SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA / A news summary : The Local Review / DEVELOPMENTS IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY : Sherman Oaks Man Given 5 Years for Tax Fraud

A federal judge sentenced a Sherman Oaks man to the maximum of nearly five years in federal prison Tuesday, bringing one of the largest false income tax refund cases ever uncovered closer to conclusion, authorities said.

Barry Nnanna, 38, was convicted in June of five counts of filing false claims, bank fraud and two counts of cashing stolen U.S. Treasury checks for his role in a scheme that sought to get $5 million in refund checks through false tax returns.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Manuel A. Abascal said Nnanna and several accomplices filed the false returns on behalf of children and homeless people.

Some returns also were filed under fictitious names.

Prosecutors said Nnanna filed returns without the consent of the taxpayers whose identities were used.

More than $500,000 in refund checks were issued, even though the IRS identified the returns as fraudulent. In sentencing Nnanna, U.S. District Court Judge George H. King found the defendant cashed more than $200,000 in fraudulently obtained checks.

He also cashed more than $100,000 in stolen and forged Treasury checks and numerous returns that sought more than $100,000 in refunds.

In addition to prison time, U.S. District Judge George H. King ordered Nnanna to pay $335,764 in restitution.

Last week, King sentenced co-defendants Samuel Aragbaye, 47, of Riverside to six years, six months in prison; his wife Olabisi Aragbaye, 40, to two years; and Gabriel Popoola, 47 ,of Hawthorne to 18 months.

Prosecutors said cases against two other defendants are still pending, including Dele Babalola Akanmu, 44, of Los Angeles who already pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced later this year.

In the other case, Granada Hills resident Julius Alli , 40, is scheduled to be tried Jan. 4 for allegedly obtaining names and Social Security numbers of children and adults through his wife, who worked for the Los Angeles County Department of Children and family Services.