JONESBORO, Ga. — The U.S. Department of Justice said a Jonesboro man with a made up story is facing real consequences after trying to get tax refunds for businesses he didn’t own.
According to USDOJ, Christopher Dowtin, 48, was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service on federal charges for allegedly “fraudulently convert[ing] two businesses’ IRS accounts to his name and address.”
Doing so, he got a tax refund check for more than $32 million.
Charging documents say Dowtin submitted fraudulent IRS forms claiming to be the responsible party for two companies.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
TRENDING STORIES:
- Gov. Kemp to sign bill for $1 billion special tax refund. Here’s how much you could get
- Attorney says new video proves her client didn’t try to kidnap a child at Walmart in Acworth
- ‘Just bring it back’: Woman pleads for sick dad’s classic car after it was stolen from repair shop
In December, the IRS processed eight change of address or responsible party forms for Dowtin, and his requests for those changes were accepted.
USDOJ said Dowtin “ultimately received two tax refund checks for those companies: one in the amount of $32,495,888.58 and one in the amount of $26,156.50.”
Then, officials accused Dowtin of traveling from Georgia to Ohio with the checks to open a bank account in the Southern District of Ohio.
Just before Valentine’s Day, Dowtin tried to take the checks to a Morgan Stanley office in Beavercreek, Ohio to put them into a brokerage account with a trust in his name, where USDOJ says he told a financial advisor the companies were paying him for “illegally using his ‘personhood.’”
Nearly a week later, an executive director at the bank contacted the U.S. Secret Service and IRS Criminal Investigation about the suspicious nature of the checks, officials said. Members of law enforcement seized the checks.
Now, Dowtin faces charges of wire fraud and theft of public money, with a possible sentence of up to 20 years in prison. USDOJ said he appeared in court in Atlanta on April 8.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2025 Cox Media Group
