Former tax collector fined $120,000

Woman also receives two-year sentence

A former employee of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) was fined $119,877 (to be paid over 10 years in $300 monthly payments) after being found guilty of criminal fraud, breach of trust and tax evasion in a Manitoba court.

Michelle Mariano, 27, was also given a two-year conditional sentence.

The CRA determined, between 2002 and 2005, the former Winnipeg Tax Centre employee altered information on individuals’ personal income-tax returns to generate more than $130,000 in false refunds.

According to the Winnipeg Free Press, Mariano covered up her activities by altering the mailing addresses of individuals so they wouldn’t receive the adjustment refund statement and later re-instating the correct addresses. The paper also said she had gambling problems and falsely adjusted her own return to generate a higher refund by inflating tax credits she was owed and understating income.

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