We have yet another nominee for the Bozo Tax Offender of the Year award. Let’s head to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Back in 2005 Gayle McIntyre pleaded guilty to 36 counts of state tax fraud. She was sentenced to 54 years in prison, but the prison time was suspended; Ms. McIntyre instead received probation and had to make restitution of $127,000. Back in 2005 Ms. McIntyre told the judge, “Living is expensive.”
Let’s fast forward to last week. Ms. McIntyre made the news again, for all the wrong reasons. She’s being accused of 23 counts of tax fraud, forgery, and identity theft. Ms. McIntyre, who used to work for New Mexico’s state tax agency, allegedly filed seven phony tax returns for $7,400 in refunds last summer; she’s also accused of depositing one refund of $1,700 into her own bank account.
These are just allegations at this point; Ms. McIntyre’s trial is set for August 12th. But if you’ve committed tax fraud in the past, wouldn’t you realize that you’d be under special scrutiny? Judge Michael Vigil knows what could happen: “One year could be added to each of those counts because you’re a habitual [offender]…You’re looking at almost 100 years, if everything got stacked.”