During tax season and the months after, one of the IRS’s main concerns becomes addressing fraud. One of the most recent cases of fraud against the IRS involves a 54-year-old woman from Wisconsin, who was caught trying to claim $13 million from fraudulent filing. Although the woman wasn’t able to steal all of this money, she made away with a good quantity and now prosecutors are seeking restitution.
Overview
Janeen Rodgers of Milwaukee has been charged with wire fraud, engaging in an unlawful monetary transaction, and filing false claims. She is set to appear in front of a federal court on the 25th of May. She was discovered when she filed a pair of refunds that sought a total of 13 million dollars. Rodgers managed to get a $3.25 million check written out to her from the IRS.
The two returns that were filed by Rodgers were for separate entities, but only one of these entities was identified by the IRS. On top of this, she also falsified the amount of income and the amount of taxes withheld from the identified entity. This ultimately caused her to receive business tax refunds that she was not entitled to because they were under false pretenses. Rodgers was then able to transfer the business refunds to her personal bank account.
To go along with the other charges listed above, Rodgers also caused a $33,000 check to be withdrawn from a trust account that did not belong to her to purchase a new vehicle.
Wrap Up
The IRS will seek forfeiture of any of Rodger’s assets that she may have acquired through her various schemes. As the IRS and other government agencies continue to crack down on fraud, getting the correct tax information to the IRS is becoming more important than ever before. Talk with your accountant and advisor to make sure they have all the necessary information to accurately provide to the IRS.