By Brian Mahany
Every year at election time someone jokes about “voting early and often.” Those jokes often refer to Chicago politicians and stories of dead people voting two or three times. For this story we head west to California where two men have bee indicted for filing 250 refund returns, all fraudulent and all for people who were dead. The pair sought refunds in excess of $2,000,000.
The IRS caught most of the phony returns but acknowledged some refunds were paid.
The duo, Haroon Amin and Ather Ali, searched the Internet for the names and social security numbers of dead people. They then created false W-2 showing withholding. Then, using addresses controlled by them, sought to have the refunds mailed to Pakistan and Armenia.
The IRS does not disclose how their fraud detection software flags questionable returns but it worked. According to the Service, most of the bogus refunds were caught before being paid. The system obviously worked as Amin and Ali were arrested.
I wonder if suddenly receiving 250 returns from dead Americans all with the same address in Pakistan may have raised a red flag?
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Lawyers Brian Mahany & Christopher Ertl help people recover their money from fraudsters and help victims of identity theft. We also help people who have problems with the IRS from going to jail or losing their homes. MahanyLaw has offices across the United States including Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Portland, Maine and California.
MahanyLaw – We are America’s asset recovery lawyers and so much more. For questions about taxes, white-collar crime, asset protection, fraud recovery, identity theft and fiduciary malpractice, call us at (414) 704-6731. There is never any obligation. The number you call is the direct dial number of Attorney Brian Mahany. You will not be forwarded to a paralegal or junior lawyer.
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