PORTLAND, Maine — An Arundel man was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court to more than six years in prison for identity theft and filing a false income tax return to obtain a fraudulent refund.

Robert Andre Bouthot, 43, also was ordered to pay more than $138,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service, according to court documents.

In addition to six years and three months in prison, U.S. District Judge George Singal sentenced Bouthot to three years of supervised release after he completes his prison term.

Bouthot waived indictment and pleaded guilty in May to the two counts on which he was sentenced, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Portland.

The charges stemmed from the 2008 income tax return Bouthot filed in the name of a woman, identified in court documents as “Kimberly K,” using her social security number. The return claimed a tax refund of more than $11,000 based upon wages, tax withholdings from a local employer and a First-Time Homebuyer Credit.

Bouthot admitted Monday that he had filed 32 false income tax returns between 2004 and 2010 in the names of other people and received $138,088.50 in refunds from the IRS, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Bouthot continued his criminal activity while on bail, according to court documents. Singal revoked the defendant’s bail last month after Bouthot filed a 33rd false return.

He faced up to five years in prison for filing the false return and up to 15 years on the identity theft charge. Both crimes carried fines of up to $250,000. The judge did not impose a fine.


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