Thomas A Esnough dba Corp Energy Consultants review: cashing our tax refund checks

Brief
We hired Thomas to do an energy audit for a $2000. He intercepted the tax refund checks of nearly $6100 and kept them.

Long Version
Thomas A Esnough dba Corporate Energy Consultants was hired by Eu-Tec Nutrition to do an energy audit in June 2005. The purpose of the audit was to determine how much energy was used in our manufacturing processes and then seek sales tax refunds from the State of Iowa since manufacturing energy is exempt from sales tax. As is customary, we signed a Power of Attorney document allowing Thomas to make necessary filing with the State. Once we received the tax refunds of $6079.97 Once received, we would pay him his fee of $1945.

During the summer we made repeated contact with Thomas asking the refund status. He always replied that the state was very behind and it would be a while longer. Later we would learn he had received and cashed the checks (fraudently signing our name) in Sept 2005. He stopped returning our calls summer 2006. We contacted the State but received no assistance from them.

Timeline and Events involving fraudulently cashed refund checks.

1. June/July 2005- began working with Thomas Esnough of Corporate Energy Consultants to receive an refund and future exemption on sales taxes paid on energy used in manufacturing which is exempt in Iowa.

2. July 2008- Refunds were filed to the Iowa Department of Revenue. by Thomas acting under the limited power of attorney (limited to requesting information from Utility company and preparing tax return).

3. July 29, 2005- advised by Thomas that our gas refund would be approx. $2400 and 8-10 weeks out.

4. Sept 05- Oct 05 left numerous voicemails for Thomas checking on progress of filing of electric refund.

5. Oct 31, 2005- received a letter from Thomas offering us a discount on his fee if we paid him his fee within 10 days, rather than wait for the refund checks. (Little did we know at this point he had already received the refund checks and cashed them, so this was a scam to get rip us off out of another $2000.) Luckily, we declined and said we would wait for the refund checks to come.

6. April- August 06- Began contacting Thomas regularly. He and his secretary began asking for misc. billing information from me that they “had lost”. They said they would “check” on this with the state. The answer was that our returns had been selected for audit and that the refund checks were delayed.

7. October 05, 2006- Eu-tec contacted the state directly and found out that the refund checks had been issued 08-24-05 and 09-12-05 and deposited into Thomas A. Esnough bank account. 09-02-05 and 09-19-05, respectively.

8. October 5, 2006- Sent an email to Thomas explaining what we had found. I told him that I was sure this was merely an oversight and that if he sent me my funds, the matter would be done. I received no response.

9.October 10, 2006- Cleo Meisch from the Iowa Department of Revenue sent us Forgery affidavits on the checks Thomas had endorsed of Eu-tecs.

We pursued a number of remedies with the Iowa Department of Revenue and the State of Iowa but none of them brought us any closer to getting our money from Thomas.

We are seeking $4134.38 from Thomas A Esnough dba Corporate Energy Consultants. This was our portion of the tax refund checks Thomas cashed in our name.

We feel its important that other business's realize that doing business with Thomas could fall victim to the same scam we did.