OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
1:39 PM – Friday, October 4, 2024
According to a report, over 200 taxpayers who chose to have their IRS refunds mailed to their residence claim that their checks never came and were purportedly stolen as part of a large-scale fraud incident that snatched millions of dollars.
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The Wall Street Journal reported more than 200 taxpayers who were anticipating refund payments in the range of a few hundred to a half a million dollars have protested to Representative Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), alleging that they were victims of theft.
Malliotakis represents Staten Island, and she explained that the 218 complaints (so far) that her office has fielded include checks totaling $3.8 million.
Before obtaining a refund check, one of her constituents had to submit their request to the IRS four times.
“People are getting these checks reissued, and the reissued checks are stolen,” Malliotakis told reporters.
The Wall Street Journal was also informed in February by Atlanta-based spine surgeon Bennett Grimm that he anticipated receiving a refund check from his 2021 revised tax return in two to three weeks. Grimm stated that following the sale of his medical practice, he was anticipating a check for $96,000 that the IRS owed him. However, the check had still not arrived by May. The outlet reported that when his account requested another brand-new check, it was stolen and fraudulently deposited. He has yet to receive his third refund check, but Grimm says that he is hoping the situation will be a “third time’s a charm” sort of ordeal, and that he’ll soon receive it in the mail.
Over 90% of taxpayers opt for direct deposit of their tax returns, which necessitates providing the IRS with their bank account details. However, an estimated 10 million filers choose to acquire paper checks, which puts them at risk of being stolen now in relation to the surfacing reports of fraud.
In the event that paper checks are misplaced or stolen, recipients are not able to convert to direct deposit for that tax year, according to the New York Post.
“We strongly urge direct deposit,” stated IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel. “It’s the fastest and safest way for us to get taxpayers their refunds.”
It is advised that taxpayers who have lost or stolen their refund checks complete an IRS taxpayer statement form and send it by mail or fax to the IRS office where the return was filed. The Treasury Department’s Bureau of Fiscal Service will issue a fresh check as soon as it determines that the claim is valid. Although it sometimes takes less than 30 days, the process can take up to four months.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network also previously alerted the public to a nationwide increase in check fraud tied to theft last year.
Two New Yorkers were sentenced to federal prison in February after stealing a $2.9 million IRS refund check intended for a couple in Houston, Texas.
Additionally, a Los Angeles resident who used Instagram to ask bank account holders to deposit stolen checks, totaling at least $2.7 million, was given a sentence of more than seven years in prison back in August.
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