On October 7, 2021, in the District of New Hampshire, former Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employee Jane Smith pled guilty to attempted wire fraud and making false statements.

According to the court documents, around September 1993, Smith began receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA). Smith was informed by the SSA that she was required to report any changes in her employment and income. Beginning around January 2007 through March 2018, Smith worked for several employers, to include the IRS. Smith concealed her employment from the SSA to avoid reduction in her SSDI benefits. Between April 2011 and July 2017, SSA learned of Smith’s employment and suspended her benefits several times. Upon each suspension of benefits, Smith took steps to cause SSA to resume wiring her SSDI benefit payments that she was not entitled to receive. The funds were wired to Smith’s bank account in Methuen, Massachusetts, from the U.S. Treasury in Kansas City, Missouri.

Between in or around February and May 2018, Smith falsely reported to SSA, the IRS, and the Nashua Police Department (New Hampshire) that she was a victim of identity theft and that someone else had used her name to work for her employers. Smith also falsely claimed that she had neither worked for her employers nor received wages from them. As a result of her criminal conduct, Smith obtained over $90,000 in benefits that she was not entitled to receive.

This matter was investigated jointly by special agents of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General. Smith is scheduled to be sentenced on January 13, 2022, and faces maximum imprisonment of up to 20 years.

Source:  The facts in this case narrative come from the following publicly available documents: D.N.H., Indict., April 12, 2021; and DOJ Press Release 21-185 dated October 8, 2021.