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TODAY'S POOR TAX MOVE: EMBEZZLING YOUR OWN REFUND

September 09, 2004

When life gave Joseph Haranda lemons, he tried to make lemonade.

While Mr. Haranda was involuntarily housed in a secure residential facility, his girlfriend "took his pickup truck and all his worldly possessions." Among these possessions was a $4,131 tax refund check.

On release from jail, Mr. Haranda called the police to report that his refund check had been stolen. While the police contacted the girlfriend, Mr. Haranda applied for a replacement refund check. The girlfriend paid over the tax refund proceeds to Mr. Haranda, and her lawyer sent a letter with the check stating that the check was to give him the tax refund proceeds.

So far, so good. Now the replacement check arrives. Mr. Haranda siezes the moment: "...the defendant promptly deposited this check and used the proceeds."

Now things start to go haywire. Mr. Haranda gets a call from an investigator with the Treasury Inspector General's Office. One thing leads to another, and soon Mr. Haranda is trying to convince the jury that the check from his girlfriend was really for the "pickup truck and all his worldly possessions."

The outcome? Sentencing is scheduled for September 23.

The moral: you can have too much tax refund, believe it or not.

Cite: U.S. v. Haranda, No. 03-20063-BC, DC ED-MI, August 26, 2004.

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