JONESBORO, Ga. — A Georgia man already accused of orchestrating a multimillion-dollar wire fraud scheme is now facing new federal charges after allegedly trying to retaliate against the judge who presided over his previous case, claiming the judge owed him more than $32 million.
New Charges Filed Against Christopher Dowtin
Federal court records from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio show that 48-year-old Christopher Dowtin, of Jonesboro, Georgia, and a co-defendant, Bondary McCall, have been charged with retaliation against a federal judge. Prosecutors say the two filed false lien records in Maryland’s Department of Assessments and Taxation against District Court Judge Thomas M. Rose, asserting that the judge owed Dowtin exactly $32,495,888.58.
The same amount, investigators note, was connected to Dowtin’s prior wire fraud case in which he allegedly attempted to deposit two fraudulent tax refund checks totaling more than $32 million.
Background: The Beavercreek Wire Fraud Case
Judge Rose previously presided over Dowtin’s earlier case, where the Georgia man was accused of using falsified IRS forms to make himself the responsible party for two companies. According to court documents, Dowtin fraudulently obtained two refund checks — one for $32,495,888.58 and another for $26,156.50 — before attempting to deposit them into a trust account at a Morgan Stanley office in Beavercreek, Ohio.
When a Morgan Stanley executive grew suspicious of the transactions, the company alerted the U.S. Secret Service and IRS Criminal Investigation Division, who seized the checks and launched an investigation.
Federal Authorities Call It Retaliation
Prosecutors allege that Dowtin’s recent lien filing against Judge Rose was a deliberate act of retaliation, targeting the judge for his role in the prior conviction. Dowtin and McCall are now both facing potential fines and prison sentences of up to 10 years if convicted…