ORLANDO, Fla.,None — An Orlando socialite got away with not paying taxes for years and racked up the county's biggest lien in recent history, officials said on Thursday.
Toby Unwin claimed to be the head consulate to Austria, which would've made him exempt from paying property taxes.
WFTV found out that because of Unwin's case, the state department in Washington is making big changes.
Unwin has been living well in an upscale gated community, whose residents include Orlando Magic big wigs and professional golfers.
Now, the state department has issued a directive, requiring property appraisers to verify whether someone qualifies to live in a home without paying taxes.
Unwin is one of Orlando's well-known socialites.
He lives in a $1 million home in an exclusive gated community on Big Sand Lake in Doctor Phillips.
The Orange County property appraiser said the England native got away without paying taxes for four years, claiming to be head of the Austria Consulate for the U.S. Government.
Unwin even has the signs and flags outside of his home, and turned in what appears to be official documents, said authorities.
"What he turned in were fraudulent documents," said Orange County Property Appraiser Bill Donegan.
"Why isn't he being charged with a crime? This sounds criminal," asked WFTV reporter Daralene Jones.
"Well because there's no statute that addresses this in the state of Florida," Donegan said.
Donegan said he did some digging, and found that Unwin is only an honorary consul.
Donegan also said he found out that only head consuls get to live in America tax free as part of the Geneva Convention.
After a year of fighting with Unwin to pay up, his mortgage company, JP Morgan, paid $112,000 that he owed in back taxes and penalties.
Donegan said it's likely they want to foreclose on his home.
"You're living in a pretty fancy home here. You can't afford to pay the taxes or you just don't want to?" asked Jones.
WFTV
