Taxable Talk

Have I got a deal for you! Did you know that even if you have never submitted a tax return in the US that you can get a refund? Yes, thanks to the magical (and mythical) bank account sitting at the Department of the Treasury you can get a tax refund through Form 1099-OID!

The above statement is completely false, of course. There is no “bank account” (or any other account) sitting at the Department of the Treasury in your name. It doesn’t exist. If you try to obtain a tax refund in this manner, it’s frivolous and will get yourself in trouble.

Of course, where most don’t go some deliberately head. From Seattle comes a report on Ronald Brekke, of Orange County, California. Mr. Brekke “aided” nearly 1,000 individuals in three countries in attempting to obtain $763 million in tax refunds. Mr. Brekke’s scheme came to light in 2010 when two Canadians were arrested in Bellingham, Washington after trying to cash tax refund checks for over $350,000. Most of his clients were Canadians.

Mr. Brekke had public seminars on his methods. He helpfully (to the FBI and prosecutors) let individuals know that, according to this Department of Justice release, “…some of the filings would slip through resulting in a big payout for some of the filers.” Mr. Brekke had been earlier warned by the IRS and the FBI that was he was doing was illegal.

But that didn’t stop him. He continued to sell his scheme, and even after his conviction in March filed liens against the Court and and IRS employee. As the judge who sentenced him stated, he can either “[tilt] at windmills [and] squander his remaining time on earth” or understand that laws are, “rules that citizens of this country have made.” He’ll have 12 years to think about that at ClubFed. He’s also $291,064 poorer, as that was seized from his PayPal account and forfeited. Given his actions since March, I suspect I’ll be able to write about Mr. Brekke again in 13 years.