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June 2, 2023

Former IRS Employee Sentenced for Scheme to Defraud the IRS and Commit Identity Theft

On May 8, 2023, in the Eastern District of California, Deena Vang Lee was sentenced to 54 months of imprisonment, three years’ supervised release, and ordered to pay $191,597 in restitution. Lee was found guilty of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of a false and fraudulent tax return, and making and subscribing false and fraudulent tax returns. From 2012 through 2016, Lee at certain times was an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employee who prepared and filed tax returns for other individuals that contained false and fraudulent statements. In her role as a tax preparer, Lee used false information on customers’ tax returns and submitted those returns to the IRS. As part of this scheme, Lee obtained the identification of multiple individuals and falsely listed these individuals as childcare providers on multiple customers’ tax returns. Lee also falsely reported her income related to the payments she received for tax preparation services on her tax returns for tax years 2013, 2014, and 2015.

Source:  The facts in this case narrative come from the following publicly available documents: E.D. Cal., Indict., filed April 11, 2019; and E.D. Cal, Judgment, filed May 11, 2023.