Sunday, February 24th, 2019 @ 10:46PM

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) was established under the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 to provide independent oversight of IRS activities. Through its investigative programs, TIGTA addresses threats arising from lapses in IRS employee integrity, violence directed against the IRS, and external attempts to corruptly interfere with Federal tax administration. chttps://www.treasury.gov/tigta/oi.shtml

TIGTA protects the Department of Treasury’s ability to collect revenue owed to the Federal Government. In order to achieve this, TIGTA’s Office of Investigations (OI) administers investigative programs that protect the integrity of the IRS and detect and prevent fraud and other misconduct within IRS programs. This includes investigating allegations of criminal violations and administrative misconduct by IRS employees, as well as protecting IRS against external attempts to corrupt or threaten its employees. chttps://www.treasury.gov/tigta/oi.shtml

TIGTA’s oversight extends to the IRS, IRS Chief Counsel and the IRS Oversight Board. TIGTA serves as an independent voice reporting directly to the Treasury Secretary and Congress. chttps://www.treasury.gov/tigta/oi.shtml

On March 21, 2018, in a federal district court in the Western District of North Carolina, an IRS temporary contract employee was indicted on eight counts of theft of Government funds. https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/oi_highlights.shtml

According to the court documents, from about March 2016 through about April 2017, the IRS employee was an employee of a temporary employment agency that had placed her at an IRS lockbox facility, located in Charlotte, North Carolina. https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/oi_highlights.shtml

An IRS lockbox is a facility operated by a federally insured bank that the IRS has contracted for the purpose of, among other things, processing Federal tax remittances. Federal tax remittances are payments made payable to the IRS and/or the U.S. Treasury Department in the form of checks and money orders mailed by taxpayers to designated post office boxes for processing. IRS lockbox facilities hire temporary employees through temporary employment agencies and then screens them to work in the lockbox performing various duties, such as opening incoming mail. https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/oi_highlights.shtml

While working at the IRS lockbox facility in Charlotte, the IRS employee stole approximately 34 checks and money orders which had been made payable to the IRS and totaled approximately $57,000. She did so by altering the payee information on the checks and money orders to reflect her own name. For example, she changed “IRS” to “MRS” then inserted her last name. She then either cashed the stolen and altered checks and money orders or deposited them into accounts in her name. https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/oi_highlights.shtml   If convicted, this IRS employee could face a maximum of 10 years’ imprisonment. Additional legal actions are anticipated. https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/oi_highlights.shtml

In sum, when IRS employees steal Government funds the IRS fails in its mission to apply the tax law with integrity and fairness to all.

Posted by cfegov
Categories: Theft of Government Property By IRS Employees