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Arlington family used $1.7M in stolen tax refunds to buy luxury car, house in Mississippi: prosecutors

By Aaron Barker
Published  December 12, 2025 3:27pm CST
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FILE - U.S. 50-dollar bills are run through a counting machine. (Susana Gonzalez/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The Brief

    • David Hunt, his twin sons and the sons’ half-brother were convicted of a multimillion-dollar tax refund fraud scheme by a jury in Fort Worth, Texas.
    • Prosecutors say the family tried to steal $8.5 million in tax refunds by filing falsified tax returns in the names of purported trusts they controlled.
    • The family received more than $1.7 million from the IRS based on the false tax returns, prosecutors say.

ARLINGTON, Texas - Members of an Arlington family were convicted by a jury in Forth Worth on Thursday of a multimillion-dollar scheme to steal tax refunds.

What we know:

According to federal prosecutors, David Hunt, his twin sons Brandon and Baylon Hunt and the sons’ half-brother Corey Burt, of Long Beach, Mississippi, ran a scheme to file falsified tax returns in the names of purported trusts they controlled. They sought $8.5 million in tax refunds to which they were not entitled. 

Prosecutors said Brandon and Baylon Hunt also submitted fake documents to the IRS that included altered money orders even after receiving warning letters from the IRS.

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According to prosecutors, the group received more than $1.7 million in tax refunds, and used the money to buy luxury items, furniture, cryptocurrency, a Cadillac Escalade and a house in Mississippi.

All four men were convicted of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. The members of the Hunt family were also convicted of multiple counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation or false tax returns.

What they're saying:

"Fraudulent tax schemes such as this rob the federal fisc and the American taxpayers," said U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould for the Northern District of Texas. "This verdict rightly held all four defendants accountable for their roles in the criminal conduct – a result garnered by the diligent work of IRS-CI, the Tax Section of DOJ’s Criminal Division, and those in my office to bring these individuals to justice."  

What's next:

Sentencing is scheduled for Mach 26, 2026. The family faces a maximum of five years in prison on the conspiracy charge and a maximum of three years in prison for each of the false tax return charges. They also face monetary penalties and restitution.

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