Henry County

Teen accused of trying to scam state out of $25M says he 'got a little greedy'

By Nicole Carr, WSB-TV
By Nicole Carr, WSB-TV

HENRY COUNTY, Ga. — A teenager accused of trying to get $25 million out of Georgia did not have much to say during his arrest.

Charles Turner talked to Channel 2 investigative reporter Nicole Carr about the charges against him for the first time on Wednesday.

Turner admitted to Carr to many of the allegations against him but shrugged off the seriousness of the scam, because he never got his hands on millions of dollars from the state.

[READ: Records: Teen tax fraud suspect deposited $67,000 in fake checks]

He also believes he has a case against a bank and maybe an ex-employee.

“What was your end goal?” Carr asked Turner.

“To become successful,” he said.

The first time Carr met Turner he was 18, accused of scheming to scam the state of Georgia out of $25 million in tax returns.

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The last time she saw him, a judge warned him to use his brain wisely. Months later he's out on bond and agreed to talk.

“Did you file for that much?” Carr asked Turner.

“Yes,” he answered.

“Well if it was too much to expect, why did you? And if you didn't scam them or try to scam them,” Carr asked.

[READ: High schoolers: Teen accused of trying to scam millions from Georgia employed us]

“I just got a little greedy as well,” Turner said.

State investigators say Turner worked from his mother's south Fulton County home selling Amazon products for an upcharge and never delivered the products and tapped into customer bank accounts.

He agrees with everything except for the part about scamming and stealing from customers.

“If you had to estimate what kind of money that business was bringing in each year, what would you say? Carr asked Turner.

“$750,000,” Turner said.

[READ: Mother of teen accused in multi-million state fraud attempt speaks]

“$750,000? Legit money?” Carr asked.

“Yes,” Turner said.

“With customers getting the merchandise?” Carr asked.

“Yes,” Turner said.

Online customers started calling Turner a little Bernie Madoff. In court the state said he imagined his wealth.

[WATCH: Teen accused in multimillion-dollar tax scam re-arrested on new charges]

"The employee information he entered was fictitious. The withholding information was fictitious. 
The amounts were just fictitious," an undercover agent perviously testified in court.

“I can't comment on it now, but all I can say is my lawyer noted that the detective lied under oath multiple times,” Turner told Carr on Wednesday.

“You think this has been made a bigger deal than it is?” Carr asked Turner.

“Yes,” Turner said. “It's not really that much money, it's just …and the detective also said I never really had a chance to get it. So, I don't know why she pressed charges in the first place,” Turner said.

“But you tried?” Carr asked Turner.

Turner agreed.

“If you tried to get money that wasn't owed to you, that's a scam.” Carr said.

“Sorta," Turner said.

Turner isn't allowed to access computers unless he's working on his GED.

He said he wants to sue a bank that was involved in dismissed forgery charges against him in Henry County as well as a person who spoke to Carr previously who Turner said violated an employment contract.

Cox Media Group

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