ORLANDO, Fla. — Two Florida men have been sentenced for conspiring to defraud the United States in connection with a multimillion-dollar tax fraud scheme known as the “Note Program,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida announced.
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Jasen Harvey of Tampa was sentenced to 48 months in prison, and Christopher Johnson of Orlando received a 37-month sentence.
According to court documents, Mr. Johnson and Mr. Harvey promoted a scheme from 2015 to 2018 in which false tax returns were filed claiming large, nonexistent tax withholdings. These fraudulent returns resulted in requests for substantial refunds from the IRS.
Prosecutors said the conspirators charged clients fees for their services and demanded a share of the fraudulently obtained refunds. The scheme resulted in claims for more than $3 million in fraudulent refunds, of which the IRS paid approximately $1.5 million.
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In addition to prison time, U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton Jr. ordered Mr. Johnson to serve three years of supervised release and pay $864,117.42 in restitution to the United States. Mr. Harvey was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and must pay $785,858.42 in restitution.
A third co-defendant, Arthur Grimes, is scheduled for sentencing on Jan. 13, 2025.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg made the announcement. The case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Melissa Siskind, Jeffrey McLellan, and Caroline Pearson, along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Hu.
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