IRS Employee Steals $326,000 By Using Taxpayer’s Identities

An IRS employee who worked in the agency’s St. Louis, MO., office pled guilty this week to charges of tax fraud. Demetria Brown netted $326,000 in a fraud in which she stole taxpayer identities and created fake tax returns to steal refunds. Her plea was made the same week that IRS Commissioner John Koskinen told Congress Russian criminals were behind the hacking of the agency’s website that resulted in the identity theft of more than 100,000 individuals.