On October 5, 2018, in the Central District of California, Attorney Thaddeus Culpepper was indicted for his role in a scheme involving stolen Federal tax refunds issued via U.S. Treasury checks. Special agents of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration previously arrested Culpepper for the offenses on October 1, 2018.

Accordig to the court documents, beginning no later than April 2015 and continuing through about September 2018, Culpepper opened accounts at three separate financial institutions in and around Los Angeles, California, all of which were insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Culpepper and others then fraudulently obtained 21 tax refund checks (U.S. Treasury checks) totaling more than $1.3 million, made payable to other individuals due refunds on their Federal income taxes, and forged the payees' endorsements without their permission or authorization. Culpepper then deposited the forged checks into the accounts in his control also without the payees' permission or authorization. The listed payees confirmed that they never received their Federal tax refunds.

The 42-count indictment charges Culpepper with bank fraud and attempted bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, theft of Government property, and passing U.S. Treasury checks bearing forged endorsements.

Source:  The facts in this case narrative come from the following publicly available documents: S.D. Fla. Indict. filed Apr. 12, 2018; S.D. Fla. Plea Agr. filed June 26, 2018; S.D. Fla. Factual Agr. filed June 26, 2018; S.D. Fla. Plea Agr. filed June 28, 2018; S.D. Fla. Factual Agr. filed June 28, 2018; S.D. Fla. Judgment filed Sep.14, 2018; S.D. Fla. Judgment filed Sep. 14, 2018.