Skip to main content
Press Release

Former IRS Employee Sentenced to Prison for Falsely Certifying the Number of Hours He Worked

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Maryland

Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge George L. Russell III sentenced former IRS employee Antonio Keith Willabus, age 47, of Laurel, Maryland today to four months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for falsely certifying on his time and attendance records that he worked 353.1 hours in 2012 when in fact he had not. Judge Russell also ordered Willabus to serve 400 hours of community service and to pay restitution of $24,427.45.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein and Special Agent in Charge Robert Geary of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

According to his plea agreement, Willabus was a full time management and program analyst with the information technology service of the IRS. His office was located in New Carrollton, Maryland. During part of 2012, Willabus was permitted to work from home on Mondays and Tuesdays.

In January 2012, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration(TIGTA) began investigating Willabus’ time and attendance. The personal recording card Willabus was required to use to record his entry and exit at his office showed that Willabus rarely spent more than a few hours in the office on the days he was supposed to be there. Surveillance video of the building lobby showed that Willabus’ entries and exits were infrequent. People in adjacent offices rarely ever saw Willabus. His supervisors and coworkers frequently could not find Willabus, and were frustrated and perplexed when he did not respond to their emails during working hours.

On Monday and Tuesday of May 7 and 8, 2012, when Willabus was supposed to be working from home, TIGTA agents observed Willabus leave his house at 8:15 a.m. and then spend the day driving to locations in Baltimore. Agents believed Willabus was preparing to set up a bar business in Baltimore. He was seen moving a freezer from his truck into a bar building. Willabus did not return home or go into his office during his regular working hours on either day. On May 11, 2012, he entered data into his office time and attendance system claiming that he worked full days on May 7 and 8.

Cell site records from January through May 8, 2012 showed that Willabus frequently made calls on his cell phone from locations other than his home or office during the hours that he was supposed to be working. For work days between January 13 and June 8, 2012, Willabus falsely claimed to be working 353.1 hours that he did not actually work, for which he received a salary of $24,427.45. 

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration for its work in the investigation and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Hollis Raphael Weisman, who is prosecuting the case.

Updated January 26, 2015