Good Client Story: Identity Theft Led to Missing Stimulus Payments

"I can't thank you enough. It's going to make a world of difference in my life."

"Jim" has been disabled for over twenty years, receiving SSDI off and on since 2004. Because of this, he hasn't had a filing requirement in a long time and didn't file a 2019 tax return until October 2020, when he decided to file to get his first and second economic impact payments -- a total of $1,800. He was incarcerated at the time and no longer receiving the SSDI payments that would've triggered the stimulus checks.

Unfortunately, someone else had filed a 2019 tax return first, using Jim’s name and Social Security number without his permission. That person used TurboTax, directing "his" stimulus payments to be deposited into a Green Dot bank account. The IRS did as directed, and the identity thief withdrew all but $28 of the $1,800 shortly after the deposits were completed.

Jim's three-year sentence ended in late 2021. He received the third, $1,400 stimulus payment, but not the first two. He called the IRS and was given the account number for the Green Dot bank account where the first two EIPs were deposited. Jim then called Green Dot and learned what had happened. Green Dot agreed to put a freeze on the account but wouldn't divulge the name of the identity thief -- or provide any avenue for retrieving the stolen funds. Instead, he was directed to contact the IRS again.

He did so and was advised to file two refund trace requests to the Bureau of the Fiscal Service. He did that and waited and waited and waited. After several months, he contacted 603 Legal Aid and asked for help. Jim lives in a small, rural town and doesn’t have internet access or even a car. The lack of transportation is particularly difficult for his health conditions, and he's had to miss several scheduled medical appointments because of the unreliability of his small support network. He said he would put the missing stimulus checks towards the purchase of a new car, if we could help him get the money.

Because the electronic, fraudulent tax return was filed while Jim was incarcerated, it was easy to prove that he wasn't the person who filed that one -- or the person who withdrew the money from the Green Dot account. But Green Dot refused to do anything about this. The IRS, for their part, sent Jim a notice stating they would communicate with Green Dot, but months passed with no movement.

603 Legal Aid's tax project decided to complete an identity theft affidavit for Jim, submitting it with a detailed timeline and all relevant documentation to the Taxpayer Advocate Service for their assistance with processing. Four months later, Jim received a check in the mail for $2,150.90 -- $1,800 for the missing stimulus payments, plus $350.90 in interest because of the long delay.

When the tax project staff spoke with Jim about the check, he said, "I can't thank you enough. It's going to make a world of difference in my life." He was looking ahead, ready to shop for a car and "finally start making and keeping appointments."