Two Florida men were sentenced to prison for their involvement in a multimillion-dollar tax refund scheme, authorities announced.
Jasen Harvey, 48 months, and Christopher Johnson, 37 months, were handed down the prison terms by U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton Jr. in the Middle District of Florida.
According to court documents, from 2015 to 2018, Johnson and Harvey conspired to promote a scheme in which Harvey and others prepared tax returns for clients that claimed large, nonexistent income tax withholdings had been paid to the IRS on behalf of clients and sought large refunds based on those purported withholdings.
The conspirators charged clients fees and required the clients to pay a share of the fraudulently obtained refunds to them.
Overall, the defendants claimed over $3 million in fraudulent refunds on their clients’ returns, of which the IRS paid about $1.5 million.
In addition to the terms of imprisonment, Judge Dalton ordered Johnson to serve three years of supervised release and to pay $864,117.42 in restitution to the United States. Judge Dalton ordered Harvey to serve three years of supervised release and pay $785,858.42 in restitution.
Co-defendant Arthur Grimes is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 13, 2025.
IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case.
The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Melissa Siskind, Jeffrey McLellan and Caroline Pearson of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Hu for the Middle District of Florida.
Defendant/Respondent: Jasen Harvey
Criminal Charges: Conspiring to Defraud the United States
City and State: Tampa, Florida
Exact Date: Not specified
Sentence or Outcome: 48 months in prison
Dollar Amounts: $3 million, $1.5 million, $864,117.42, $785,858.42
Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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