WASHINGTON, DC –
Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11) on February 12 applauded the unanimous passage of her legislation, The Recovery of Stolen Checks Act, out of the House Committee on Ways and Means. The legislation, which was cosponsored by Reps. David Kustoff (TN-08) and Terri Sewell (AL-07), would allow taxpayers who’ve had tax refunds from the U.S. Treasury stolen in the mail to receive a replacement check via direct deposit, something IRS policies and procedures have prevented causing second and third replacement checks to also be stolen.
“Many of my constituents are hardworking taxpayers and when a check goes missing or is stolen, it directly impacts their livelihood,” Congresswoman Malliotakis said. “I am thankful to the Ways and Means Committee for allowing me to highlight this issue and appreciate their swift action to pass my legislation with unanimous support. Having reissued payments delivered via direct deposit is a commonsense solution to this systematic and widespread problem, and will prevent criminals from preying on taxpayers and stealing their hard-earned money. I urge my colleagues to bring this critically important legislation to the floor as soon as possible so we can protect taxpayers before the end of this tax season”, she added.
Malliotakis’ district has been hit hard by postal fraud, with at least $5.3 million in checks stolen across 377 cases. Check amounts range from a few hundred dollars up to $500,000, with one constituent needing their check reissued four times before it was received. Last Congress, Malliotakis pressed IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel and U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to address this issue. It is estimated that 40,000 IRS checks alone were stolen nationally in 2024 – up from just 100 in 2022.
“We must get to the bottom of the recent string of postal thefts that have seen millions of dollars in IRS refund checks stolen from taxpayers, including $5.3 million stolen from New York’s 11th Congressional district alone,” House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith said. “To begin though, we must ensure that taxpayers who have been victims of this fraud can receive the funds owed to them without further hassle and uncertainty. I applaud Representative Malliotakis for leading this effort to protect her constituents and all hardworking taxpayers. She started sounding the alarms about this issue last year and has been a tireless advocate for fixing this problem ever since”, he added.
