Cuban man pleads not guilty to US hospital ID theft charges
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A Cuban national has pleaded not guilty to charges he conspired to file 900 phony federal tax returns seeking $2.2 million in refunds by using employee information stolen from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
Yoandy Perez Llanes (YAWN'-es) was indicted last summer but was extradited only last week from Venezuela. His attorney has agreed with prosecutors that the 32-year-old will remain jailed until trial.
Llanes and others are accused of taking phony tax refunds as Amazon.com credits, a service that Turbo Tax offers customers. Authorities say the credits were used to buy consumer electronics later sold online or kept by the conspirators.
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Llanes was arraigned Friday in federal court in Pittsburgh.
His public defender has a blanket no-comment policy.