I’m undecided as to which is the more egregious crime: using Turbo Tax to file a false state tax return claiming a $2,100,000 refund, or upon receiving the ill-gotten bonanza, dreaming up nothing better to spend the money on than a used Dodge Caravan.
Such are the accusations surrounding Krystle Reyes, an Oregonian who used the popular tax preparation software to file a false 2011 Oregon return claiming $3,000,000 in income and the aforementioned $2,100,000 refund.
Turbo Tax issued Reyes the refund in the form of a prepaid debit card, a practice that is apparently standard for Turbo Tax, and one that is absolutely news to me. Reyes then used the debit card to indulge in life’s finer things, including a $2,000 caravan, $800 in wheels and tires, and Season 4 of Roseanne.* Reyes was only caught when she reported the card missing, triggering further investigation.
Naturally, this whole ordeal is a bit embarrassing to Oregon officials, particularly since the size of Reyes’ refund triggered numerous levels of review, each of which incredulously concluded that the claim was genuine.
*last thing may not be real
I can’t help but laugh at this situation. She surprisingly didn’t spend it all in a heart-beat …. new home, new yacht…. new clothes…etc. However, how wasn’t her employment verified through TurboTax or the IRS?
[...] other news, Joe Kristan at Roth & Company has an update on the Oregon woman who filed a false tax return claiming a $5.1M tax refund, received it on a prepaid debit card from Turbo Tax, and went on a bit of a spending spree. Spoiler [...]