Latest news with #refundfraud
Fox News
18 hours ago
- Fox News
California tax expert admits role in illegal alien's multimillion-dollar fraud scheme
A California tax preparer pleaded guilty Monday to helping an illegal immigrant file fraudulent federal income tax returns that claimed $25 million in refunds, the Justice Department said. Victor Cruz, 40, of Bakersfield, helped Miguel Martinez, a Mexican national who was in the United States illegally, carry out the scheme from November 2019 through June 2023, prosecutors said. Martinez allegedly used stolen identities to create fake businesses and report phony wage and withholding information for the businesses to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). He then allegedly submitted hundreds of income tax returns using the stolen identities while claiming that they worked for the fake businesses and were owed tax refunds based on the phony information. Cruz prepared and filed more than 500 of the fraudulent tax returns, authorities said. In exchange, Cruz received thousands of dollars in fees from Martinez in exchange for his services. The IRS actually paid out $2.3 million of the $25 million in refunds that were claimed. Martinez has pleaded guilty for his role in the scheme and was sentenced to six years in prison. Cruz is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 17, 2025. He faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Fox News
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Scam leaves restaurant waitress stunned as diners laugh in her face: 'Why is this the norm?'
A frustrated waitress recently went viral for venting about a refund fraud method that she said has become the norm. The restaurant worker, who goes by @girlypopzonly on TikTok, said the grift began after she served two entrées and two drinks to a couple. In a TikTok video recorded from the eatery's kitchen, the waitress recalled that she got an unpleasant reaction when she checked on the pair. "The girl's like, 'This [burger] is nasty, I don't want it,'" the waitress said in a video that got over 54,000 likes. "Mind you, the burger's half-eaten. All the fries are gone. So she gives me half [of] our burger back." She added, "I'm like, 'You know what? That's fine. She liked the fries.' So I take it back. Take it off the bill." When the waitress politely asked her if she'd like anything else, the female customer said she wanted the shrimp pasta that the male customer was enjoying. The waitress agreed, brought back the new dish and checked back in on the pair – and got another complaint, this time from the male customer. "They paid 20 bucks in total, and they ate seven different meals." "And then the guy's like, 'I don't like my shrimp pasta,'" the waitress said. "Mind you, the shrimp pasta's half gone. There's three noodles on the [expletive] plate. And I'm, like, 'Oh, that's weird, but OK.' I'm going to obviously take it off the bill." And then – making the story even more interesting – the female customer complained about her mostly-eaten shrimp pasta. She vented, "I'm like, 'OK, that's weird. This is, like, the seventh plate you guys have ordered.' They've returned every single plate, but they ate almost all of it. This is not a buffet, by the way." The waitress complied — and the manager also took the last dish off the bill. "They're sitting there laughing at me every time I pass by," the TikTok creator said. "They paid, like, 20 bucks in total, and they ate seven different meals." She wrote on social media, "I'm just wondering, is that normal? When you guys go to restaurants, do you order a bunch of meals, then return [them]? Why is this the norm? This happens so much." The troubled service worker received an outpouring of sympathy and support in the video's comments section, which drew over 1,600 reactions to the stunt. "Restaurants aren't tasting menus," one user wrote. "We have to stop allowing people to get away with stuff like that," another remarked. "If more than half of the meal is gone, no refund." The video also fueled a debate about whether restaurants should be refunding eaten food at all. "If more than half of the meal is gone, no refund," a commenter asserted. "When I worked at restaurants, the rule was if it was cooked wrong or not as described/ordered - refund," one former service worker said. "Otherwise they got what they ordered. We'd maybe give a discount or free drink/dessert." Others were firm that eaten food should never be refunded. "Nothing should have been taken off the bill," one person wrote. Overall, a majority of commenters disapproved of the waitress being put into the situation and said the restaurant's manager should have been more involved. "That's your manager's fault," someone wrote. "My manager would've had a field day with them," another commenter said.
