Former IRS Revenue Officer Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion
Retired Professor Pleads to Conspiracy to Submit False Expatriation Statement and Tax and FBAR Conduct
In a case of dabbling in too much of one’s own product, or the dog chasing its own tail, so to speak, an IRS Special Agent who was responsible for investigating tax crimes is now accused of committing those crimes herself. According to the DOJ press release (here):
According to the allegations in the indictment, Alena Aleykina, of Sacramento, a certified public accountant and former IRS-CI special agent, filed false individual income tax returns for the years 2009, 2010 and 2011, on which she claimed false filing statutes, dependents, deductions and losses and tax returns on behalf of two trusts. The indictment further alleges that, between 2008 and 2013, Aleykina attempted to obstruct the IRS by preparing false tax returns for herself, family members, trusts and partnerships and by making false statements to representatives of the Department of the Treasury and attempted to obstruct a federal investigation by destroying evidence on a government computer. Aleykina is also charged with fraudulently causing the IRS to issue IRS Tuition Assistance Reimbursement payments to her.
If convicted, Aleykina faces a statutory maximum sentence of three years in prison on each count of filing a false tax return and corruptly endeavoring to obstruct the internal revenue laws, 10 years in prison for the charge of theft of government money and 20 years in prison for the destruction of evidence charge, as well as a period of supervised release and monetary penalties.
An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Times are certainly tough for those in the IRS due to increasing workloads and a lack of pay increases that would adjust for inflation, but it is unclear what drove the Special Agent to the alleged conduct. The investigation was led in part by TIGTA, which is the “internal affairs” of the IRS, as well as various Department of Justice attorneys and others.
Daniel Layton, Esq., is a former Federal prosecutor and the principal attorney in Tax Attorney OC.