Florida Man With $18K Salary Mistakenly Got $980K Tax Refund

A Florida man received a huge IRS refund by falsely claiming he paid $1 million in taxes, authorities said Friday.

The IRS has recouped much of the $980,000 refund from Tampa resident Ramon Christopher Blanchett, who federal prosecutors said told a seven-digit lie on his 2016 income tax returns.

Blanchett called himself a "freelancer" and reported $18,497 of income that year, according to an asset forfeiture complaint filed last month by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Tampa. 

But in that same self-prepared 1040 return, filed Feb. 21, 2017, Blanchett also reported that $1 million had been withheld in taxes, which led to a $980,000 refund check, federal authorities said.

Photo Credit: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images

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