A northeastern Kansas man faces up to 10 years in prison after admitting his role in a scheme to fraudulently collect nearly $360,000 in federal income tax refunds.

The U.S. Attorney’s office says Melvin Artis pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Kansas City, Mo. The 36-year-old Overland Park resident was one of three people charged in the scheme. The other defendants — one from Missouri, the other from Kansas — are awaiting trial.

Artis admitted recruiting people to file income tax returns under their own names with phony W-2 earnings forms and other documents created by the co-conspirators. When those people received debit cards containing refunds, Artis went with them to collect cash from the refunds on the cards.

Prosecutors say the conspirators were responsible for filing 49 fraudulent returns.