For rent; lien on me; really creative; and other highlights of recent tax cases.
Syracuse, New York: Stephen Mockler, 53, of Waverly, New York, Andrew Panessa, 40, of Lake Ariel, Pennsylvania, and Sabrina Scott, 52, of Granbury, Texas, have pleaded guilty to charges related to their roles in a scheme to obtain confidential tax information from the IRS.
The three admitted that Scott, while an employee of a private investigation firm in Texas, provided both Mockler and Panessa with personal ID information about her firm’s investigative targets and requested that Mockler and Panessa use that information to obtain confidential tax information.
Mockler, who received requests for tax information from both Scott and Panessa, called the IRS and used the information to impersonate the taxpayer, answer the security questions and learn non-public information about the taxpayer. Mockler then sent that information back to Panessa or Scott, who provided the information to the private investig
Twin Tiers Residents Involved in Cross-Country IRS Scam
Get our free mobile app
Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s office say 53-year-old Stephen Mockler of Waverly, 40-year-old Andrew Panessa of Lake Ariel in Wayne County, Pennsylvania and 52-year-old Sabrina Scott of Granbury Texas have plead guilty to charges related to their roles in a scheme to get personal identifying information from the IRS.
Getty Images
The United States Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration says the three admitted that while Scott was working for a private investigation firm in Texas, she provided the other two with personal information like social security numbers for people who were being investigated by the firm.