News writer
A 79-year-old Florida accountant stole almost $600,000 from friends and clients to help fuel a long-running scratch-off habit. He has now been sentenced to 15 years in prison for his crimes.
In December, Dennis Maxey pleaded guilty to six felony counts of scheme to defraud. Now, a Pinellas County judge sentenced Maxey after hearing testimony detailing how his addiction to Florida Lottery scratch-off tickets spiraled into years of financial deception.
A daily lottery ticket routine
According to court records, Maxey made near-daily visits to the same Publix store from 2015 through 2024. Investigators spoke to a lottery clerk at the store, who said she would see him five days a week for almost a decade. Each visit that Maxey would make to the Publix, he would spend $500 to $600 on scratch-off tickets.
Prosecutors presented the court with bank records, which showed thousands of dollars in weekly ATM withdrawals. They estimated Maxey spent roughly $200,000 a year on scratch-off tickets.
The money he was using for this scratch-off addiction was coming directly from clients who trusted him with tax payments, prosecutors said. In court, one of the victims said, “People's lives were blown up over scratch-off tickets.”
How the scheme worked
Maxey was the owner of DWM General Accounting. He ran the business out of his home in Largo, Florida. According to prosecutors, Maxey would accept checks and cash from his clients with the promise that he would submit these tax payments to the Internal Revenue Service on their behalf.
However, those payments never made it to the IRS. Clients then started to question why the IRS showed no record of submissions, but Maxey allegedly gave them excuses and claimed additional money was needed to cover growing penalties and late fees.
That additional money the clients would give him also went toward the Florida Lottery tickets.
Maxey gained their trust
During the court hearings, several of the victims testified to how Maxey exploited personal relationships to carry out these crimes.
One of those victims was Kirit Patel, a convenience store owner in Largo who knew Maxey because he would regularly purchase lottery ticket books from his store. That relationship they formed would lead Patel to later hire Maxey to handle his taxes, but he ended up losing thousands of dollars between 2014 and 2018.
Another victim, Gary Prescott, said Maxey gained his trust through connections at church. Prescott said in court that Maxey promised to resolve his tax issues and help secure an emergency Small Business Administration loan for his struggling real estate business. Instead of doing that, Maxey ended up stealing $26,000 from Prescott.
Before learning any of this, Prescott referred Maxey to other business owners, including Shaun Carcary. He eventually discovered that claims by Maxey about a $250,000 loan approval were completely fabricated.
Crimes continued while on bond
Prosecutors made sure to emphasize that these crimes by Maxey continued, even after he found himself in legal trouble earlier.
In 2019, Maxey was arrested for similar offenses. However, he continued committing fraud while he was out on bond. Assistant State Attorney Rene Bauer was seeking an 18-year sentence, citing Maxey's lengthy criminal history. Maxey was convicted of multiple theft and fraud charges back in the 1980s.
However, defense attorneys asked for probation due to Maxey's age. His wife said he suffers from a gambling addiction, and they had to take out a reverse mortgage to fund restitution.
The judge didn't hold back
While defense attorneys asked for a lighter sentence, the judge rejected that request. Maxey was sentenced to 15 years in prison and was ordered to pay restitution to all of the victims.
This is just a stark reminder of how gambling addictions, when left unchecked, can intersect with positions of trust. This can cause lasting harm that goes way beyond the lottery counter.
Enjoy playing the Florida Lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
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