According to a report, taxpayers who chose to have the IRS send their refunds by mail to their homes have reported that their checks never arrived and were allegedly stolen in a large-scale fraud scheme that has caused losses worth millions of dollars.
According to the Wall Street Journal, more than 200 taxpayers expecting refund checks ranging from several hundred dollars to as much as $500,000 have reported to Representative Nicole Malliotakis (Republican of New York) that they were victims of theft.
IRS refund checks mailed to taxpayers have become targets of theft.
Malliotakis, a representative from Staten Island, stated that her office has handled 218 cases, covering checks totaling $3.8 million.
One of her constituents had to file with the IRS four different times before finally receiving a refund check.
“Malliotakis told the Journal that individuals are being reissued checks, and these reissued checks are subsequently being stolen.”
Bennett Grimm, a spine surgeon from Atlanta, told the Journal that the IRS had notified him in February of an early refund check from his amended 2021 tax return, which he expected to receive within two to three weeks.
Grimm said he was expecting a check for $96,000, which the IRS owed him after the sale of his medical practice.
However, by May, he still hadn’t received the check.
According to the Journal, a new check requested for his account was stolen and then fraudulently deposited.
Grimm stated that he is currently awaiting the arrival of his third refund check.
More than 200 taxpayers have voiced their complaints to Representative Nicole Malliotakis regarding the theft of their refund checks.
More than 90% of taxpayers choose to receive their refunds via direct deposit, which requires them to provide their bank account details to the IRS.
However, it is estimated that approximately 10 million people opt to receive paper checks, which makes them vulnerable to theft.
Those who receive paper checks cannot switch to direct deposit for that tax year in the event of loss or theft of funds.
IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel emphasized the importance of direct deposit in his statement to the Journal.
“It represents the fastest and safest method to ensure that taxpayers receive their refunds.”
Taxpayers whose refund checks are lost or stolen are advised to fill out an IRS taxpayer statement form and mail or fax it to the IRS office where their return was originally filed.
Once the Treasury Department’s Financial Services Office confirms the legitimacy of the claim, a new check will be issued.
The process can take up to four months, but in some cases, it can be completed in less than 30 days.