State: Duluth man cashed $800,000 in erroneous checks

The owner of a yacht company is charged with failing to return nearly $800,000 to the state that was erroneously sent to him by the Department of Revenue.

A criminal complaint filed in St. Louis County District Court says the revenue department issued two refund checks to Owens Yacht Sales in March 2008. Department officials say the checks were mistakenly issued due to human error and internal accounting inaccuracies.

The complaint says that when the state discovered the error, it contacted owner Kevin Charles Owens and he refused to return the money.

The Duluth News Tribune says bank records indicate that the defendant spent the entire amount of money erroneously given to him within several months of receiving it.

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Owens could not be reached for comment.

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Information from: The Duluth News Tribune

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