Stephen McDow Arrested After IRS Mistakenly Deposits $110K In His Account

This post has been corrected

Last September, Laguna Beach resident Stephen McDow found $110,000 deposited in his bank account, courtesy of the IRS. That same deposit has now landed him in hot water, according to CBS Los Angeles. (h/t The Consumerist)

The IRS mistakenly sent the tax refund money, meant for a 67-year-old woman, to McDow, instead, reports local news station KCAL. The Los Angeles woman reportedly failed to inform the IRS that she had closed the bank account she had filed with them, and the account number was subsequently assigned to McDow.

When the woman discovered that McDow had been the recipient of her refund, she called him and demanded her money back. McDow, in turn, offered to pay back the balance in monthly payments, as he had already spent $60,000 paying off student loans and his home mortgage. Unsatisfied with the suggested size of the monthly payment, the woman declined the offer, according to KCAL.

McDow was subsequently arrested and charged with one felony of grand theft by misappropriation of lost property. He reportedly faces four years imprisonment and is currently being held on bail for the exact amount he first received: $110,000.

Correction: An earlier version of this post said McDow had received a prison sentence. He is currently being held on bail.

Watch KCAL report here:

Comments

[Nepolean Spence]

09:42 PM on 07/22/2011

http://didstephenmcdowstealthe110k.wordpress.com/ He didn't steal the money!

[Nepolean Spence]

05:46 PM on 07/19/2011

Stephen McDow tells his side of the story regarding the $110,000 http://stephenmcdow.wordpress.com/stephenmcdowcivilmatter/

[cessna8100]

09:37 AM on 06/28/2011

why can't i post that i went to high school w/him and he was stupid then and obviously still stupid now?

[Amy56]

08:10 PM on 06/24/2011

Give me a break. He knew that money wasn't his and he knew better than to spend it. And WHY did the bank reassign those account numbers? That's downright ridiculous!! THAT's why the mistake happened.

[j4rock]

05:58 PM on 06/24/2011

I think the funny thing here is this women will probably die soon and in her last years on Earth, she puts a 34 year old man in jail. Don't blame the IRS... everyone is getting this mixed up. It's the old bags fault. She declined his offer for payments... and put him in jail. This women should be shot in the head.

Notice how they won't release her name... she knows what she did was jacked up.

[TheBatDan]

03:13 PM on 06/21/2011

Not guilty in my opinion..but that makes no difference...what is really interesting is seeing what an average person does when they recieve a "Bailout" of sorts...paid off loan debt and his mortgage...put some away...that old lady would have let it sit...and thats a HUGE tax return, I wont have social security when I get old but she gets $110,000 back???

[joeThibo]

07:01 PM on 06/21/2011

Don't you just love those who envy others and their tax return. Face the facts it is her money it didn't belong to the government.because they decided to return the same to her. Now the report made claim the IRS mishandled her money and returned her money to somebody else. Just what does that tell you besides the government doesn't know how to handle the people's money that the government shouldn't have taken in the first place. Just where does the government get off taking the people's money and then not returning it to the proper person.

[Haldami]

05:01 PM on 06/22/2011

Not guilty of spending money he knows is not his? Funny.

[burberryweekend2011]

12:16 PM on 06/21/2011

If you listen to the newsfeed you'd see that the lady who sent her account number to the IRS made a mistake and gave them this guys bank account number. For some reason the facts at HuffPost are different. Anyway you look at it, if someone deposits money into your bank, it's your money. If someone makes a mistake, it's their fault. He can't be held responsible if that lady gave the IRS his bank account number. What the heck? He shouldn't be in jail over this. It's her fault. She's negligent.

[cureyourosity]

12:16 PM on 06/21/2011

Lmao--He knew better...rolled the dice and got busted! I hope I can get that big of a tax return when I'm 67! By the way is that news lady a lost Jackson family member?

[Suffie]

11:30 AM on 06/21/2011

That's some refund. How much is the old lady making?

[Papa Prell]

01:23 AM on 06/21/2011

Sounds like what Congress has been doing for years with our taxes. It was supposed to go to Social Security, but went instead to pay off everyone else. Do as the government says, not as they do.

[yipcarl]

08:33 AM on 06/21/2011

Genius Papa genius.

[xilduq]

10:45 PM on 06/20/2011

the irs initiated an electronic payment to an account specified by the woman

how is this the irs' mistake????

[Watersisland]

04:34 PM on 06/21/2011

Precisely xilduq! Although the story DID reveal that detail, they also DID make the statementS "The IRS MISTAKENLY sent....." & "The IRS MISTAKENLY deposited....". You DO have to read the whole story to be able to make any kind of determination. But amazingly, I've still seen some want to see her as a victim....and find fault with the bank, the IRS, and of course the gentleman that was the benefactor of the WINDFALL(lol)!!!

[thebuzzmanisone]

09:47 PM on 06/20/2011

stealing is stealing was not his money he knew it and spent it anyways gets what he deserves.

[MaineIndependant]

07:50 PM on 06/20/2011

A decent contract lawyer would have a field day with this one. Standard verbiage on tax forms is "Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have examined this return and accompanying schedules and statements, and to the best of my knowledge and belief,
they are true, correct, and complete." Either the IRS screwed up, this woman is guilty of perjury or she intended to have the money deposited in another persons bank account.

[xilduq]

10:40 PM on 06/20/2011

It is better to remain silent and be thought a f ool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.

p.s. there's no doubt

[HollisHoHo]

10:55 PM on 06/20/2011

Also, how does a 67 year old woman get a $110K tax refund??? Also, the 67 yr old calls McDow & demands the money back??? How did she get his phone number? Did the Bank and/or IRS call McDow first? And then the 67 yr old was "unsatisfied with the suggested size of the monthly payment" and then McDow is indicted? Either other material facts have been omitted from the story or something surely is screwy!

[dukeitout]

07:33 PM on 06/20/2011

Is there any rational person out there in cyberspace that thinks this cluck did the right thing? The guy is stupid x2. Student loan? Warn us. What school?

[Ffranco]

02:54 PM on 06/21/2011

I guess it must be University of Phoenix or an equivalent.

[Heart Burn]

05:47 PM on 06/20/2011

i don't think paying off your student loans and mortgage constitutes as a spending spree.

[stape45]

06:05 PM on 06/20/2011

Guess it all boils down to who's doing the spending.

[joeThibo]

06:05 PM on 06/20/2011

Especially if the student loans are to the same government who made the mistake in the first place.

[tice]

11:47 PM on 06/20/2011

The government made mistake by sending the money to the account the woman put on her return?