Four Family Members Indicted in $8.5M Tax Refund Fraud Scheme

On Tuesday, July 1, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that a federal grand jury in Fort Worth, Texas, indicted four family members for their alleged involvement in a multimillion-dollar tax refund fraud scheme.

The indictment charges David Hunt, his twin sons Brandon Hunt and Baylon Hunt, all from Arlington, Texas, and their half-brother Corey Burt from Mississippi, with conspiracy to defraud the United States.

According to the indictment, the scheme began in 2016 and involved filing false tax returns in the names of purported trusts to claim over $8.5 million in tax refunds that the trusts were not entitled to receive. Brandon Hunt is also accused of filing a fraudulent return in his own name.

The group allegedly received more than $1 million from the Internal Revenue Service through these false claims. The indictment further alleges that Brandon and Baylon Hunt submitted falsified documents, including fake financial instruments and altered money orders, to support their scheme.

The defendants are said to have shared the proceeds of the fraud by transferring funds among themselves. They allegedly used the illicit refunds to purchase luxury goods, cryptocurrency, and real estate.

Each defendant faces charges of conspiracy, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, and aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, with a maximum penalty of three years per count. If convicted, they could also face supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.