Man mistakenly received $980,000 tax refund, and he tried to hold onto it

The average tax refund is usually a couple of thousand dollars, but a man in Florida who earned less than $3,500 mistakenly received a check for a much higher amount: $980,000.

The man, Ramon Blanchett, 29, filed a 2016 income tax return in February 2017 that included a W-2 from Bridges Nursing and Rehabilitation in Tampa, Florida, showing $17,098 in wages and $1 million of federal income tax withholding, according to a forfeiture complaint filed in January by the U.S. government in federal court in Tampa.

But Blanchett was actually paid $2,098 and no tax was withheld, according to the complaint, which was first reported by the Tampa Bay Times. He submitted a 1040 form that also said $1 million in taxes had been withheld, and that led the IRS to issue a refund for $980,000, according to the complaint.

And he kept the money, the complaint said — until the IRS found out about the error.

The complaint did not mention how the W-2 came to include incorrect information. Representatives for Bridges Nursing and Rehabilitation did not respond to a request for comment this week.

Blanchett also submitted another W-2, which was accurate, showing $1,399 in income from Sizzling Platter, a restaurant in Murray, Utah, and no withholding, the complaint said.

Robert Marvin, a spokesman for the IRS, declined to answer questions about Blanchett’s situation. Blanchett could not be reached for comment Friday, and it was unclear whether he had retained a lawyer.

Blanchett has not been charged in federal court, Amy Filjones, spokes woman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Tampa, said Friday. A date for the next hearing has not been set, said a spokesman at the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The complaint didn’t specify when the IRS first learned about the inaccurate refund check. But in August, Grow Financial sent the IRS the funds in Blanchett’s account in accordance with a federal seizure warrant, the complaint said. The IRS also seized a silver Lexus he purchased in August.