A Tallahassee man has been sentenced to three and a half years in federal prison after filing dozens of false tax claims seeking more than $4.3 million in refunds from the Internal Revenue Service, federal prosecutors said.
Jonquaris Richardson, 27, filed 46 false claims with the IRS between September 2022 and September 2023, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida.
Prosecutors said Richardson sought refunds totaling $4,326,885 through claims for Employee Retention Credits and Sick and Family Leave Credits, pandemic-era tax benefits intended to assist businesses.
Richardson ultimately received six U.S. Treasury checks totaling $227,874 in fraudulent refunds, according to the release.
Federal authorities said Richardson claimed to employ workers through two businesses: A+ Garage Service Inc. and A+ Garage Services LLC, which purportedly provided garage door installation and servicing. Records show he submitted fraudulent quarterly employment tax returns and amended returns seeking the refunds.
The prosecution is part of the Justice Department's effort to combat fraud against federal programs; the case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigations.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Feds: Tallahassee man sentenced for phony tax refund scheme
Reporting by Staff report, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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