Wynantskill Woman Pleads Guilty to Misusing Names of Government Agencies

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Kristina Gross, age 37, of Wynantskill, New York, pled guilty today to misusing the names of the Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), a misdemeanor offense.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and William A. Kalb, Special Agent in Charge of the Northeastern Field Division of the Office of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).

As part of her guilty plea, Gross admitted that she worked for a construction services company in Rensselaer County, whose bank account had been levied by the IRS on February 14, 2017.  On February 23, Gross twice emailed a bank employee what she claimed was an IRS release of levy form, in an unsuccessful attempt to induce the bank to provide her company with access to funds that the bank had frozen as a result of receiving the IRS levy. 

Gross admitted that the document she sent to the bank on February 23 was forged, inaccurate and not approved or authorized by the Department of the Treasury or the IRS.  She also knew that the document would create the false impression at the bank that the IRS had actually issued the document when, in fact, the IRS had not.

Gross faces up to a year in jail and a maximum $10,000 fine when she is sentenced on May 18, 2018 by United States Magistrate Judge Daniel J. Stewart.  A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

This case was investigated by TIGTA and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Barnett.