Imagine going to the mailbox and receiving an envelope from the Internal Revenue Service. When you open that envelope, inside is a check for nearly one-million dollars. That's what happened to a part-time Florida college student back in 2016.
Ramon Christopher Blanchett managed to get a $980,000 refund from the Internal Revenue Service, but had made less than $20,000 that year. Not questioning it, Ramon cashed it. He also tried filing shady returns for 2017 and 2018. Eventually, the IRS figured out the mistake - and now, Ramon has pleaded guilty to "theft of government funds" and faces up to 10 years in prison.
He'll also make $59,768 in restitution to the IRS plus pay all taxes, interest, and penalties owed for the three tax years. The judge will sentence him at a date to be determined.
- How'd he "get here?" The man kept sending fake W-2's to the IRS over that time and they kept sending him massive refund checks. Back in January, the government finally figured things out and filed a civil forfeiture action after seizing $919,421 from his account and a 2016 Lexus RC350 he had bought with part of the ill-gotten funds.
Source: TampaBay Times