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Press Release
Press Release
Sroufe Falsely Claimed $1.7 Million Tax Refund
ATLANTA – Donus R. Sroufe has been sentenced to over four years in prison for interfering with the administration of the revenue laws and for making a false claim for a $1.7 million tax refund.
“The defendant lied on his tax return and tried to defraud the U.S. Treasury out of $1.7 million,” said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. “Fortunately, the IRS caught his fraudulent return before any taxpayer funds were paid out.”
“This was a case of greed, deceit, manipulation and theft directed at the United States Department of Treasury and the American taxpayer,” stated Veronica Hyman-Pillot, Special Agent in Charge IRS Criminal Investigation. “The prison time received by Mr. Sroufe should serve as a strong warning that tough punishment awaits those who embark on a similar criminal path.”
According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges and other information presented in court: In March 2009, Sroufe filed a United States Individual Income Tax Return (Form 1040) for 2008, claiming a tax refund of $1.7 million. On the tax return, Sroufe falsely claimed: (1) to have received $2.5 million from a United States Treasury bond, and (2) that he had paid over $2.6 million in federal taxes. In fact, the $2.5 million bond was a fake and Mr. Sroufe had not paid any income taxes for 2008.
In April 2009, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) notified Sroufe that his 2008 tax return was “frivolous” and warned him that he could face a penalty for filing a false return. Moreover, in June 2009, two IRS Special Agents met with Sroufe in person and notified him that the $2.5 million bond appeared to be a fictitious financial instrument.
Despite those warnings, in August 2009, Sroufe mailed an identical copy of the 2008 tax return to the United States Department of the Treasury, including a copy of the fake $2.5 million bond, and demanded a $1.7 million tax refund.
On March 13, 2013, a jury found Sroufe guilty of interfering with the administration of the revenue laws and for making a false claim for a tax refund.
Today, Sroufe, 55, of Suwanee, Ga., was sentenced to four years, three months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a fine of $75,000.
This case was investigated by Special Agents of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.
Assistant United States Attorneys Jeffrey W. Davis, Steven D. Grimberg, and Shanya J. Dingle prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the HomePage for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is www.justice.gov/usao/gan.