A former IRS employee has admitted to playing a fraudulent game with taxes and Social Security benefits. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Kathleen Mannion, 58, from Lawrence, has pleaded guilty to charges including preparing and filing false tax returns to improperly inflate refunds and pilfering government money intended for Social Security beneficiaries.
Mannion's tenure at the IRS as a contact representative lasted from 1998 to 2009, but her illicit activities commenced around July 2020 and persisted until April 2023. During this period, Mannion prepared and filed tax returns for several individuals without fairly disclosing her role as the preparer. She craftily listed ineligible dependents to unjustly increase refund amounts and diverted a part of these ill-gotten gains directly to her own bank account. Further complicating matters, she also managed to secretly apply for and redirect Social Security benefits for others into her own coffers during the months from April to October 2020.
The deception didn't stop at just falsifying tax documents. The consequences of Mannion's action can lead to up to three years behind bars, one year of supervised release, and a hefty fine of up to $250,000 for aiding in preparing and filing false tax returns. For the theft of government money, she's looking at a potentially longer sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a similar fine.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and the team of federal investigators from IRS and Social Security Administration, including Thomas Demeo and Amy Connelly, respectively, are credited with unveiling this malfeasance. Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. Mulcahy and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Nagelberg are currently to spearhead the prosecution in this case. While Mannion awaits her sentencing scheduled for September 3, the court's decision will ultimately hinge on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
