Former IRS Revenue Officer in Prestonsburg Convicted Of Defrauding United States

ASHLAND, Ky. – A federal jury has convicted a former revenue officer assigned to the Prestonsburg, Ky., office of the Internal Revenue Service of defrauding, and making false statements to, the United States government.

On August 17, 2017, the jury returned its guilty verdict against 32-year-old Jason Helton of Louisa, Ky. U.S. District Judge David Bunning set Helton’s sentencing for December 18, 2017.

The evidence at trial established that on several occasions, from 2014 to 2016, Helton submitted false time sheets and false travel vouchers to the IRS, in order to receive salary, benefits, and travel expense reimbursements for work that he did not perform. Specifically, the evidence revealed that several taxpayers had confirmed that they did not receive visits from Helton on the dates he claimed to have visited and that Helton had falsely claimed to be reporting for work in the Prestonsburg office, on dates when he had not.

Carlton S. Shier, IV, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky and Rodney Davis, Special Agent in Charge, Washington Field Division, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration jointly announced the verdict.