Convicted: Milwaukee Man Who Ran $80M Tax Refund Scam
A 52-year-old Milwaukee man has been convicted of running a brazen scheme to obtain over $80 million in fraudulent tax refunds from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The scheme, which ran from 2016 to 2019, involved Francis T. Burns filing fake tax returns claiming to represent an estate or trust that did not exist. The false returns were based on fake 1099s that claimed significant sums of income were withheld for federal taxes by third parties such as banks.
Burns was unemployed at the time and there was no estate, no trust, and no income. Despite this, he spent the refunds he did receive on an expensive house in Chicago, a Mercedes, and other personal expenses.
The IRS later seized and forfeited a significant percentage of the money, the house, and the car. Burns is scheduled to be sentenced on January 4, 2023, before Hon. Lynn Adelman.
He faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment on the mail and wire fraud convictions, up to ten years’ imprisonment on the money laundering charges, and up to five years’ imprisonment for filing a false claim. He also faces three years of supervised release for each count.
The Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service investigated this case, which Assistant United States Attorneys Julie F. Stewart and John P. Scully prosecuted.
Burns was convicted after a two-day jury trial on October 5, 2022. He was indicted on December 17, 2019, and a superseding indictment was filed on November 17, 2020.
The charges against Burns include wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, and submitting a false claim to the IRS, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1341, 1343, 1957, and 287.
The case is a stark reminder of the importance of tax compliance and the consequences of attempting to defraud the IRS.
For further information, contact Kenneth Gales, Public Information Officer, at Kenneth.Gales@usdoj.gov or (414) 297-1700.
Key Facts
- State: Wisconsin
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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