‘I found a flaw in your system, and I took advantage of it.’ Florida man filed 745 tax returns in 4 years, collecting $235K in bogus refunds

Most people fear filing their taxes, but not Damian Barrett, authorities say.

Over a four-year period, the Florida man filed 745 tax returns in 19 different states, according to the IRS. The payout: $ 235,000 in tax refunds that he wasn’t entitled to.

Barrett, 40, who pleaded guilty of postal fraud, identity theft and false tax filing in July, was sentenced this week to four and a half years in federal prison, where he filed 348 statements, according to the Oregon District Attorney.

“I found a bug in your system and took advantage of it,” Barrett was quoted as an insightful investigator in court documents.

A message left by Barrett’s attorney was not returned immediately.

““The execution of the fraud scheme appears to have been the daily work of the accused.””

– Federal conviction memorandum filed by the US Attorney for Oregon District

Prosecutors say Barrett operated two tax consultancy firms in Homestead, Florida – one legitimately called Max Tax Experts, LLC, and the other, Winngate Tax Services, LLC, not.

From January 2015 to December 2018, prosecutors said Barrett took personal information, including full names, social security numbers, and employer identification numbers, from customers of his legitimate company and used them to file fake statements about his second company.

Prosecutors say Barrett would direct refunds to dozens of bank accounts he controlled – 70 of which he opened on behalf of his ignorant clients.

“The nature and circumstances of the crime show that the accused’s plan was intended to succeed. It was well researched, planned and executed, ”wrote the prosecutors in a judgment memorandum. “The execution of the fraud scheme appears to have been the daily work of the accused.”

In total, Barrett has filed 745 tax returns and requested around $ 900,000 in refunds, according to prosecutors. In total, he was granted $ 235,000 in refunds before he was caught.

“Mr. Barrett used his expertise as a tax advisor to obtain false refunds at the expense of honest taxpayers across the United States. Today’s ruling is a victory for those of us who have fallen victim to sophisticated tax refund systems,” said Bret Kressin, Special Agent of the IRS Criminal Investigation.

In addition to his fraud scheme, Barrett purposely excluded $ 21,000 in income from his own tax returns in 2016 and then filed no taxes at all in 2017, prosecutors said.

Barrett was also asked to pay $ 234,000 to the tax authorities in 11 states and $ 74,000 to the IRS.