On March 6, 2019, in the Middle District of Tennessee, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employee Tracey Allison was indicted for wire fraud, theft of Government property, and aggravated identity theft, in a scheme to fraudulently obtain paid military leave and benefits from the IRS.

According to the indictment, Allison has been employed with the IRS in Franklin, Tennessee, since October 2007. From about November 2013 through about October 2018, Allison allegedly knowingly devised a scheme to defraud and to obtain money by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, willingly stole property belonging to the United States, and used one or more means of identification of another without authority.

Specifically, between 2013 and 2018, Allison regularly submitted false Department of the Army Forms 1380 (DA 1380) to the IRS payroll unit seeking payment for military duties. Allison, however, was discharged from the U.S. Army Reserve in August 2012 and enlisted in the Tennessee National Guard until July 2018. Consequently, she had no military duties for the dates listed on the forms. In furtherance of Allison’s scheme, she forged the name, title, and Department of Defense identification number of her former station commander on the Forms DA 1380. Yet, her former station commander was a military retiree who ceased supervising Allison’s military duties around July 2013. Allison was not authorized to use his or her personal identifiers.

In all, Allison submitted approximately 70 false, fraudulent, and forged Forms DA 1380 to the IRS. As a result of the false submissions, Allison collected payments and benefits totaling approximately $22,846.

If convicted, Allison could face a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment for wire fraud, plus a mandatory two-year sentence for aggravated identity theft.

Source:  The facts in this case narrative come from the following publicly available documents: M.D. Tenn. Indict. filed Mar. 6, 2019.