How a father and daughter ripped off the IRS for $3.4 million, according to the feds
While the common tax fraud involves not filing returns or not declaring income, federal prosecutors say a South Florida father and daughter snookered the government out of $3.4 million in tax returns by filing returns with inflated incomes.
Not inflated like a balloon. More like the Goodyear blimp — to about $175 million.
Accused of crafting this scheme are Boynton Beach resident Danielle Edmonson, a 35-year-old with a master’s degree in business from Nova Southeastern University, and 50-year-old Oakland Park resident Kenneth Edmonson, who cuts hair and delivers concrete.
According to the criminal complaint filed in Miami federal court, Danielle Edmonson filed a 2014 tax return stating she was owed a refund of $239,700. Her evidence: “a number of fraudulent handwritten forms purportedly from entities such as the U .S. Treasury and Citibank falsely indicating that D. Edmonson had paid over $300,000 in taxes.”
But, based on that, a month later the complaint said, she got a U.S. Treasury check for $239,700. She bought a $53,000 BMW and withdrew $6,000.
For the following year, the complaint said, Edmonson filed a 2015 tax return that claimed she paid $141 million and was owed $80,112,167. This and the handwritten notes accompanying the return were rejected by the government. But the next year, filing the 2016 tax return in September 2017, she found the sweet spot again, asking for $2,405,073 in a refund and getting $2,405,193.
Meanwhile, the complaint said, Kenneth Edmonson joined the act. Despite the lack of paperwork, Edmonson requested and got a share of $734,266.27
The request for a $9,572,279 refund last year didn’t bear fraudulent financial fruit, the complaint said. But when the feds hit Danielle Edmonson’s house, they found:
▪ A honey-covered wish list with a “refund check in the amount of $80,112,167’‘ and a “refund check in the amount of $2,405,193.”
▪ A folder of IRS correspondence notifying D. Edmonson of penalties for filing frivolous and fraudulent tax returns.
▪ A letter from the Treasury Department dated June 9, 2017, relating to her tax refund claims stating: “These documents are worthless. Your demand has no legal validity and is not payable through any federal agency. Your scheme appears to be akin to a fraud.”
This story was originally published April 4, 2019 at 6:20 AM.
