IRS Tax Refund Check Dabacle for Mr. HIll

Posted on October 31, 2014

Would The Real Mr. Hill Please Stand Up!

In a recent tax case the Court of Federal Claims ordered the IRS to reissue a refund check that was stolen from an Ohio taxpayer.

Mark A. Hill timely filed his federal Form 1040 tax return for the taxable year 2007. The IRS later confirmed that it had received the tax return but stated that the return could not be found. The IRS then asked Mr. Hill to resubmit a signed copy of his original tax return.

While this was happening, Mr. Hill was sentenced to eight years in prison for an unrelated crime. The IRS processed Mr. Hill’s tax return and sent the refund check in the amount of $1,182.46 to the prison where Mr. Hill was serving time.

Unfortunately, the prison authorities erroneously delivered the check to another inmate also named Mark Hill. The wrong Mark Hill then used the personal information on the check, including Mr. Hill’s Social Security Number, to cash the refund check and steal the refund. The Court of Federal Claims ruled in favor of the real Mr. Hill because his claim was timely and was also protected under the Check Forgery Insurance Fund.