IRS Agent Among 14 Charged with Tax Credit Fraud

According to US Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz, fourteen people were charged with tax fraud for using the first-time homebuyers credit to steal money from the federal government. Is it just me, or will this not do much to help the IRS’s image?

Boston.com reports:

One of those charged is a long-time IRS agent, Michael Doyle, of New Hampshire. He allegedly falsely claimed that he bought a home in 2008 to qualify for the credit, but actually purchased the property in 2007, Ortiz's office said. Doyle, 44, could not immediately be reached for comment, and an IRS official could not say whether Doyle still works for the federal agency.

Two other defendants, Junior Lopez of Southbridge, and Christopher Proe of Michigan, allegedly filed more than 50 fraudulent tax returns, receiving about $500,000 in refunds, prosecutors said. Proe and Lopez also could not immediately be reached for comment.

"It is critically important that taxpayers who play by the rules do not end up paying for refunds to people who commit fraud and blatantly lie on the forms submitted to the IRS,'' Ortiz said in a prepared statement.

J. Russell George, the Treasury's inspector general for tax administration, said it is "especially troubling" when an IRS agent is implicated in a fraud case. "Congress created and modified the home buyer credit to stimulate and help taxpayers achieve the America Dream, not to line the pockets of wrongdoers,'' George said.

More here

Tax Collector Tries to Squash Idaho Pumpkin Stand

My favorite holiday (Halloween) is just a few days away, and thousands of children and adults are getting out their pumpkin carving kits to prepare for the big night. Unfortunately, according to new reports a family owned pumpkin stand was almost put out of business because of an aggressive State tax collector.

The Lewiston Tribune reports the Idaho State Tax Commission has called for the closure of a family's pumpkin stand in Lewiston, a mill city along the Snake and Clearwater rivers.

Dan and Kami Charais told the newspaper that a Tax Commission employee informed them the stand was in violation of laws and had to shut its doors.

The couple says their 4- and 6-year-old children had been carving out a niche for themselves in the local jack-o-lantern market - to raise money for school sports, they say.

A Tax Commission representative told the newspaper that even goods sold at roadside stands are taxable and that the stand did not have a proper permit.

Read more here

Man accused of 'bomb bag' threat at IRS office

On August 17, 2009 a man threatened an IRS employee when he handed her a note that read, “Bomb bag,” and gestured to his back pack during his visit to a San Jose IRS office. Today that man was charged in federal court.

The day of the scare, the IRS employee is said to have quickly hit a panic alarm and then special agents evacuated the building and detained the suspect. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the suspect was taken into custody for psychiatric evaluation that day. However, a bomb was not found.

Read the full article here and tell me what you think.

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IRS Agent Pleads Guilty In Tax Fraud

From The Los Angeles Times:

An IRS agent whose job entailed conducting audits of taxpayers agreed to plead guilty Monday to a federal charge of cheating on his own taxes, authorities said.

Jim H. Liu, 43, of Diamond Bar signed court papers admitting that he filed a false tax return for 2002 that cheated the government out of nearly $15,000, according to the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles.

According to a plea agreement filed in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, Liu sold a property in Pomona for a profit of more than $48,000 that year. But he claimed on his taxes that the transaction resulted in a loss of $4,200.

Liu agreed to plead guilty to a tax fraud charge that carries a penalty of up to three years in federal prison.

He also promised to file an amended tax return for 2002 and agreed to pay $36,000 in unpaid taxes, penalties and restitution, according to the plea agreement.

"This case serves as a reminder that tax laws apply to all people," said Assistant U.S. Atty. Bayron T. Gilchrist, who prosecuted the case.

"It's especially egregious when you have somebody who's supposed to enforce those laws who instead willfully violates them."

Some of the wording in the plea agreement reinforced the notion that, despite his employment with the IRS, Liu was being treated like just another taxpayer. For example, it reminded Liu that nothing in the agreement prevented the IRS from further scrutinizing his amended return after it was filed.

Neither Liu nor his attorney could be reached for comment. His job status with the IRS was not immediately available.