State of Iowa Catches 2 Fraudulent Claims For $200 Million in Tax Refunds

(Des Moines, IA) — The Iowa Department of Revenue has caught fraudulent claims for 200-million dollars in state income tax refunds. A source in the agency says the two claims million came from what appears to be the same source in late November. The suspect claims for those state income tax refunds were detected and no money was paid out. The Iowa Department of Revenue’s spokesman said in a statement the agency has “strong and effective fraud detection procedures in place” and the department is “encouraging Iowa taxpayers and tax professionals” to be vigilant about protecting their personal information by creating strong passwords and spotting phishing attempts in email and text messages. The 200-million dollars’ worth of false state income tax refund claims were included in the overall November estimate the Department of Revenue provided to the Legislative Services Agency, but the money was never paid.