Unemployed Man Files for $1.5M Tax Refund (and gets it...at least for awhile)

Yahoo! News / AP ^ | 4.16.03

[mhking]

Unemployed Man Files for $1.5M Tax Refund

Wed Apr 16, 6:35 AM ET

By TOM HAYS, Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK - An unemployed man masquerading as a millionaire filed an income tax return claiming he was owed a refund of more than $1.5 million, authorities said.

Turns out he almost got it, they said.

Benjamin Harris, 47, of Brooklyn, was arrested and arraigned on charges of filing a false claim last year with the Internal Revenue Service (news - web sites). After pleading innocent, Harris was released on $10,000 bond.

Defense attorney Heidi Cesare told a judge her client had made a career out of working temporary jobs, had no criminal record and had volunteered to meet with IRS investigators on tax deadline day. He soon found himself in handcuffs.

"Ironically, they scheduled (the meeting) for today, of all days," she said Tuesday.

The IRS denied the timing was calculated.

Prosecutors allege a 2001 return filed by Harris included a doctored W-2 form showing he made nearly $9 million that year as an attorney for an employment agency, Temporary Time Capitol Corp. He claimed he paid $3,196,431 in taxes and was owed $1,580,065, court papers said.

Harris allegedly checked a box requesting the refund be directly deposited into his checking account at a Manhattan branch of HSBC, which was done. When he sought to withdraw money from an automatic teller machine, his bank notified him of a hold on an account that normally had an average balance of $2,000.

The defendant faxed the bank a copy of the altered W-2 form "to prove the deposit was legitimate," court papers said. But the bank still refused to release the money.

Instead, the bank alerted the IRS to "the unusually large deposit, which led to a federal investigation," the papers said.

An IRS spokesman, Joseph Foy, credited the bank with being "perceptive enough to freeze the funds and notify us."

The investigation found that Harris, who could face up to five years in prison if convicted, had worked for Temporary Time in 2000, when his reported income was $1,061.

[mhking]

"Hold muh beer 'n watch this!" PING....

If you want on or off this list, please let me know!

[PAR35]

Under the "Know Your Customer" laws, the banks have to track and report 'unusual transactions'.

[Alberta's Child]

There's was an interesting article about this somewhere yesterday. Apparently the IRS doesn't even get involved in these transaction until weeks later -- the deposits and payments are handled by contract through a private bank.

[Welsh Rabbit]

What an idiot. He didn't think the IRS was going to seriously look into a $1.5 million refund?

[A CA Guy]

True, and the crooks are very entreprenurial risk takers.

[patriot5186]

What?!? They actually deposited the money in his account! If it wasn't for alert bank employees that guy could have stayed unemployed the rest of his life.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Instead, the bank alerted the IRS to "the unusually large deposit, which led to a federal investigation," the papers said.

The FBI's "Know Your Customer" program lives.

[PatrioticAmerican]

bttt

[TexRef]

Come on... I am against the "Know your customer" program as much as anyone, but it's pretty reasonable that a $1,500,000 deposit in an account that probably didn't have more than a few thousand would trigger some sort of alert to the bank.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

I have millions of dollars running through my accounts all the time. :^)

[Publicus]

You would be shocked to learn how many millions have been "missed" by feds AND bank reps.

We are going from land of the free to land of the thieves.

[Publicus]

Why not? They didn't notice the TENS OF MILLIONS they gave to Enron and Enron never actually paid one penny in taxes.

[Fraulein]

Only the IRS is allowed to cheat, lie, and steal.

[Publicus]

NO it does NOT.

In Ithaca, NY the accounts a man bequeathed to his wife of 30 years were looted by some creep with a similar last name. The local Ithaca reps just "went along" and now, the poor woman can't even refinance her mortgage or even file an accurate tax return because no one is giving her any straight answers! They are REALLY gross over there and it would be great if FREEPERS let their local US Attorney's office know about this with request for investigation.

[SendShaqtoIraq]

$10,000 or more. so if ya ever find some bank robbery or drug money remember to not deposit more than 9,999.99 :)

[Welsh Rabbit]

There's a huge difference in looking at the taxes of a multi-billion dollar corporation and an unemployed induvidual. Mind you, I'm not defending Enron or the IRS, and I realize it wasn't the IRS that actually caught the guy (the IRS shrewdly enacted the "Know Your Costumer" law as their first line of defense), I'm just saying the guy was stupid for even trying such a scheme; $1.5M is always going to be missed.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

"Know Your Customer" has nothing to do with protecting bank clients. It's sole purpose is to make the government privy to your financial status.