Orlando Man Cashed Fake IRS Checks for $66K

Daryl C. Ali, a 34-year-old Orlando man also known as Daryl C. Smith, is headed to federal prison for 57 months after ripping off the IRS in a brazen scheme involving fake tax payments and forged government checks. U.S. District Judge Carlos E. Mendoza handed down the sentence, which includes a restitution order of $135,494.05 — the full amount stolen from the federal government.

Ali pleaded guilty on November 21, 2016, to theft of government property, wrapping up a years-long investigation into his financial shell game. Between February 2010 and January 2012, Ali flooded the IRS with more than 200 personal and business checks totaling over $3 million. He claimed the payments were for back taxes he supposedly owed — but every check was written on accounts he quickly drained or closed, leaving zero funds to cover them.

The scam worked long enough for the IRS to fall for it. Believing Ali had overpaid, the agency issued 12 United States Treasury refund checks totaling more than $69,000 to clear the phantom credit balance. It wasn’t until April 2011 that the IRS caught on and shut down further payouts. But by then, Ali had already cashed in — and wasn’t done yet.

Even after the IRS cut him off, Ali doubled down. He took two of the legitimate Treasury checks and altered them eight separate times, changing check numbers and amounts to make them appear valid for re-cashing. This forged rerun pulled another $66,000 from the system — money that never should’ve been his. The tampering turned legitimate government instruments into tools of fraud, deepening the breach of trust.

The investigation was led by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and the United States Secret Service, agencies that don’t take kindly to attacks on the nation’s financial infrastructure. Their joint work peeled back the layers of Ali’s scheme, tracing the paper trail of bad checks, closed accounts, and doctored refund instruments that sealed his fate.

Assistant United States Attorney Shawn P. Napier prosecuted the case, ensuring Ali faced the full weight of federal law. The 57-month sentence sends a clear message: stealing from the government — especially through calculated deception — comes with hard time and steep payback. Ali’s name is now etched into the record of those who thought they could outsmart the system and lost.