Former IRS Employee Pleads Guilty and Receives Probation

(WNY News Now) – A former IRS Case Advocate has admitted guilt in federal court for accessing tax returns without authorization. 

Buffalo – Lisa Hughes, 52, a former IRS Case Advocate, has admitted guilt in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah J. McCarthy for accessing tax returns without authorization. Hughes worked in the IRS’ Buffalo field office, illegally retrieved sensitive tax information for a local tax preparation company.

From April 2014 and August 2019, she accessed data over 120 times. Hughes also prepared over 100 tax returns for the same company’s clients and others between 2016 and 2019, despite knowing this was against IRS regulations. She was sentenced to a year’s probation and a $1,000 fine. The case was investigated by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.