Man who fraudulently received $32 million business tax refund check sentenced to 3 years in prison

DAYTON, Ohio - An Atlanta-area man who was found guilty of wire fraud and theft of public funds following a March bench trial was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 36 months in prison.

Christopher Dowtin, 49, of Jonesboro, Georgia, fraudulently converted two businesses' IRS accounts to his name and address. The defendant received tax refund checks - including one for more than $32 million - that were to be paid out to these two businesses. He was sentenced on June 26.

Today in federal court in Dayton, Bondary McCall, 64, of Lithia Springs, Georgia, was sentenced to 36 months in prison for filing a false, retaliatory lien against the federal judge originally assigned to Dowtin's case.

Two months after Dowtin's arrest on the tax crimes, McCall filed a false lien in the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation claiming that Senior U.S. District Court Judge Thomas M. Rose owed Dowtin $32 million. Judge Rose was originally presiding over Dowtin's fraud case.

According to court documents and trial testimony, Dowtin fraudulently submitted IRS forms claiming to be the responsible party for two separate companies.

In December 2024, the IRS processed eight Change of Address or Responsible Party-Business forms associated with Dowtin. Dowtin's requests for changes were completed and accepted. He ultimately received two tax refund checks for those companies: one in the amount of $32,495,888.58 and one in the amount of $26,156.50.

Dowtin traveled from Georgia to Ohio with the two checks to open an account in the Southern District of Ohio.

On Feb. 13, 2025, Dowtin took the checks to a Morgan Stanley office in Beavercreek, Ohio, and attempted to negotiate the funds into a brokerage account in a trust in his name. Dowtin told the Morgan Stanley financial advisor that the two companies were paying him for illegally using his "personhood." He said the payments owed to him had been transferred to him from the IRS. The financial advisor verified that the checks were valid U.S. Treasury checks.

On Feb. 19, 2025, an executive director at Morgan Stanley contacted the United States Secret Service and IRS Criminal Investigation regarding the suspicious nature of the checks and Dowtin's supporting paperwork. The checks were seized by law enforcement.

Dominick S. Gerace II, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Robert Kuszynski, Acting Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); and Jason Rees, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service; announced the sentences imposed by Senior U.S. District Judge Walter H. Rice. Assistant Deputy Criminal Chief Amy M. Smith and Assistant United States Attorney Erica D. Lunderman are representing the United States in the cases.

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division ("Fraud Division"). The Fraud Division is investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department's work to combat fraud supports President Trump's Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

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