A Florida resident, Arthur Grimes, has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for obstructing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) through his involvement in a tax fraud scheme known as the "Note Program." This scheme was orchestrated by Jasen Harvey and Christopher Johnson.
From 2015 to 2018, Grimes, residing in Ocoee and Orlando, participated in this fraudulent operation. The scheme involved filing false tax returns that claimed substantial refunds based on nonexistent income tax withholdings. Court documents reveal that Grimes filed four false income tax returns prepared by Harvey, seeking refunds totaling $627,587. The IRS disbursed approximately $270,000 before attempting to reclaim one of these refunds. In response, Grimes provided false statements and documents to an IRS revenue officer and transferred funds to a nominee bank account.
Previously, Harvey and Johnson admitted guilt for 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, also ordered Grimes to serve one year of supervised release post-incarceration and pay around $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 investigation was conducted by IRS Criminal Investigation with prosecution led by Trial Attorneys Melissa Siskind, Jeffrey McLellan, Caroline Pearson from the Tax Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Hu for the Middle District of Florida.