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Feds: Calif. man led $763M tax conspiracy

The Columbian
Published: December 22, 2010, 12:00am

SEATTLE (AP) — Federal prosecutors say a California man led a vast tax fraud conspiracy in which hundreds of people claimed $763 million in refunds from the IRS — more than $10 million of which was actually paid out.

Ronald L. Brekke (BREK’ ee), of Orange County, Calif., is accused of encouraging and helping his clients to prepare tax returns on the incorrect theory that they could claim refunds equal to the amount of their debt. Some were Canadian citizens who had never paid any U.S. income tax.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Seattle says the IRS flagged the majority of fraudulent returns, but some got through. A federal indictment alleges that one client received a return of $359,000 and another received $369,000.

Brekke appeared in U.S. District Court in Seattle for a detention hearing Wednesday. A magistrate judge ordered him released on electronic monitoring pending trial.

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