Yes, it is tempting to lie about your income and taxes already paid on your tax return and collect a huge refund. It’s even more tempting to get that massive undeserved refund on a debit card. But that’s totally unusual, and would get the government’s attention, right? Not in Oregon, where a woman has been charged with filing fraudulent return using Turbotax, and spending the $2.1 million prepaid debit card holding her refund.

According to court documents, the woman filed her 2011 tax return showing earnings of $3 million, and somehow this resulted in her receiving a refund of $2.1 million. Oregon offers tax refunds on prepaid debit cards, and she chose that option. (Surely, it is the most convenient way to carry a few million dollars around. ) After a fun spending spree, she was eventually caught when she called in to report one of her cards missing and request a replacement.

How could this scam possibly have gone wrong?

Woman accused of filing false tax return to get $2.1 million refund [KATU] (Thanks, Howard!)

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