Jul. 17—ATHENS — A Georgia man has been sentenced to 230 months in prison for charges related to his filing of dozens of fraudulent tax returns on behalf of multiple sham trusts.
Marquet Mattox of Lilburn was convicted by a federal jury on Aug. 18, 2021, of wire fraud, false claims and theft of government funds. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, from 2016 to 2018 Mattox filed more than 30 fraudulent federal income tax returns with the IRS in the names of approximately 12 different trusts. On those returns, Mattox falsely reported that the trusts had withheld large amounts of taxes on purported interest income, thereby entitling the trusts to refunds.
In total, Mattox claimed approximately $165 million in refunds on behalf of the purported trusts. The IRS paid $5 million of the requested refunds. Mattox used those funds to purchase a new house, a luxury automobile and other personal expenses.
"It's an injustice to all those who rightfully pay their taxes when an individual criminally takes advantage of the system, in this case defrauding taxpayers of millions of dollars," U.S Attorney Peter D. Leary said in a news release. "Our office and our law enforcement partners will do whatever it takes to hold fraudsters accountable for their crimes."
"Marquet Mattox secured $5 million in fraudulent refunds by inundating the IRS with dozens of false returns on behalf of phony trusts he owned and controlled," acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart...
The Alberta government under Premier Danielle Smith has banned gender-affirming health care for youth in the province. Hear Rachel Gilmore and More: A Tyee Event on Battling Online Lies The Tyee ...