Ex kept my stimulus checks and tax refunds
We were divorced in 2018 and filed our 2018 taxes jointly. My ex demanded I put her bank information in that year. So I had forgotten that her bank information was in the system still. When I filed my 2019 taxes July of 2020 and got a refund, it went into her own bank account. So when the stimulus checks came out in early 2020, she got my $1400 and my $600 stimulus $. I realized what happened and in mediation I brought it up and she admitted she kept the money. So she kept my federal $700 refund check, my small state refund check and my 2 stimulus check $600 and $1400.
Her and her lawyer want to say that they will just use it towards my child support. But, the problem is, I NEVER agreed to that and that was many months after she kept the $ that they suggested it. Can she be criminally charged for stealing this $? It clearly states on her bank statement that it was mine (it was under my name), she had also gotten her own stimulus $.
Terry Says
Oh darn. I keep getting posts like this and have worked with both the civil and criminal divisions of the IRS to at least urge them to issue a statement and follow up with a few prosecutions. I figure that would scare many people into complying with the law. Theft of a federal payment IS a crime. They say they are working on how to deal with these issues.
Would you send me a personal email to Terry@TerrySavage.com. Tell the entire story again in the email, and please include your full name and phone number and her full name and contact information. Do not include Social Security numbers. I will forward it to my contacts at IRS and start pushing again!!
