On March 15, 2018, in the Eastern District of Kentucky, former Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employee Jason Helton was sentenced for making false statements and for the theft of Government funds.1 Helton was initially indicted for the offenses in February 2017,2 and was found guilty in a jury trial in August 2017.3
According to the court documents, Helton was an employee of the IRS stationed at its Prestonsburg, Kentucky, office between July 2014 and April 2016.4 During this period, Helton knowingly and willfully made and submitted false documents to the IRS, knowing that they contained materially false and fictitious statements. Specifically, Helton falsely reported that he performed work that he did not actually perform and that he incurred work-related expenses that, in fact, he did not incur.5
Additionally, Helton knowingly received and retained stolen property of the United States, in that he received salary and expense reimbursements from the IRS to which he was not entitled, with the intent to convert the funds to his own use.6
Helton was sentenced to five months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release. He will be required to submit to electronic monitoring and home detention for a period of five months during his supervised release. Helton was also ordered to pay $8,114.75 in restitution to the IRS.7
1 E.D. Ky. Judgment filed Mar. 19, 2018.
2 E.D. Ky. Indict. filed Feb. 23, 2017.
3 E.D. Ky. Verdict filed Aug. 17, 2017.
4 E.D. Ky. Response to Motion in Limine filed July 11, 2017.
5 E.D. Ky. Indict. filed Feb. 23, 2017.
6 Id.
7 E.D. Ky. Judgment filed Mar. 19, 2018.