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Feb.12, 2010, 1:00 a.m.

Daniel Prewett used his position as a Jackson Hewitt franchisee to scam investors, and that same association gives his victims a rare opportunity: a chance to get their money back.

Victims of the schemes that have rocked investment markets often end up emptyhanded, trying to recoup money that is gone, said Sarasota attorney Drew Clayton, who specializes in investment litigation.

"Oftentimes, the bad guys are operating fly-by-night companies, they've hidden the money, or spent it," Clayton said.

But experts say a jury put Prewett's victims in a different category Wednesday when it found national firm Jackson Hewitt Tax Services responsible for the full amount of a Sarasota dentist's investment losses.

Attorneys say the verdict strengthens claims from 130 investors who say they lost $18 million to Prewett, a convicted felon who offered money market and real estate investments out of the Jackson Hewitt franchise office.

And those investors have another advantage: Jackson Hewitt is not a fly-by-night company. The firm is the second largest tax preparation franchise, with more than 6,600 locations, and has a $63 million market cap on the New York Stock Exchange.

At the same time, the company has posted recent losses and lists $60 million cash on hand.

The company spent the last two weeks defending a lawsuit from Sarasota dentist Frank Kaman and his wife, who said the tax firm was aware Prewett was using Jackson Hewitt's name to sell investments and did nothing to stop him.

Peter Henning, a professor at the Wayne State Law School who specializes in issues of white-collar crime, said that investment cases always turn into the search for who is able to pay for the losses -- or the "deep pocket."

In cases like that of Bernie Madoff, in prison for running the largest-ever Ponzi scheme, the victims might be out of luck.

This case stands out because Prewett cloaked himself in a business that has been held responsible, in one case, for the full amount lost.

"It's rare to get money back from an investment scheme from the main bad guy," Henning said. "It's difficult to find the deep pocket, and even when you find it, it usually doesn't cover everything."

Jackson Hewitt has said it plans to appeal the verdict, but has declined further comment.

Henning said Jackson Hewitt is likely considering a series of settlements after the verdict, if it does not succeed in having the verdict thrown out.

The national Jackson Hewitt company became the focus of lawsuits after it became apparent that investors would not recover anything from Prewett. Federal authorities arrested Prewett on money laundering charges at his Jackson Hewitt office in 2006, the first sign for investors that their money might not be safe.

While Prewett was sentenced to 18 years in prison for those crimes, he was never charged with a crime related to the investments. Prewett had fled to Italy, and extradition treaties prohibited prosecutors from bringing charges.

No charges meant no restitution for victims through the criminal court.

Prewett and his company then filed for bankruptcy, and the investors learned that they were the last in line behind banks and other creditors to be paid and therefore had no chance at any money.

Robert Turffs, the attorney representing most of the claims against Jackson Hewitt, said Thursday that the verdict has prompted more calls to attorneys working the cases. Any new cases must be filed by October because of statute of limitations, he said.