Ohio Man Gets 11 Years for $1.5-Million Charity Tax Fraud

A Columbus, Ohio, man was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison Thursday for posing as a nonprofit representative to collect financial information from would-be charity beneficiaries, which he then used to create phony tax returns, writes the Columbus Dispatch.

Prosecutors said Jonathan Webster, 34, and an unnamed co-conspirator reaped nearly $1.5-million in refunds on more than 500 bogus returns filed between January 2010 and February 2013. Mr. Webster pleaded guilty in September to charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

According to authorities, the conspirators posted newspaper advertisements ostensibly representing charities offering financial help to the needy and collected names and Social Security numbers from respondents.