IRS employee arrested in tax-refund scheme

United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announced to Historic City News the arrest and filing of a criminal complaint charging IRS employee, 36-year-old Charles Corbitt of West Palm Beach with wire fraud. If convicted, Corbitt faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.

According to the complaint, Corbitt prepared fraudulent tax returns for various individuals for a profit, while employed by the Internal Revenue Service. These returns claimed Residential Energy Credits on Form 5695 and inflated Itemized Deductions on Schedule A that the individual taxpayer was not entitled to.

As a result of the false credits and inflated itemized deductions, the taxpayer’s taxable income was lowered and refund amount was increased. Once the returns were electronically filed, Corbitt received a portion of the tax refund as a preparation fee. This fee was determined based on the amount of the refund or was a flat fee.

A complaint is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. It will be prosecuted in Jacksonville by Assistant United States Attorney Malisa Chokshi.

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