Brockton Woman Pleads Guilty to Theft of Government Funds in Connection With Stolen $931,000 Tax Refund Check

BOSTON - A Brockton woman pleaded guilty on June 11, 2026 in federal court in Boston to stealing a nearly $1 million United States Treasury tax refund check.

Lana Ruel, 70, pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government funds. U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs scheduled sentencing for Oct. 1, 2026. In December 2025, Ruel was arrested and charged.

Ruel attempted to deposit a United States Treasury tax refund check issued to a healthcare company in Brooklyn, New York. Prior to the attempted deposit, Ruel incorporated a company in Massachusetts and opened a bank account in the same name of the healthcare company that was the payee on the tax refund check. After the attempted deposit, the bank froze Ruel's account. Ruel then called the bank and said that she could "explain what the check was, where it came from, and what it's for…"

Over a period of two years, Ruel created four additional companies in Massachusetts that did not have a legitimate business purpose. For one of those companies, Ruel opened an account at approximately 10 different banks. Ruel also received wire transfers in some of the accounts and then wired the funds to different accounts or made cash withdrawals. The banks have closed all these accounts.

The charge of theft of government funds provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Thomas Demeo, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office; and Nicholas Bucciarelli, Acting Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service's Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Saltzman of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.

On April 7, 2026, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. The Fraud Division is 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.