Former IRS employee pleads guilty to accepting bribe

Posted by AccountingWEB on Jan 11 2010 2580 printer friendly

A former Dallas IRS employee has pleaded guilty to taking a $2,000 bribe from a taxpayer in return for a promise that the IRS would not audit the taxpayer's return.

Fernando Hernandez, 33, faces up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is set for March 29, the U.S. Department of Justice announced last week.

Hernandez, who no longer works for the IRS, said in court documents that he accepted one $2,000 cash payment on June 3, 2005. He was arrested on Oct. 9, 2009 on the felony bribery charge. The press release did not name the taxpayer.

The investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, the FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development - Office of Inspector General.

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