Three men have been charged with crimes related to a tax refund fraud scheme that allegedly helped them steal millions of dollars from the Internal Revenue Service.
A federal grand jury indictment was unsealed last week in Orlando charging Christopher Johnson, Jasen Harvey, and Arthur Grimes of a series of crimes related to preparing fraudulent tax documents. Johnson and Grimes are from Orlando, while Harvey is from Tampa.
According to the indictment, Johnson and Harvey allegedly promoted a scheme in which Harvey and other tax preparers falsely reported large amounts of income tax withholdings to the IRS. The fake returns resulted in tax refunds to which the clients were not otherwise entitled.
Johnson and Harvey allegedly charged each client a fee per return, and Johnson did not report his portion of those fees on his personal tax returns, according to the indictment.
In January 2020, a federal judge issued an order enjoining Harvey from preparing tax returns for others. Despite the court’s injunction, Harvey allegedly continued to prepare and file returns from 2020 to 2021.
Grimes is accused of participating in the scheme by enabling Harvey to file at least four false income tax returns. When the IRS attempted to recover a refund that was issued to Grimes based on a false income return, Grimes allegedly made false statements to an IRS revenue officer and submitted false documents before transferring funds to a nominee bank account. He is accused of otherwise obstructing the IRS’s collection efforts, according to the indictment.
All three men are charged with aiding in the preparation of false tax returns, which carries a maximum statutory penalty of three years in prison. The men all face additional, individual charges. Johnson and Harvey are charged with conspiring to defraud the U.S., which carries a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison. Grimes is charged with corruptly endeavoring to obstruct the due administration of the internal revenue laws, which carries a maximum statutory penalty of three years.
The IRS criminal Investigation unit is investigating the case. Trial attorneys Melissa Siskind, Jeffrey McLellan and Caroline Pearson of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Hu for the Middle District of Florida are prosecuting the case.