April 23, 2009

PEN received the following information today from the Chicago IRS Field Office. The Field Office wanted PEN to convey to Chicago area postal employees:

“… it is important for Chicago Postal employees to read the following:”

Postal Employee Indicted in Fraudulent Tax Refund Scheme
– Preparing False Tax Refund Claims for Co-workers and others
– See update at end of article

Chicago – On April 14, 2009 a federal grand jury indicted Stephen Neal, age 43, of Chicago land area, for crimes committed in connection with a fraudulent scheme to obtain income tax refunds. The indictment charges Neal with 37 felony counts of filing false claims against the United States in the form of fraudulent income tax returns seeking tax refunds to which the individuals for whom Neal prepared tax returns were not entitled.
According to the indictment, Neal, while employed with the U.S. Postal Service, held himself out to co-workers and others as an income tax preparer.  Neal prepared tax returns and filed those returns on behalf of individual taxpayers.

From 2002 through 2005, Neal fraudulently increased certain clients’ tax refunds by   misrepresenting their number of dependents, by overstating their deductible expenses, overstating business losses and losses from rental property.  Neal falsely decreased the clients’ tax due and owing amount in order to improperly qualify his clients for tax refunds.  The indictment details 37 tax returns that were prepared for 13 different clients for the tax years 2002 through 2005.

Today, April 22, 2009 Neal was arraigned and entered a not guilty plea to the charges.  A trial date has not yet been scheduled. 

SPECIAL AGENT MARIA SUAREZ
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER
CHICAGO FIELD OFFICE
IRS CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION