United States Attorney
Northern District of Texas

1100 Commerce St., 3rd Fl.
Dallas, Texas 75242-1699

Telephone (214) 659-8600
Fax (214) 767-0978

IRS Contract Worker Indicted for Stealing from IRS Lockbox

United States Attorney Jane J. Boyle announced that Dallas, Texas, resident, Edmond Ekene, was charged this week in an 18-count indictment with various felony charges relating to his theft of taxpayers' payments sent to the IRS. Specifically, Ekene is charged with five counts of theft of government property, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 641 and 2; five counts of embezzlement by a bank employee, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 656 and 2; three counts of false statements, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001; two counts of false representation of a Social Security Number, in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 408(a)(7)(B); one count of interstate transportation of stolen property, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2414 and 2; one count of bank burglary, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a); and one count of possession of stolen mail, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1708. Edmond is presently in federal custody on one of the above charges contained in a criminal complaint filed last month. An arraignment date on the charges outlined in the indictment has not yet been set by the Court.

An indictment is an accusation by a federal grand jury and a defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty. However, if convicted on all counts charged in the indictment, Edmond Ekene, age 31, faces a maximum statutory sentence of 260 years imprisonment, an $8.25 million fine, and restitution.

The IRS contracts with numerous commercial banks to operate "Lockbox" centers across the country. "Lockbox" is a process through which taxpayers mail their tax payments and tax documents to a designated post office box for processing. Bank employees collect the remittance checks and forms from these post office boxes and then process them on an accelerated schedule, usually forwarding the transaction records to the IRS by the following day. This speedy collection/processing service allows the U.S. Treasury to receive the funds promptly, thereby earning substantial interest revenue for the United States.

Bank of America maintained a lockbox facility in Richardson, Texas, under an agreement with the U.S. Treasury Department Financial Management Service and the IRS, that served the Midwestern and Western United States. To handle the processing at this IRS Dallas Lockbox, Bank of America used temporary employees supplied by Bank of America contractors. Adecco Employment Agency and Remedy Staffing were temporary employment agencies that were Bank of America Contractors. Edmond Ekene was employed by Adecco from mid-March, 2002 through mid-September 2002, when his employment was terminated for cause.

The indictment alleges that during this time frame, Ekene stole more than $127,000 in funds sent to the IRS Dallas Lockbox in Richardson. Ekene, used names and Social Security Numbers that did not belong to him, to rent private mail boxes in Dallas from Mail Boxes, Etc., Mail USA, and Mary's Mail Center. On December 24, 2002, Ekene mailed two unaltered checks, totaling more than $21,000, that he had stolen from the IRS Dallas Lockbox, to LaSalle, Quebec in Canada.

The indictment also charges that on April 6, 2003, Ekene, after he had been terminated by Adecco, gained employment with Remedy Staffing and requested and obtained assignment to the IRS Dallas Lockbox, from which he was expelled upon discovery. The indictment alleges that Ekene entered the IRS Dallas Lockbox, operated by Bank of America, with intent to steal taxpayers' checks from the lockbox, as he had done previously while employed by Adecco Employment Agency.

The affidavit filed in the related criminal complaint in this case states that on April 25, 2003, Edmond Ekene attempted to open a fraudulent credit card account using another name at the Great Indoors, a retail business located in Farmers Branch, Texas. According to law enforcement officers, Ekene presented Great Indoors employees with a counterfeit drivers license and Social Security card. When Ekene left the premises, he was confronted by officers at his vehicle in the parking lot. Numerous pieces of stolen mail and counterfeit identification, including a credit card statement, a pre-approved credit solicitation, insurance liability cards and a water billing statement were recovered from Ekene's vehicle. Law enforcement officers arrested Ekene at that time.

United States Attorney Boyle commended the investigative efforts of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Farmers Branch Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joseph M. Revesz.

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