Massachusetts
Massachusetts IRS agent charged with filing false tax returns for 3 years
A longtime agent for the U.S. Internal Revenue Service has been indicted for filing false tax returns for several years, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts said Wednesday.
Ndeye Amy Thioub, 67, of Swampscott, was indicted on three counts of filing false tax returns and three counts of filing false tax returns as an employee of the United States by a federal grand jury in Boston on Tuesday, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Thioub was arrested on March 20 and charged with a criminal complaint, which accused her of lying on her tax returns for 2017, 2018, and 2019.
Thioub had served as an Internal Revenue agent since 2006 and worked out of the Boston IRS office, according to the criminal complaint. She was assigned to the IRS’ Large Business and International Division, where she conducted independent field examinations and investigations of “complex income tax returns” filed by large entities, the complaint adds.
“Thioub has extensive and specialized knowledge and training in accounting techniques, practices, and investigative audit techniques,” the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said in a statement earlier this month. “She is also responsible for examining and resolving various tax issues of individuals and business organizations that may include extensive national and/or international subsidiaries.”
In addition to her IRS position, Thioub worked as a visiting instructor at Salem State University in Massachusetts between roughly 2017 and 2021, the complaint says. She taught college-level classes that included instruction on verification of records; valuation and analysis of accounts; the importance of financial accounting and financial statements; professional standards; and ethics, professional responsibilities, and legal liabilities issues facing auditors.
Thioub faces up to three years in prison, followed by one year of supervised release, and a $100,000 fine for filing a false tax return, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. She also faces up to five years in prison, followed by one year of supervised release, and a $10,000 fine for filing a false tax return as a federal employee.
According to the U.S. Sentencing Commission, more than 61,000 cases were reported to the commission in the fiscal year 2022. Of those cases, 401 involved tax fraud and the median loss for these offenses was over $300,000.
Complaint: Veteran IRS agent claimed thousands of dollars in false expenses
During the tax years of 2017 to 2019, Thioub filed false personal tax returns and claimed thousands of dollars in fraudulent business expenses, according to the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.
The complaint alleges that Thioub also filed a false Schedule C, which is used to report income and expenses a taxpayer operated or a profession the taxpayer practiced as a sole proprietor. Thioub allegedly claimed a business loss from an “import/export” business Thioub said she operated, the complaint says.
“As a result, the claimed net loss was carried over to her personal IRS Form 1040s and used to reduce Thioub’s adjusted gross income and ultimate tax liability,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Thioub had reported that the alleged businesses resulted in net losses of $42,805 in 2017, $20,324 in 2018, and $27,063 in 2019, according to the complaint.
More: The IRS is sending 125,000 compliance letters in campaign against wealthy tax cheats
Latest criminal case involving IRS employee
Wednesday’s announcement is the latest case involving an IRS employee in recent years.
In May 2023, six people — including a former IRS employee — were charged in connection to an alleged multimillion-dollar COVID-fraud scheme, according to the IRS. Frank Mosley was identified as the former IRS agent and was a tax enforcement officer for Oakland, California, at the time.
According to the charging documents, Mosley and the five other suspects conspired to submit fraudulent loan applications through the federal government’s Payroll Protection Program. Mosley was also accused of using the funds from the loans for personal investments and expenses.
Another former IRS employee was sentenced to 13 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $74,662 restitution in 2022, the IRS said. The former employee had filed false tax returned and gave fabricated records “in an attempt to obstruct an audit of those returns.”
In October 2020, an IRS supervisory revenue agent was arrested and charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. An investigation at the time revealed that the agent would resell cocaine that he received from a courier.
Police shot and killed a man who officials say rushed officers with a knife during a call in Lexington, Massachusetts, on Saturday.
Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said the situation started around 1:40 p.m. when Lexington police received a 911 call from a resident of Mason Street reporting that his son had injured himself with a knife.
Officers from the Lexington Police Department and officers from the Northeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council (NEMLEC), who were already in town for Patriots’ Day events, responded to the call.
Police were able to escort two other residents out of the home, initially leaving a 26-year-old man inside. According to Ryan, while officers were setting up outside, the man ran out of the home and approached officers with a large kitchen knife.
She added that police tried twice to use non-lethal force, but it was not effective in stopping him. The man was shot by a Wilmington police officer who is a member of NEMLEC. The man was pronounced dead on scene and the officer who fired that shot was taken to a local hospital as a precaution.
The man’s name has not been released.
Ryan said typically in a call like this where someone was described as harming themselves, officers would first try to separate anyone else to keep them out of danger, which was done, and then standard practice would be to try to wait outside.
“It would be their practice to just wait for the person to come out. In the terrible circumstances of today, he suddenly rushed the officers, still clutching the knife,” Ryan said.
The investigation is still in the preliminary stages and more information is expected in time. Ryan said her office will request a formal inquest from the court to review whether any criminal conduct has occurred, which is the standard process.
