A spokeswoman for IRS Criminal Investigation, Genevieve Billia, declined to identify the companies whose refunds federal investigators say were stolen.
But she said they were not Dayton-area businesses.
Christopher Dowtin, 48, of Jonesboro, Georgia, was charged Tuesday in Atlanta federal court of wire fraud and theft of public money, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio.
If he is convicted, wire fraud could result in up to 20 years in prison, and theft of public funds could result in up to a decade in prison.
According to court documents, Dowtin is accused of first submitting fraudulent forms to the IRS in December 2024 making himself the responsible party for two companies, leading to him receiving two tax refund checks for $32,495,888.58 and $26,156.50.
He then allegedly took those checks in February to a Morgan Stanley office in Beavercreek to try to open a brokerage account in a trust in his name, the U.S. attorney said.
He allegedly told a Morgan Stanley financial advisor that the two companies owed him money for illegally using his “personhood,” and said the payments owed were transferred to him from the IRS, the release said.
The advisor confirmed that the checks were valid and from the U.S. Treasury Department, and on Feb. 19 an executive director from Morgan Stanley contacted the U.S. Secret Service and IRS Criminal Investigation about the suspicious checks and Dowtin’s paperwork, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
Billia could not explain why the IRS allegedly sent business refunds to Dowtin.
“That question about how it was changed, and why it was done, unfortunately is a question for the (IRS’) civil side,” she said. “On the enforcement side, we had the same question. How did that happen?”
The checks were seized by law enforcement.
