Dearborn man seeking $9.8M tax return heading to circuit court

A Dearborn man was recently bound over to circuit court on multiple felonies, including tax fraud, after filing for a refund of more than $9.8 million from the Michigan Department of Treasury, Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Thursday.

Dashonta D. Warren, 41, is charged with one count of filing a false income tax return, a felony punishable by five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. He also faces four counts of filing false UCC (Uniform Commercial Code) statements, a five-year felony that carries a $2,500 fine.

Warren appeared last Friday for his preliminary examination before Ingham County 54A District Court Judge Stacia Buchanan who bound him over to the 30th Circuit Court. Warren waived his right to arraignment in circuit court. His next court dates have not yet been set. He was arraigned on the charges Aug. 18.

“My office stands ready to defend Michigan taxpayers from bad actors who are trying to defraud the system and steal something that isn’t rightfully theirs,” Nessel said. “Intentionally submitting tax return filings that are misleading or factually inaccurate is a felony offense, and it will not be tolerated in Michigan.”

The case was referred to the Attorney General’s Office by the Michigan Department of Treasury after it received the suspicious filings from Warren, who requested a refund of more than $9.8 million when he filed his 2018 tax return. He also allegedly filed multiple fraudulent UCC financing statements with the Michigan Department of State identifying the Department of Treasury and Parkside Livonia Credit Union as debtors.