24 IRS workers in TN accused of theft

24 IRS workers in TN accused of theft

Feds say they stole jobless benefits, welfare, more
First it was the families of dead people and state employees. Now,
authorities say Internal Revenue Service
employees in Tennessee were stealing unemployment and other benefits while
fully employed.
On Thursday, 13 of those employees were indicted on federal charges
that they lied to get unemployment, food stamps, welfare and housing
vouchers. An additional 11 have been indicted on state charges of theft greater
than $1,000.
In all, authorities say the workers improperly received more than
$250,000 in government benefits.
“You’ve got these employees that are taking advantage of the system
that they are so intimate with it by virtue of their jobs,” said Shelby County
District Attorney General Amy Weirech, whose office is handling the state
prosecutions. “It’s doubly frustrating.”
The investigation originated with the U.S. Treasury Inspector
General for Tax Administration, a Treasury Department agency that is
responsible for oversight of the IRS. The agency in recent years has been
focusing on IRS employees who illegally draw government benefits as part of
what they call “Operation Double Dip.”
On Monday, for example, federal prosecutors in Indianapolis
announced convictions of four former IRS employees in a similar scheme. In that
case, employees would properly collect unemployment while furloughed, but they
failed to report when they returned to work, which should have cut off benefits.
Thursday’s indictments accuse the 24 employees of fraudulently
obtaining those benefits going as far back as 2006 and as recently as Dec. 31,
2012.
“According to the allegations in the indictment, while these IRS
employees were supposed to be serving the public, they were instead brazenly
stealing from law-abiding American taxpayers,” U.S. Attorney Edward L. Stanton
III, who oversees federal prosecutions in West Tennessee, said in a prepared
statement.

News follows audit
The indictments come just weeks after a state audit found more than
$73 million in over payments were made by the Tennessee Department of Labor and
Workforce Development over the past several years. That audit turned up 24
active state employees who received more than $126,000 in unemployment benefits and seven
dead people who were paid out $12,387. The state said the majority of those
cases involved fraud.
Thursday’s indictments were not directly connected to the state
audit, said Jeff Hentschel, spokesman for the state labor department. He said
federal investigators actually enlisted the state’s help in investigating the
fraud in May 2011.
“The agency considers combating and preventing fraudulent
overpayments a top priority, as well as recouping improper payments resulting
from fraud,” Hentschel said. “We will continue to enlist the help of agencies
like the OIG to assist in this effort.”
Prosecutors identified the 13 indicted in federal court as: Angela
Allison, 37; Jessica Davis, 35; Serina Gaither, 37; Teresa Jenkins, 46; Joanne
Johnson, 46; Cynthia McKinney, 38; Angela Scales, 28; Dorothy Simmons, 35; Mary
Weeks, 61; Evonna Yarbrough, 42, all of Memphis, along with Gale Baker, 54, of
Cordova; Shari House, 45, of Jackson, and Talaria Mitchell, 35, of Southaven,
Miss.
Each has been charged with multiple counts of false statements, in
violation of Section 1001 of Title 18 of the United States Code. A conviction
under that statute can result in up to five years in prison.
Eleven other former and current IRS employees were charged by the
District Attorney General’s Office with theft of property over $1,000, a class
D felony.
The 11 charged in state court are identified as: Raya Banks, 47;
Clara Cannon, 61; Alma Childers, 64; Cathryn Fair, 50; Robert Graves, 60;
Mechell Hampton, 35; Nicole Nickson, 39; Diane Malone, 56; Myra Thompson, 32;
Katina Thurman, 39, and Pamela Williams, 47, all of Memphis.

‘You would expect better,’ DA says
Weirich said cases such as these can erode public trust in
government workers.
“Both current and former employees, they were just bilking money
from the government, from the state and the federal government — housing,
unemployment, food stamps, welfare, all of that,” she said. “You would expect
better from an IRS agent. We all expect better from all of our government
employees.”
This seems to be a drop in the bucket compared to what the thieves
in the District
of Criminals
do on a daily basis….Why are we not arresting all the bad guys there?
THIS IS REALLY INTERESTING…. THE WORLDS BIGGEST THIEF (IRS)
 CATCHES  LITTLE THIEVES STEALING FROM THEM….. NOW THIS
IS WHAT I CALL A  REAL OXYMORON. THESE WORKERS OUT TO BE APPLAUDED.
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