GA. MAN CASHED FALSE IRS REFUND CHECKS
A Georgia man was sentenced to 18 months in prison for his role in a stolen identity refund fraud scheme.
According to court records, George Rowell, 61, owned and operated Big O’s Package Store in Columbus, which offered check-cashing services. Between February 2012 and March 2013, federal agents approached Rowell about cashing fraudulently obtained refund checks for people whose names did not appear on the checks.
Rowell charged a 10 percent fee and in 2013 cashed more than 250 refund checks worth more than $645,000.
In addition to the prison sentence, Rowell was ordered to serve three years of supervised release and to pay $645,343.03 in restitution to the IRS.
