IRS Employee Sentenced for Filing False Tax Returns [1] On May 6, 2021, in the District of Massachusetts, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Lead Contact Representative Jennifer Beth True was sentenced for aiding and assisting in the filing of a false tax return, and the filing of a fraudulent tax return by an employee of the IRS. True was initially charged on January 13, 2020, with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

According to the court documents, from approximately February 2012 through April 2017, True electronically filed more than 590 Federal tax returns for other individuals, often in exchange for money. She charged between $40 and $100 for each return she prepared knowing that she was in violation of rules prohibiting such activity by IRS employees. In addition, True prepared at least 70 IRS Forms 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, that included materially false items, such as false Individual Retirement Account deductions, false itemized deductions, and false dependent and childcare expenses that allowed True and others to receive tax refunds that they were not entitled. When interviewed, all witnesses said they had not provided True with the false information on their returns and that they did not know that True included such false information on the returns she prepared.

True was sentenced to one year and one day imprisonment, three years' supervised release, ordered to pay $1,057,471.30 in restitution, a fine of $1,000, and an assessment fee of $800.

Source:  The facts in this case narrative come from the following publicly available documents: D. Mass., Crim. Comp., filed Jan. 13, 2020; D. Mass. Plea Agree., filed Jul. 1, 2020; D. Mass., Info., filed Jul. 1, 2020; and D. Mass., Judg., May 5, 2021.