Ordering takeout can certainly become an addiction due to the high-fat and high-sugar foods that are offered through several restaurants. But how far can an addiction go if you are willing to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars to continue your food-delivering antics? This is the case of Charlene Smith, who embezzled $170,000.
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Smith used to work as an office manager and bookkeeper at a tractor supply company in Nampa, Idaho. The now-defunct Northwest Industrial Machine - which closed its doors in 2023 - sold new and used tractors, trucks, auto parts, and other farming equipment. Little did they know that Smith would embezzle 170,000 dollars to spend it all on Uber Eats, Facebook Pay, and Doordash.
Not only did she embezzle money, but Smith also wrote herself unauthorized checks that she would later deposit in her own Cash App account, according to a press release issued by the Idaho State Tax Commission in Boise. Smith stole the whole amount of money from 2021 to 2022. She then failed to report these funds in her 2021 Idaho income tax return.
Smith Sentenced
"Deliberately providing false information on a tax return is fraud," said Jeff McCray, the Tax Commission Chairman. "Taxpayers must accurately report income from all sources on their tax returns." According to the press release, the Tax Commission "discovers tax crime by routinely analyzing tax returns and conducting tax audits, as well as through tips from law enforcement, other state agencies, and the public."
According to the press release, posted on October 23, Charlene Smith pleaded guilty to "state income tax evasion and forgery." Following her plea, the Canyon County District Court sentenced Smith to 19 years of supervised probation. They also ordered Smith to pay the whole $170,000 to her former employer as restitution.
Should Charlene Smith fail to comply with the conditions of her probation, she could face jail time. Whether someone you know is embezzling money to order some cheeseburgers and fries or spending it in other outlandish ways, the Idaho Tax Commission encourages reporting tax crime. You can choose to email them at [email protected] or fill up their fraud referral form.
