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Florida Man Mistakenly Received a $980,000 Tax Refund And Tried to Keep It

NoName999

NoName999

One Winged Slayer
Banned
Oct 29, 2017
5,906
The average tax refund is usually a couple of thousand dollars, but a man in Florida who earned less than $3,500 mistakenly received a check for a much higher amount: $980,000.

How?

He filed his taxes.

The man, 29-year-old Ramon C. Blanchett, filed a 2016 income tax return in February 2017 that included a W-2 from Bridges Nursing and Rehabilitation in Tampa, Fla., showing $17,098 in wages and $1 million of federal income tax withholding, according to a forfeiture complaint filed last month by the United States government in federal court in Tampa, Fla.

But Mr. Blanchett was actually paid $2,098 and no tax was withheld, according to the complaint, which was first reported by The Tampa Bay Times.

Mr. Blanchett submitted a 1040 form that also said $1 million in taxes had been withheld, and that led the Internal Revenue Service to issue a refund for $980,000, according to the complaint.

And he kept the money, the complaint said — until the I.R.S. found out about the error.

The complaint did not mention how the W2 came to include incorrect information. Representatives for Bridges Nursing and Rehabilitation did not respond to a request for comment this week.

Mr. Blanchett also submitted another W2, which was accurate, showing $1,399 in income from Sizzling Platter, a restaurant in Murray, Utah, and no withholding, the complaint said.
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Remember to do your taxes, the IRS might fuck up and give you almost a million dollars.
 
CitizenVectron

CitizenVectron

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,407
So if it takes them a while to figure out, do you get to keep the interest accrued if you put the amount in a high-interest savings account?
 
PSqueak

PSqueak

Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,464
What's the legality on errors like this?

Him keeping the money is concidered a legit crime?
 
Fiction

Fiction

Fanthropologist
Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,776
Elf Tower, New Mexico
Hey, with all the billion dollar corporations getting refunds or paying nothing this year, I'd of kept it in protest lol

I'd get fucked, but it'd be a very visible protest
 
ElectricBlanketFire

ElectricBlanketFire

What year is this?
Member
Oct 25, 2017
31,857
A charity we donate to sent us a form incorrectly saying we had donated thousands of dollars. Even after I tried contacting them saying there's no way we donated that much, they insisted we had.

I just put in the correct amount. It's nothing to mess around with.
 
Volimar

Volimar

volunteer forum janitor
Member
Oct 25, 2017
38,515
"He then put the money into an account at Grow Financial, telling the bank that the money came from the estate of his deceased father, the documents said. "


Probably shouldn't have done that.
 
RowdyReverb

RowdyReverb

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,934
Austin, TX
PSqueak said:
What's the legality on errors like this?

Him keeping the money is concidered a legit crime?
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I would imagine you'd have a duty to check that everything that you're submitting to the IRS is accurate. I remember signing some document saying as much when I filed recently. His filing that he had $1 million withheld is pretty blatantly false, so the responsibility rests with him.
The IRS's fuck up was sending the check before verifying
 
Olaf

Olaf

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
2,419
Should have bought bitcoin or something and lie that he had programmed a script that automatically buys bitcoin with any money he gets on his accounts, and then tell he forgot the password for the wallet. Genius.
 
konka

konka

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,856
borghe said:
I am guessing no. Like I want to say yes... but you know there is some law there to fuck you over.
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You fucked yourself over when you kept it.

Should have bought bitcoin or something and lie that he had programmed a script that automatically buys bitcoin with any money he gets on his accounts, and then tell he forgot the password for the wallet. Genius.
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IRS: Good for you. Return it or you're fucked.
 
PSqueak

PSqueak

Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,464
RowdyReverb said:
I would imagine you'd have a duty to check that everything that you're submitting to the IRS is accurate. I remember signing some document saying as much when I filed recently. His filing that he had $1 million withheld is pretty blatantly false, so the responsibility rests with him.
The IRS's fuck up was sending the check before verifying
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Ah, i somehow missed this detail. Thanks.
 
SliceSabre

SliceSabre

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,556
Unlike most 'florida man' stories I understand why he did what he did. I don't approve, but I understand.
 
Skiptastic

Skiptastic

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
3,699
Volimar said:
"He then put the money into an account at Grow Financial, telling the bank that the money came from the estate of his deceased father, the documents said. "

Probably shouldn't have done that.
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Yeah, that's where he's going to get into trouble. Don't lie about stuff like that. Just tell the truth.
 
Inugami

Inugami

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,995
His mistake was keeping the money (and himself) in the country. Should have taken it and fled.


No I'm not being serious.
 
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