Former Key West Head of Public Works Only Defendant Acquitted in IRS Tax Fraud Scheme

Our client, a former superintendant of the Key West Public Works Department, was accused of conspiring with his brother, sister, and niece of filing fraudulent tax returns and receiving several hundred thousand dollars in illegitimate refunds.  The four family members were charged with using the names and social security numbers of federal inmates to file returns with non-existent jobs from companies that were bankrupt or out of business. Because some of the coconspirators were in state or federal custody at the time of the scheme, all of their communications were recorded.  There were hundreds of hours of phone conversations spanning more than two years where the intricacies were discussed in great detail.  Seven of the eight defendants in the two indictments pleaded guilty believing the evidence was overwhelming.  Our client’s brother and niece agreed to testify against him but the government decided not to call the brother after we obtained damning information through our investigation.  Our client was on tape discussing payments and the tax returns.  The jury acquitted our client of all counts.  The acquittal was especially upsetting for the government because our client had also been accused of stealing two hundred thousand dollars worth of quarters when he was the Superintendant for Key West Public Works.