Texas Couple Charged in Multimillion-Dollar Tax Refund Fraud Scheme

A federal grand jury in Tyler, Texas, returned an indictment yesterday charging a Texas husband and wife with crimes related to their conspiracy to defraud the United States by seeking fraudulent tax refunds.

According to the indictment, from 2017 to 2023, Larry and Rebecca Kalmowitz filed false tax returns in the name of estates and trusts that sought $42 million in fraudulent refunds, ultimately receiving over $23 million from the IRS. The returns allegedly falsely reported interest income and large amounts of income tax withholdings to the IRS that resulted in large tax refunds to which they were not otherwise entitled. The Kalmowitzs allegedly created bank accounts in the names of the estates and trusts and deposited the fraudulently obtained tax refund checks into those accounts. They allegedly used the proceeds to purchase real property that they placed in the name of a nominee and to purchase luxury vehicles, including a Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 and a Mercedes-Benz GLS450. When the IRS attempted to recover the fraudulent funds, the Kalmowitzs allegedly took steps to obstruct the recovery by, among other things, filing false forms to support the claimed income and withholdings and a false form to release a federal lien.

Both were charged with mail fraud, money laundering, conspiracy to defraud the United States and filing a false claim against the United States. If convicted, the Kalmowitzs each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count of mail fraud, a maximum penalty of 10 years for each count of money laundering, a maximum penalty of five years in prison for the conspiracy to defraud the United States and a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each count of filing a false claim against the United States. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department's Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Damien Diggs for the Eastern District of Texas made the announcement.

IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Zachary Cobb and Daniel Lipkowitz of the Justice Department's Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Locker for the Eastern District of Texas are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.