Judge Rules Almost 85,000 Inmates Entitled to Stimulus Checks

A federal judge ruled this week that the Internal Revenue Service improperly deemed about 85,000 incarcerated individuals ineligible to receive a stimulus check and must reissue those payments, Newsweek reports.

Although about 85,000 inmates received stimulus checks, amounting to $100 million in total, the IRS claimed that the checks were granted improperly and told the inmates to either repay their direct deposit or return their voided check. However, U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton ruled this week that the IRS' actions were "likely contrary to law" because The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security, or CARES, Act provides either $1,200 to individuals or $2,400 to couples depending on their level of income and legal resident status.

"Incarcerated persons who otherwise qualify for an advance refund are not excluded as an 'eligible individual,'" the judge wrote in her ruling. "The IRS's decision to exclude incarcerated persons from advance refund payments is likely contrary to law."

Hamilton has issued a preliminary injunction that forces the IRS to reconsider those payments that were rescinded or denied, and gives the agency 45 days to outline its steps to do so.

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