Green & Sklarz LLC Partner Eric Green represented the owner of a business that had been embezzled by its bookkeeper, Rebecca Block of Windsor, Connecticut.  To stop the IRS from assessing its client’s owner for the unpaid Trust Fund portion of the payroll taxes, Attorney Eric Green brought the case to IRS Criminal Investigation.

Today, John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Joel P. Garland, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in New England, announced that REBECCA BLOCK, 43, of Windsor, waived her right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to a federal tax offense stemming from an embezzlement scheme.

According to court documents and statements made in court, BLOCK was employed by PG Life Planning Associates, Inc. in West Hartford.  Between 2010 and 2013, BLOCK stole from the company by issuing checks payable to herself and depositing those checks into her personal bank account.  She concealed the embezzlement from her employer by disguising the payments in PG Life’s internal accounting records as legitimate business expenses.  BLOCK embezzled approximately $190,399 over the approximately four-year period, and failed to report a total of $42,004 in income taxes on her 2010 through 2013 federal tax returns.

When the IRS civilly began pursuing PG Life Planning Associate’s owner for the unpaid taxes we (Green & Sklarz) brought the case to the IRS Criminal Investigation Division who not only investigated and prosecuted Rebecca Block but also ended the civil case against the owner.

BLOCK pleaded guilty to one count of filing a false tax return, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of three years.  Judge Underhill scheduled sentencing for May 22, 2018.

BLOCK has agreed to make restitution in amount of $190,399 to PG Life, and $42,004, plus applicable interest and penalties, to the IRS.  BLOCK is released on a $40,000 bond pending sentencing.

Green & Sklarz would urge business owners to not give unfettered access to the finances of a company to any one employee, and to always review the actual bank records and bookkeeping software and not rely on reports.  Had this been done REBECCA BLOCK’s embezzlement scheme would have been stopped long before she stole nearly $200,000 from her employer.