David Hunt of Arlington, Texas, received 92 months in federal prison. His son, Baylon Hunt, also from Arlington, was sentenced to 38 months. Baylon’s half-brother, Corey Burt, formerly of Long Beach, Mississippi, received the longest term at 94 months.
All three men were ordered jointly to pay more than $1.7 million in restitution to the United States.
The prison terms and financial penalties, which were handed down in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, complete a years-long investigation and trial that revealed the ways in which the family used fictitious trusts to pursue more than $8.5 million in fraudulent refunds.
The three men and a fourth family member whose sentencing is set for May were convicted in December.
All four were found guilty of conspiracy to defraud the United States. David Hunt, Corey Burt, and the unnamed fourth relative were also convicted on multiple counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns. Baylon Hunt was acquitted on two of those aiding-and-assisting counts.
Court records and trial evidence demonstrated the fraud began years ago when the Hunts and Burt set up and controlled a series of trusts that had no legitimate income or tax liability. They filed federal income-tax returns in the trusts’ names in order to receive refunds the trusts were never entitled to receive.
As the scheme progressed, Baylon Hunt and the fourth family member submitted additional falsified documents to support the spurious claims. Those filings entailed fraudulent financial instruments and altered money orders intended to make the returns appear legitimate.
IRS officials initially sent warning letters demanding that the group stop submitting fraudulent submissions, but the co-conspirators persisted, according to court statements.
The effort resulted in more than $1.7 million worth of improper payments from the Treasury. The defendants split the proceeds and used them to purchase luxury goods, furniture, cryptocurrency, a Cadillac Escalade, and a house in Mississippi, according to evidence presented at the trial.
Federal prosecutors from the Justice Department’s Tax Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas developed the case with assistance from IRS Criminal Investigation agents.