This happened around the same time as the annual Patriots’ Day Parade, and just hours after a reenactment of the Battle of Lexington, which drew large crowds to town.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Massachusetts
‘An impossible choice’: With little federal help to combat rising costs, Head Start looks to Massachusetts for more help – The Boston Globe
In Massachusetts, roughly 1,300 slots for children across Head Start’s 28 agencies have been eliminated in the last three years because federal funding has plateaued over that time, while the cost of running the program continues to rise, according to the Massachusetts Head Start Association. Nationally, Head Start enrollment dropped from 1.1 million kids in 2013 to around 785,000 in 2022, according to research by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
“If they didn’t get into a Head Start program, they would be sitting at home,” said Brittany Acosta, a Head Start parent in Dorchester.
It’s teachers are drastically underpaid, and there’s a serious need for a rainy day-type fund should the federal government shut down again, the association says. As they’ve done in years past, state lawmakers have offered to provide financial relief, but the Massachusetts Head Start Association’s request for 3 percent above the amount it received last year, an additional $4.6 million to help its staff keep up with the state’s rising cost of living, so far has not been allocated.
Last year, President Trump’s leaked budget proposal revealed he considered eliminating Head Start entirely. Then, in the summer, he cut off Head Start enrollment for immigrants without legal status. And during the fall’s government shutdown, four Head Start centers in Massachusetts closed because they couldn’t access their funding.
Trump’s latest budget proposal shows a fourth year without increasing funding for the program, which was established in the mid-1960s.
Michelle Haimowitz, executive director of the Massachusetts Head Start Association, said the program doesn’t want to eliminate more child slots than it already has, but paying teachers a competitive salary is equally important in order to keep them from leaving for higher paying jobs. Head Start teachers make under $50,000 annually compared to over $85,000 for the average Massachusetts kindergarten teacher.
“It’s an impossible choice,” Haimowitz said. “When we reduce the size of our programs, we’re not reducing the size of the need.”
Massachusetts is one of few states that supplements federal funding for Head Start, and last year it increased the program’s state grant from $5 million to $20 million, adding to the $189 million in federal aid it receives in this state.
“We can’t run a program without giving staff a raise for three years,” Haimowitz said. “Our next fight now is not just for survival, but it’s for thriving and growth.”
The Massachusetts House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday released its budget, which doesn’t grant Head Start’s request of a 3 percent boost. But state Representative Christopher Worrell filed an amendment for additional funding. Worrell, whose district covers parts of Dorchester and Roxbury, said he loves Head Start’s embrace of culture, recalling one visit to a center where he could smell staff cooking stew chicken, a traditional Caribbean dish.
“I’ve been to dozens of schools throughout the district, and you don’t get that home-cooked meal,” Worrell said. “[The state is] stepping up and doing the best we can with what we have.”
At the Action for Boston Community Development’s Head Start and Early Head Start center in Dorchester, the children of Classroom 7 arrived one Monday morning and dove into bins of magnetic tiles before their teachers, Paola Polanco and Leolina Rasundar Chinnappa, served breakfast. Acosta dropped off her 4-year-old daughter, Violeta, before reporting to her teaching position at the center, where several other Head Start parents also work.
“It’s important for all Head Start parents to have the opportunity to give their child an experience in a learning environment before they actually start kindergarten,” Acosta said.
Beyond providing early education and care to children of low-income families, from birth to age 5, the program helps them access other resources, including mental health services, SNAP benefits, homelessness assistance, and employment opportunities.
It also serves as daycare for parents who might not be able to afford it, while they’re at work.
Research has shown the importance of preschool in a child’s development with one 2023 study, focused on Boston public preschools, finding that it improves student behavior and increases the likelihood of high school graduation and college enrollment.
For Rickencia Clerveaux and Christopher Mclean, the Dorchester Head Start center is the only place they feel comfortable sending their 3-year-old son, Shontz, who is on the autism spectrum. Shontz’s stimming — repetitive movements that stimulate the senses — has reduced, and his speech has improved since he joined the center in 2024, Clerveaux said.
His parents say he’s also come out of his shell. Mclean now drops his son off and gets a simple “bye” as Shontz joins his classmates, he said.
He and Clerveaux said they appreciate the specialized attention Shontz can receive from teachers, such as when staff identified that Shontz might have hearing issues. His parents were able to follow up with their doctor and get Shontz to have surgery to improve his hearing.
“It’s a safe net for parents,” Clerveaux said. “There’s so many ways that him being here helps him grow better.”
Without Head Start, Clerveaux said a lot of pressure would be put on parents to find care for their children, “knowing that they’re already struggling or not getting the ends to meet.”
“That’s a burden for everybody in the community,” she said. “If there’s no funding, there’s no daycare and parents cannot work.”
Lauren Albano can be reached at lauren.albano@globe.com. Follow her on X @LaurenAlbano_.
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