Collier Sheriff's Office investigating multiple reports of tax payment thefts

Most people don’t relish sending money to the IRS during tax season .

For Terry and Janet Alonzo, this year was worse – their payment ended up in the hands of a thief, according to a report they filed with the Collier County Sheriff’s Office .

“[Janet Alonzo] decided to check her account online and discovered that check number 291, that she issued to United States Treasury, had been washed and issued,” a sheriff’s deputy wrote in the incident report. The report redacted the name of the person who cashed the check.

The Alonzos, both 80 years old, have lived in Naples’ Villages of Monterey condo complex for 23 years, they said. They’ve always personally dropped off checks at the post office, after their tax preparer completes their filing and tells them how much they owe.

This year, they sent two checks on April 9, according to the incident report. They hand-delivered the checks to a drop box inside the North Naples post office on Creekside Parkway, they told the Naples Daily News. But the money never reached the IRS.

“About 10 days later we found out somebody had stolen the check and washed it and cashed it,” Terry Alonzo said.

One check for $3,040 was altered and cashed, they said. Another for $700 went missing, but they managed to cancel it before it was cashed.

The Alonzos said they grew concerned about the status of their checks because multiple people had posted about missing tax payments in a private Facebook group for Villages of Monterey residents. When Janet checked her online banking account, she saw the money had been deposited by a person she didn’t know.

The Collier County Sheriff’s Office confirmed they are investigating multiple cases of tax payment theft.

“We can confirm that we have additional reports that we are looking into, however any information beyond that is part of the active investigation,” Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Karie Partington wrote in an email.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office said they have not received similar reports.

Anyone looking at the envelope could have easily guessed that it was a tax payment because it was sent in April and addressed to the IRS, Terry Alonzo said.

The theft of the Alonzos’ tax filing has also put them at risk of identity theft. The couple had to cancel all their credit cards, Alonzo said.

The couple said they gave a statement to investigators with the IRS in addition to speaking with the Collier Sheriff’s Office.

The U.S. Postal Service declined to confirm an investigation, but sent an email statement:

"The U.S. Postal Service employs more than 625,000 employees...," it said. "This type of alleged behavior within the Postal Service is not tolerated and the overwhelming majority of Postal Service employees, who all serve the public, are honest, hardworking, and trustworthy individuals who would never consider engaging in any type of criminal behavior."

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Collier Sheriff's Office investigating multiple reports of tax payment thefts