rockin'robin
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Jail: Inmates Scam IRS For $100,000
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Police said nearly 20 inmates locked up in the Duval County jail have been collecting thousands of dollars in tax refunds by filing false tax returns and having the IRS checks deposited into their jail accounts, Channel 4 has learned.
About $100,000 in falsified refunds are involved, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
"We began noticing there was an increase in the amount of tax returns being filed and the checks coming into our agency," said Chief Tara Wildes, who is in charge of corrections for the Sheriff's Office.
Checks ranging from $1,000 and $5,000 were coming in after the inmates filed out tax returns using fake W-2 forms from companies that had either gone out of business or never existed, according to the jail. The Internal Revenue Service would issue a refund that could be send to the jail and deposited into the inmates' account.
The number and frequency of the IRS checks arriving made jail officials suspicious.
"Say you would have an inmate that was incarcerated for two years awaiting trial. You know he has not worked in the previous year, and all of the sudden he gets a refund. That would be ridiculous," Wildes said.
Video: Inmates Run IRS Scam From Behind Bars
This scam is not limited to Duval County. The same thing has happened in south Florida, where jail officials said they found tax forms, stolen Social Security numbers and cheat sheets for filling out returns. A prosecutor there said have recorded telephone conversations from inmates talking about the scam, one saying he's done with street crime "because Uncle Sam is taking good care of him."
Wildes said she was not surprised the inmates were scamming the system while behind bars.
"They are inmates and that is what they do, they commit crimes," she said.
Jail: Inmates Scam IRS For $100,000 - Jacksonville News Story - WJXT Jacksonville
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Police said nearly 20 inmates locked up in the Duval County jail have been collecting thousands of dollars in tax refunds by filing false tax returns and having the IRS checks deposited into their jail accounts, Channel 4 has learned.
About $100,000 in falsified refunds are involved, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
"We began noticing there was an increase in the amount of tax returns being filed and the checks coming into our agency," said Chief Tara Wildes, who is in charge of corrections for the Sheriff's Office.
Checks ranging from $1,000 and $5,000 were coming in after the inmates filed out tax returns using fake W-2 forms from companies that had either gone out of business or never existed, according to the jail. The Internal Revenue Service would issue a refund that could be send to the jail and deposited into the inmates' account.
The number and frequency of the IRS checks arriving made jail officials suspicious.
"Say you would have an inmate that was incarcerated for two years awaiting trial. You know he has not worked in the previous year, and all of the sudden he gets a refund. That would be ridiculous," Wildes said.
Video: Inmates Run IRS Scam From Behind Bars
This scam is not limited to Duval County. The same thing has happened in south Florida, where jail officials said they found tax forms, stolen Social Security numbers and cheat sheets for filling out returns. A prosecutor there said have recorded telephone conversations from inmates talking about the scam, one saying he's done with street crime "because Uncle Sam is taking good care of him."
Wildes said she was not surprised the inmates were scamming the system while behind bars.
"They are inmates and that is what they do, they commit crimes," she said.
Jail: Inmates Scam IRS For $100,000 - Jacksonville News Story - WJXT Jacksonville
