indictment was returned on Sept. 2, 2026. Wright appeared yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Dave Vatti in Bridgeport, pleaded not guilty to the charges, and was released on a $200,000 bond.

As alleged in the indictment, between February and July 2024, Wright obtained U.S. Treasury tax refund checks that were issued to other persons or organizations. Wright altered, or caused the alteration of, five tax refund checks so that he was listed as the payee with his address in Shelton. He deposited the five checks into his brokerage account and received more than $440,000 for the first four checks. The brokerage firm did not issue funds for the fifth check after determining it had been altered. Wright transferred most of the funds to two bank accounts and withdrew the money primarily as cash. He also used some funds to purchase stocks in his brokerage account.

Theft of government property carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years on each count.

U.S. Attorney Sullivan stressed that an indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. 

This matter is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Chen.

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (“Fraud Division”). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

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. It is the only federal law enforcement agency with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code. IRS-CI has 16 field offices located across the U.S. and maintains an international presence through attaché posts abroad.