Former H&R Block manager sentenced to prison

Damon Charles Dubose, age 40 of North Hills, Calif., was sentenced to 12 months and one day in federal prison for using identities of his former tax preparation clients to file false returns and receive fraudulent income tax refunds.

H&R Block reported “…we take this matter very seriously…involves a small number of clients…company is taking (action) …to correct the situation…”

Dubose worked at the Van Nuys, Calif., location. He used his access to H&R Block records to obtain personal identifying information, including names, birth dates and Social Security numbers of clients. He then used the information to create and send to IRS at least 12 false and unauthorized 2011 income tax returns. That generated fraudulent tax refunds of about $48,593.

He filed so the refunds would be accessible by the “H&R Block Emerald Card” and then used the cards to withdraw the cash from ATMs.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies found Dubose near ATM machines wearing a beanie, a scarf and panty hose on his face.

The investigation of Dubose was conducted by the IRS Criminal Investigation L.A. Field Office and the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department.

He pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of filing false claims. The court sentenced him to 12 months and one day on each count, to be served concurrently.

I don’t understand why “served concurrently” is better than “consecutively.” I understand “concurrently” means effectively only one sentence of 12 months and one day total.

Some comments on this matter include “This could be a growing problem with any company that uses the prepaid debit card for depositing refunds…” and “This is a problem with the process, not just one employee…” and “It’s people, not necessarily companies, that do this…”

In a large company with many employees, it is easy to imagine one employee doing something wrong. The taxpayers involved were OK since IRS made sure their records got corrected to show they did nothing wrong.

Maybe you should only have an income tax refund deposited into your checking or savings account, not a debit card?

Did you hear? “Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint,” by Mark Twain.