Federal judge convicts man who fraudulently received $32 million business tax refund check

DAYTON, Ohio - A federal judge has found an Atlanta-area man guilty of wire fraud and theft of public funds. In a separate bench trial, a second man was also found guilty of filing a false, retaliatory lien against a different federal judge.

Christopher Dowtin, 49, of Jonesboro, Georgia, fraudulently converted two businesses' IRS accounts to his name and address. The defendant received tax refund checks - including one for more than $32 million - that were to be paid out to these two businesses.

Two months after Dowtin's arrest on the tax crimes, Bondary McCall, 64, of Lithia Springs, Georgia, filed a false lien in the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation claiming that Senior U.S. District Court Judge Thomas M. Rose owed Dowtin $32 million. Judge Rose was originally presiding over Dowtin's fraud case.

The verdicts were announced on March 9 following bench trials before Senior U.S. District Judge Walter H. Rice.

According to court documents and trial testimony, Dowtin fraudulently submitted IRS forms claiming to be the responsible party for two separate companies.

In December 2024, the IRS processed eight Change of Address or Responsible Party-Business forms associated with Dowtin. Dowtin's requests for changes were completed and accepted. He ultimately received two tax refund checks for those companies: one in the amount of $32,495,888.58 and one in the amount of $26,156.50.

Dowtin traveled from Georgia to Ohio with the two checks to open an account in the Southern District of Ohio.

On Feb. 13, 2025, Dowtin took the checks to a Morgan Stanley office in Beavercreek, Ohio, and attempted to negotiate the funds into a brokerage account in a trust in his name. Dowtin told the Morgan Stanley financial advisor that the two companies were paying him for illegally using his "personhood." He said the payments owed to him had been transferred to him from the IRS. The financial advisor verified that the checks were valid U.S. Treasury checks.

On Feb. 19, 2025, an executive director at Morgan Stanley contacted the United States Secret Service and IRS Criminal Investigation regarding the suspicious nature of the checks and Dowtin's supporting paperwork. The checks were seized by law enforcement.

Dowtin was charged and arrested in April 2025. He is convicted of wire fraud (punishable by up to 20 years in prison) and theft of public funds (up to 10 years in prison).

McCall faces up to 10 years in prison for making a retaliatory lien against a federal official.

Dominick S. Gerace II, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Karen Wingerd, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); and Jason Rees, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service; announced the verdicts. Assistant United States Attorneys Amy M. Smith and Erica D. Lunderman are representing the United States in the cases.

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