People who are lacking in decisiveness or character are often considered to be “wishy-washy.” An article posted on 13NewsNow.com tells about a Virginia man who originally pleaded guilty to his involvement in a $2.6 million tax refund fraud scheme, but then withdrew his plea. (In this case, a federal jury was able to see through his indecisiveness.)
The story states that court records showed the scheme was revealed after a local check cashing company discovered one of its employees had cashed more than $2 million in U.S. Treasury checks. (The defendant allegedly paid the clerk $200 per check to cash the Treasury checks even though it was a violation of company policy.)
A subsequent investigation by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) determined that one man and several co-conspirators used stolen personal identification information to file approximately 810 fraudulent income tax returns. (As a result, the fraudsters received a total of $2.6 million in fraudulent tax refunds.)
The 53-year-old fraudster was convicted by federal jury for conspiracy, mail fraud and aggravated identity theft. He faces a maximum penalty of 128 years in prison when sentenced.
It is possible that if this man had stuck with his guilty plea in the first place, he would not be facing such a long stay in prison. (Fraudsters are either guilty or they’re not. There are no gray areas.) The government is definitely not wishy-washy when it comes to fraud.This man is about to learn an important lesson about being honest – it pays to tell the truth.
The post Wishy-washy appeared first on Fraud of the Day.