Friday, May 10th, 2019 @ 2:35AM

Former Special Agent Sentenced for Designing a Scheme to Defraud and Obstruct the IRS

https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/oi_highlights_2018.shtml

CFEG reports that on October 23, 2018, in a federal district court in the Eastern District of California, a former IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) Special Agent was sentenced for filing false tax returns, theft of Government funds, and obstruction of justice. A jury previously found this IRS employee guilty of the offenses. https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/oi_highlights_2018.shtml

According to the court documents, the employee was a resident of Sacramento, California, was employed as an IRS-CI special agent from approximately 2006 to 2014. She was also a certified public accountant. https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/oi_highlights_2018.shtml

Between 2010 and 2012, she prepared six false tax returns. Three of the returns were her own individual income tax returns, and three were tax returns for trusts that she established. Each was signed under penalty of perjury and contained false statements. https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/oi_highlights_2018.shtml

On her individual tax returns, she falsely claimed head-of-household filing status. She claimed three dependents, tuition and fees deductions, and losses of up to $25,000 for trusts that she had established. She had knowledge that all of these claims were false and was aware that she was not entitled to make these claims. She also stole public money and converted it to her own use, despite knowing that she was not eligible for such money, by causing the IRS to issue IRS Tuition Assistance Reimbursement payments to her. In addition, the three trust tax returns prepared by her contained false statements, including but not limited to the amounts of rents received, deductions for negative income distributions, and claims of negative net income, all of which were declared as losses on two of her corresponding individual tax returns. The total loss to the Government was more than $60,000. https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/oi_highlights_2018.shtml

Additionally, this IRS employee, knowingly and with the intent to obstruct the investigation, destroyed, altered, concealed, or falsified at least one record that was stored on a Government-issued computer and Government servers. Specifically, when special agents approached her to retrieve her Government laptop, she lied to them about its location and then began deleting files from it after they left. https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/oi_highlights_2018.shtml

She was sentenced to a total of 51 months’ imprisonment followed by 36 months of supervised release. In addition, she was ordered to pay a special assessment fee of $800 and restitution in the amount of $4,000. https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/oi_highlights_2018.shtml

When IRS employees engage in filing false tax returns, steal Government funds and obstruct justice, the IRS fails in its mission to apply the tax law with integrity and fairness to all.

Posted by cfegov
Categories: 2018 CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS OF IRS EMPLOYEES