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Feds: Jacksonville accountant who died in 2016 boating accident stole over $12M from clients

Federal investigators filed a "verified complaint for forfeiture in rem" on Monday to retrieve millions of dollars the government says were stolen by a local accountant who died in a 2016 boating accident, along with his wife in Georgia.

Action News Jax told you in 2016 when Raymond Hutchins Sr. of Jacksonville and his wife, Laura Hutchins, were found dead.

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Investigators discovered his body near the St. Andrews Sound.

“Mr. Hutchins was found yesterday and we’re continuing our search for her today,” Sgt. Mark Carson of the Department of Natural Resources, told Action News Jax in 2016.

Laura Hutchins’ body was found days after the couple were reported missing.

According to the federal complaint, about $5.4 million, a 2013 Mercedes E-350 and a 2016 Toyota Land Cruiser have been seized and are in the custody of the U.S. Secret Service.

The 30-page complaint says the money and vehicles will be forfeited to the United States.

The complaint alleges Hutchins Sr. defrauded three trusts funds ranging from about $2.6 million to $6.59 million in scheme that began around 2010.

According to the complaint, Hutchins Sr. “… fraudulently overpaid income taxes…” and “received IRS refund checks and deposited the funds …” into accounts he opened in his clients’ names.

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The complaint also claims Hutchins Sr. wired funds into accounts “… created to facilitate the laundering of the wire fraud proceeds.”

Action News Jax Investigators Ryan Nelson reached out to the U.S. attorney’s office asking if Hutchins Sr.’s death sparked the investigation.

He received the following response from William C. Daniels, Public Affairs Officer and Law Enforcement Coordinator of the Middle District of Florida’s U.S. Attorney’s Office.

“We do not wish to comment beyond what is already contained in the filed complaint.”