Temporary IRS Employee Sentenced for Theft of Federal Tax Remittances
Monday, July 22nd, 2019 @ 3:01PM
Temporary IRS Employee Sentenced for Theft of Federal Tax Remittances
https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/oi_highlights.shtml
CFEG reports that on April 5, 2019, in a federal district court in the Western District of North Carolina, an IRS temporary employee was sentenced to one count of theft of Government property. She was previously indicted on eight counts of the offense in March of 2018, and pled guilty to one count in December 2018. https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/oi_highlights.shtml
“When IRS employees engage in theft of Government property the IRS fails in its mission to apply the tax law with integrity and fairness to all.”
According to the court documents, from about March 2016 through about April 2017, she was an employee of a temporary employment agency at the IRS Lockbox Facility located in Charlotte, North Carolina. https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/oi_highlights.shtml
The IRS, working with a Federally insured bank, operated a lockbox center in Charlotte. “Lockbox” is a process through which, among other things, Federal tax remittances, that is tax payments made payable to the IRS and/or the Treasury Department in the form of checks and money orders, were mailed by taxpayers to designated post office boxes for processing. Temporary employees hired through the temporary agencies and screened by the IRS work in the lockbox facility opening mail. https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/oi_highlights.shtml
While working at the IRS Charlotte Lockbox Facility, the IRS employee stole approximately 34 checks and money orders made payable to the IRS and totaling approximately $57,000. She then altered the payee information on the checks and money orders to reflect her own name. For example, she changed “IRS” to “MRS” then inserted “Gambrell.” Afterwards, she deposited the altered checks and money orders into accounts in her name or cashed the checks or money orders. https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/oi_highlights.shtml
The IRS employee was sentenced to 16 months’ imprisonment followed by two years of supervised release. She was further ordered to pay $29,302.16 in restitution to the IRS. https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/oi_highlights.shtml
When IRS employees engage in theft of Government the IRS fails in its mission to apply the tax law with integrity and fairness to all.
Posted by cfegov
Categories: 2019 CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS OF IRS EMPLOYEES
What is the Identity Theft Tax Refund Fraud Problem?
In general, tax-related identity theft occurs when an individual intentionally uses the Social Security number (SSN) of another person to file a false tax return with the intention of obtaining an unauthorized refund. Identity theft wreaks havoc on our tax system in many ways. Victims of identity theft not only must deal with the aftermath of an emotionally draining crime, but may also have to deal with the IRS for years to untangle the resulting tax account problems. Identity theft also impacts the public fisc, as Treasury funds are diverted to pay out improper refunds claimed by opportunistic perpetrators. In addition, identity theft takes a significant toll on the IRS, tying up limited resources that it could otherwise shift to taxpayer service or compliance initiatives