By Tinashe Chingarande
Baltimore Sun
(TNS)
Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman said Wednesday her office has flagged more than 5,000 suspicious tax returns and blocked over $15 million in fraud ahead of the April 15 filing deadline, underscoring what analysts say is part of a broader nationwide pattern of tax scams.
This announcement comes as thousands of Marylanders file their taxes this month, while the number of bad actors using artificial intelligence to commit financial fraud increases.
Andrew Blair-Stanek, a professor at the University of Maryland’s Carey School of Law, said tax authorities’ heightened focus on tax fraud—when they should focus more on going after those not paying their taxes at all—is “astonishing” and shows just how much so much money in tax refunds is disbursed to the wrong people. The Internal Revenue Service (has been fighting against tax fraud “for a very long time.” The IRS in February launched a new online reporting tool that allows individuals to report suspected tax fraud confidentially using a smartphone, tablet, or computer.
“People go and file a false tax return for somebody who’s going to get a refund, and it goes to the thief instead of [going] to the actual person who was supposed to get the tax refund,” Blair-Stanek said.
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Anirban Basu, an economist at Sage Policy Group, noted that Lierman’s announcement is reminiscent of the widespread fraud that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, when millions across the country falsely cashed in on aid meant for businesses and this should be a cause for concern. A Baltimore County man in February was sentenced to two years in prison, followed by six months of home detention and three years’ supervised release for receiving over $500,000 in COVID-19 relief loans.
“Obviously, the capabilities of would-be electronic thieves have become even more remarkable in a world of cloud computing and [artificial intelligence],” Basu said.
The Baltimore Sun reached out to Lierman’s office to clarify the criteria it used to determine instances of tax fraud, how this year’s cases compare to last year’s, and what action the office will take to reprimand offenders. Lierman’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
But her office has been on high alert for suspicious activity this year. Lierman in January issued a statement warning Maryland residents to protect their personal information, after a Maryland taxpayer received a false note purporting to be from the comptroller, asking them to hand over their sensitive information with the promise of a big payday when they file their taxes.
Photo credit: Mawardibahar/iStocik
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©2026 Baltimore Sun. Visit baltimoresun.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC.
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