Myrtle Beach family ‘defrauded the Government out of $530,292.60’ during pandemic
A mother and son living in Myrtle Beach have been found guilty of stealing $530,292.60 from the government and the two are going to prison, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Donna Karakatsani, 48, is facing a two year sentence. Her son, Ivo Krasimirov Ivanov, 29, is facing a year and a half in prison.
“Todor Milkov Stoenchev, 54, Karakatsani’s husband and Ivanov’s stepfather, was sentenced to five years of probation given his more limited role in the scheme,” the release read.
The family was said to have taken advantage of pandemic-related government funding. More specifically, the release says that the family submitted false tax returns and took checks intended for others issued by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.
The release noted that the family used people foreign to the U.S., mostly Bulgarians, to help with the scheme.
“Evidence presented to the Court showed that beginning sometime in 2020, the IRS, along with Department of State OIG, began an investigation into the family regarding false claims for tax refunds and stolen refunds. Specifically, Karakatsani and Ivanov held themselves out as tax preparers and targeted foreign individuals, usually Bulgarians, who had spent time in the United States. They would recruit the foreign nationals through the internet and at various locations around Myrtle Beach,” the release read. “They also submitted numerous tax returns in the names of these foreign individuals, and would often cause those foreign individuals to receive refunds, primarily education credits.”
The family caused 68 new bank accounts to be opened across 16 different banks in the names of 14 different people foreign to the U.S..
“The Defendants enlisted other individuals to open U.S. bank accounts into which these refunds were deposited, and paid these individuals $100 for each account they opened,” the release read. “Defendants altered their scheme when, as part of the CARES Act, the Government sent economic impact payments to qualifying individuals to their bank accounts on file. Given the false returns they had already filed, hundreds of economic impact payments were deposited into the bank accounts under Defendants’ control.”
The release noted that the family used the money to buy real estate and other personal wants.
“United States District Judge Sherri A. Lydon sentenced Karakatsani to 24 months in federal prison, and Ivanov to 18 months in federal prison, both to be followed by a three-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system. She sentenced Stoenchev to five years’ probation,” the release read. “Additionally, the Government recovered approximately $380,000 of stolen funds primarily through sales of the ill-gotten property, and the Defendants were ordered to pay an additional $150,893.58 in restitution.”
