A Florida convenience store owner was sentenced to 78 months in prison for charges stemming from a fraud scheme he operated with his two children out of the convenience store. The daughter purchased stolen identities which were used to file false returns claiming large refunds that were mailed to addresses owned by the store owner. He would often bring the checks to the store to endorse and then deposit into one of many accounts the trio opened for this purpose. At trial, the store owner claimed he had no idea what he was doing was fraud, and that the whole scheme, which netted over $2.7 million in two years, was under the direction and control of his children. (U.S. v. Jeanty (April 21, 2021) U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit, Case No. 6:17-cr-00140-PGB-LRH-3)
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