Marietta Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Filing False Claims with the IRS
Arnold Tobias Gervais, has been sentenced for defrauding the IRS of more than $3.4 million in federal income tax refunds while he was in state custody.
“Those who cheat the IRS take money away from everyone who pays his or her fair share of taxes,” said United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. “The United States Attorney’s Office and the IRS are on the lookout for tax cheats and will aggressively pursue those individuals who try to beat the system.”
“Sentence hopefully reassures the public that individuals who attempt to enrich themselves at the expense of the United States Treasury will be held accountable,” stated Special Agent in Charge, Veronica Hyman-Pillot. “IRSCriminal Investigation will continue to aggressively pursue those individuals who utilize fraudulent methods to steal from the American taxpayer.”
Mark F. Giuliano, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office, stated, “It is hoped that sentencing of Mr. Gervais, the second conviction for him on false tax filing related charges, will have a sufficient deterrent impact on him. The FBI will continue to work with its various law enforcement partners in investigating such matters involving income tax refund fraud.”
According to United States Attorney Yates, the charges, and other information presented in court: Gervais was convicted in May 2008 and sentenced to five years in prison by the Superior Court of Cobb County, Georgia, for theft by taking after he submitted a fraudulent tax return in an attempt to obtain a tax refund of more than $600,000 from the state of Georgia. Gervais was incarcerated on that charge from July 13, 2007 through February 26, 2010.
On March 16, 2009, while in state custody, Gervais caused his then wife to file a phony 2008 Form 1040 with the IRS. The tax return contained a claim for payment of an income tax refund in the amount of $811,073, which Gervais knew to be false, fictitious, and fraudulent.
In addition, Gervais filed or caused to be filed six more false claims for federal income tax refunds—five in his own name for tax years 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2009 and one in the name of an acquaintance for tax year 2009. All seven of the returns claimed false wages and federal tax withholding, and all seven of the returns falsely claimed that the taxpayer had earned a significant amount of wages from a fictitious company called “Safety Shoes & More Inc.,” which was allegedly located in Rome, Georgia. The returns also falsely claimed that the corporation had withheld from those wages a significant amount of federal income tax. The total amount of fraudulent tax refunds that Gervais sought from the IRS was $3,488,135. Of that amount, the IRS paid $2,832,26.
The United States Attorney’s Office filed two civil forfeiture actions, which resulted in the seizure of $2,232,012 from accounts controlled by Gervais, thereby reducing the out-of-pocket loss to the IRS.
Gervais, 34, of Marietta, Georgia, was sentenced by United States District Judge Timothy C. Batten, Sr. to serve the statutory maximum of five years in prison. He was also ordered to serve three years on supervised release following his prison term and ordered to pay $2,832,268 in restitution to the IRS. On January 16, 2013, Gervais pleaded guilty to a criminal information charging him with filing false claims for income tax refunds.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office
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