BATON ROUGE - State tax refunds are taking longer than usual for some people since the Louisiana Department of Revenue has purposely slowed the refund process down to fight fraud.

Numerous people have complained to WBRZ about the time it has taken to receive refunds. People reported waiting weeks, like Reshida Lewis of Baton Rouge who was still waiting on her refund Thursday afternoon.

"I haven't heard anything (about where my refund is)," she said. Lewis said she received her federal refund almost immediately weeks ago when she filed her taxes.

"I try to tell them when they come to me that it may take longer to get their refund," preparer Norman Turner said in an interview featured on WBRZ News 2 at 6:00 Thursday. Turner remembered years when state refunds arrived ahead of federal refunds.

"Sometimes you want to get frustrated, and then you think about it; they have other stuff first, so you just have to wait," he said.

State officials said the process slowed when there was an increase in fraudulent activity on tax accounts. The delay means it might take up to sixty days for an electronic refund or as many as fourteen weeks for taxes filed by paper.

But, officials argue their slow-moving analysis is working. Already, more than $38 million in income tax fraud has been uncovered and 50 people have been arrested for identiy theft, officials said.

This year, LDR has issued 260,573 individual income tax refunds.

Click HERE to see when you refund will be issued.

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