Texas Family Sentenced to Prison for $8.5 Million IRS Tax Refund Fraud Scheme

Brandon Hunt, the final defendant in a multimillion-pound tax fraud case, was sentenced to 90 months in prison. Four family members collectively defrauded the IRS of over $1.7 million.

Texas Family Sentenced in $8.5 Million IRS Tax Refund Fraud

The Department of Justice reports that Brandon Hunt, of Arlington, Texas, was sentenced to 90 months in federal prison on 28 May, becoming the last of four family members convicted of orchestrating a multimillion-pound tax refund fraud scheme.

Brandon Hunt's father, David Hunt, received 92 months; his half-brother Corey Burt, formerly of Long Beach, Mississippi, received 94 months; and his twin brother Baylon Hunt received 38 months. All four were convicted at trial of conspiracy to defraud the United States.

According to evidence presented at trial, the defendants filed false claims for tax refunds in the names of trusts they controlled. In total, the group sought more than $8.5 million in refunds the trusts were not entitled to receive. Brandon Hunt additionally filed multiple fraudulent returns in his own name.

To support the scheme, the family submitted falsified financial instruments and altered money orders to the IRS. The filings continued even after the IRS issued warning letters directing them to stop.

As a result, the co-conspirators collected over $1.7 million in fraudulent proceeds, which they used to purchase luxury goods, furniture, cryptocurrency, a Cadillac Escalade, and a house in Mississippi.

Brandon Hunt, David Hunt, and Corey Burt were each convicted on multiple counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, in addition to the conspiracy charge. Baylon Hunt was acquitted of two such counts.

Brandon Hunt was also ordered to pay $1,774,864 in restitution to the United States.

The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation. The U.S. Marshals Service assisted in apprehending Brandon, Baylon, and David Hunt after they failed to appear for the second day of trial.

The prosecution was handled by Trial Attorneys Melissa Siskind and Daniel Lipkowitz of the Criminal Division's Tax Section, along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark McDonald of the Northern District of Texas. Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald of the Justice Department's National Fraud Enforcement Division and U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould for the Northern District of Texas announced the sentences.

Source: DOJ Justice News