Police officers are put on this earth to help keep everyone safe and for that we are thankful. But, they are human, and therefore, imperfect. A case in Tampa tells of a police officer who cashed in fraudulent tax refund fraud checks to pay for a divorce from her cheating husband. (The people were safe but the fraudulent tax returns in her department’s evidence room were not.) The police corporal hasn’t “been able to forgive” herself for breaking her oath and stealing, reports The Tampa Tribune.
According to the story, this police officer, who desperately needed money for an attorney, forfeited her nearly 30-year career and pension, after she stole $100,000 in fraudulent tax refund checks from her department’s evidence room. She then passed them off to a civilian co-conspirator, who cashed them for 10 to 15 cents on the dollar (and you thought bank ATM fees were criminal). Reportedly, this former police veteran cooperated with federal investigators to reveal several other internal offenders, including a former sergeant and a civilian police employee, who since have been indicted for crimes such as identity theft, money laundering and stealing government property.
The presiding judge showed mercy on the officer, acknowledging that she took responsibility for her illegal actions and cooperated with investigators. (Of course, now she remembers how the system works.) Instead of remanding her to prison, the judge ordered her to serve five years of probation, eight months of house arrest, pay back $100,000 to the Internal Revenue Service and perform 1,000 hours of community service.
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