Mo Money CEO promises checks by Friday

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) - The first customer to contact WAVY.com about Mo Money Taxes now has her refund check.

Gladys Johnson received her check in the mail Wednesday night. She was not able to cash it at Walmart, but found a different location that did cash the check.

Johnson said Mo Money Taxes employees at the East Little Creek Road location promised her a nearly $4,000 refund check. She said the amount she received was about $900 less than the amount the IRS deposited into the tax preparer's account.

Mo Money Taxes CEO Markey Granberry told WAVY.com others can expect checks to arrive via FedEx by the end of the week. Granberry says he may get on a plane with some of the Norfolk owners and deliver the checks himself.

He projected Friday, but said he did not have a flight booked as of Wednesday afternoon.

Some customers who have already received checks have tried to cash them at ACE Cash Advance locations in Hampton Roads, but the business in currently not cashing checks from Mo Money. Eric Norrington, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs for ACE Cash Advance, told WAVY.com the 1-800 number they use to verify there are funds available went down Wednesday.

Granberry says the Norfolk owners of Mo Money Taxes are currently in Memphis, Tennessee. 

"It's too dangerous up there," Granberry told 10 On Your Side's Anne McNamara on the phone. "You guys blew this thing so far out of proportion."

WAVY.com obtained six search warrants in Norfolk Wednesday. At the bottom of each warrant, the following statement is listed:

"Based upon information provided, I believe probable cause exists that Mo Money tax is utilizing tax preparation services to obtain funds in violation of 18.2-178, Code of Virginia , to wit: obtain by false pretense. I further believe that evidence of the criminal activity is located at the Mo Money Taxes business located at 9571 Shore Drive in the City of Norfolk, Va."

WAVY.com obtained the search warrants after police filed them in the Norfolk court system. WAVY TV was mentioned several times in the search warrant. WAVY's interview with Granberry and Keith Hill at the East Little Creek Mo Money location are being used in the investigation.

Congressman Bobby Scott has also brought attention to U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder about the "apparent fraudulent and criminal actions of the Mo Money Taxes operation in Norfolk, Virginia and vicinity, and in Memphis, Tennessee and vicinity" in a signed letter dated Feb. 7 . Congressman Steve Cohen of Tennessee co-signed the letter .

Granberry says the checks Mo Money customers have been waiting for are being printed at the corporate office and they will be delivered in the next couple of days. He explained the delay of some checks is because the company is "waiting on the Internal Revenue to make deposits," but he said he has not been in contact with anyone at the IRS.

"We haven't broke any laws or rules," Granberry said. "The IRS knows my company is going to distribute the checks. We can't keep those customers checks."

When asked about the investigation Wednesday, Granberry said "Tell the people of Norfolk, they [the police] are investigating someone shooting at them [the Norfolk owners]. That's what they're investigating."

When asked about the computers no longer being in the Norfolk stores, Granberry said police removed them because they were at risk of being stolen.

But Wednesday night, Norfolk Police spokeswoman Karen Parker-Chesson told WAVY.com the computers were seized because "there is reason to believe the hard drives contain evidence of a crime."

Parker-Chesson added that all information obtained by police during the investigation will be turned over to IRS investigators.

"We are not aware of any threats, however the situation had clearly risen to a level where the potential for violence was apparent," Parker-Chesson wrote.

Lori Crouch, spokeswoman for the City of Norfolk, said two of the six Mo Money Taxes locations had valid business licenses, though one was in the renewal process and set to expire in March 2012.

Nearly 60 customers have filed formal complaints at the IRS office in Downtown Norfolk. An IRS employee told a Mo Money customer the IRS has assigned a special agent to the case to follow up on the complaints.

The IRS employee also told the customer the special agent is looking into whether funds will continue to be deposited into Mo Money Taxes accounts.

The Mo Money Taxes website was down most of the day Wednesday. A message said, "Bandwidth limit exceeded", meaning a lot of people were trying to log on.

There's no word on when, or if, the site will go back to normal.

Since WAVY.com broke this story, Mo Money locations across the country have started to shut down. Locations in Richmond, Memphis, and Chicago are closed or being investigated.

Stay with WAVY News 10 and WAVY.com for updates on this developing story.