Missouri officials thwart $118 million dollar tax fraud scheme

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMOV) -- The Missouri Department of Revenue (DOR) told News 4 Investigates they recently stopped scammers from stealing taxpayer dollars.

According to budget documents, the fraud scheme was identified at the beginning of the month.

“The diligent work of the Department’s Taxation Division staff ensured that no Missouri taxpayer money was lost,” said Anne Marie Moy, a spokesperson for the DOR.

Moy said that fraudsters attempted to make fake income tax payments from fake bank accounts, in hopes that the overages would trigger a tax refund in the state’s payment system. She said their system is programmed to flag suspicious activity.

In total, they received $118 million in fake payments at the end of January. The attempted scheme temporarily caused budget documents to reflect an inflated general revenue number for January, but the actual numbers are still being reconciled.

Moy told News 4 the attempted fraud has been reported to law enforcement. She noted similar schemes have been committed in other states.

News 4 Investigates has asked for additional information and will update this story as new information becomes available.