Roger B. Handberg, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida
A Florida man has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for obstructing the IRS through his involvement in a tax fraud scheme known as the "Note Program." Arthur Grimes, from Ocoee and Orlando, was implicated in this fraudulent activity between 2015 and 2018.
Court documents reveal that Jasen Harvey and Christopher Johnson promoted the scheme by filing false tax returns on behalf of clients. These returns falsely claimed large income tax withholdings had been paid to the IRS, leading to substantial refund requests. Grimes was found guilty of causing four such false returns to be filed, seeking refunds totaling $627,587. The IRS paid approximately $270,000 based on these claims.
When the IRS attempted to reclaim one of these refunds, Grimes responded with false statements and documents to an IRS revenue officer. He also transferred funds into a nominee bank account to conceal them.
Harvey and Johnson have already pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the IRS. They received sentences of 48 months and 37 months in prison respectively.
U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton Jr., presiding over the Middle District of Florida, not only sentenced Grimes but also ordered him to serve one year of supervised release post-incarceration. Additionally, he must pay approximately $238,973 in restitution.
The announcement came from Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division alongside U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida.
The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation while Trial Attorneys Melissa Siskind, Jeffrey McLellan, Caroline Pearson from the Tax Division along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Hu prosecuted it.
