Crime & Safety
FL Man Sentenced In Multimillion Dollar IRS Tax Fraud Scheme: DOJ
A St. Pete man on supervised released for drug charges faces additional prison time for multimillion dollar tax fraud scheme, U.S. DOJ said.
ST. PETERSBURG, FL — A St. Petersburg man on supervised release after three years in prison for drug charges faces additional prison time after being sentenced Monday for a multimillion dollar fraud scheme, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.
Matthew Walker Meredith, 40, was sentenced to six years in federal prison for theft of government money and money laundering. He pleaded guilty on March 24.
As part of his sentence, the court also ordered him to forfeit real property, six Mercedes Benz vehicles and more than $6.3 million, the DOJ said.
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In 2016, Meredith was sentenced in federal court to three years' imprisonment for conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute Ethylone, also known as "Molly," after he was caught importing kilogram quantities of the drug from China.
He was released from prison in October 2017, and he began serving a three-year term of federal supervised release, the DOJ said.
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While under federal supervision, Meredith began to submit claims for tax refunds to the Internal Revenue Service in the names of entities under his control. Within six months, he submitted five false claims in excess of $170 million to the IRS, the agency said. He falsified both his income and withholdings on the claims.
The IRS issued a refund check of more than $6.37 million to Meredith on Nov. 23, 2019, which he deposited into his bank account. In the following weeks, he laundered the money by purchasing six Mercedes Benz vehicles worth more than $840,000 and a 6,500-square-foot waterfront home in St. Petersburg, which he bought in cash for $2.625 million.
“The American tax system is designed to provide vital government services to our people. It is not a slush fund for thieves and fraudsters,” Brian J. Payne, IRS Criminal Investigation special agent in charge, said. “As today’s sentence demonstrates, those who illegally target our nation’s tax dollars for personal financial gain, will face criminal prosecution and a lengthy stay in prison.”
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