A Georgia man was found guilty of stealing nearly $13 million from taxpayers by submitting fraudulent documents that, among other things, claimed celebrities like Keanu Reeves and Gene Hackman worked for his sham African gold mine business.
Carl Delano Torjagbo, also sometimes called Karl Lucius Delano, spent his ill-gotten gains on a mansion, supercars, plastic surgery and even a yacht down payment, according to court records.
Torjagbo, 49, was convicted on Friday by a federal jury of bank fraud, wire fraud and money laundering.
Prosecutors said Torjagbo’s scheme began on February 13, 2021, when he submitted two individual tax returns to the IRS falsely claiming that his millions of dollars in personal losses should offset earnings he made through Kremkov Industries, his supposed gold mine in Ghana.
Each tax return had different social security numbers and dates of birth, but the US Treasury still cut Torjagbo a refund check for $3.3 million.