Former IRS Employee Accused of Attempting to Steal More than $2M from the Government and ExxonMobil

Salt Lake City, Utah – A Davis County resident was indicted by a federal grand jury today for multiple financial crimes after he allegedly abused his position as a former IRS employee and attempted to steal more than $2 million in tax credits.

According to court documents, Rodney Quinn Rupe, 46, of Syracuse, Utah, devised a scheme from July 2021 to March 2024 to fraudulently obtain money from the IRS and Exxon Mobil Corporation (ExxonMobil) and divert the money for his personal use. As a former IRS account management employee, Rupe had access to certain taxpayer accounts and case processing tools in an IRS computer database where he had the ability to adjust tax, credits, penalties, and interest to certain taxpayer accounts.

As alleged, Rupe abused his access to an IRS database to divert tax credits owed to ExxonMobil to Ex Xo Exteriors Ltd., an entity created and controlled by Rupe. For example, in July 2021, Rupe accessed an IRS database to assign a newly created employer identification number (EIN) to Ex Xo Exteriors Ltd. After diverting the tax credits in the IRS database owed to ExxonMobil, Rupe then transferred the diverted tax funds from one tax year to another, which resulted in a refund in the form of a United States Treasury check in the amount of $2,100,377.38. The refund consisted of the diverted tax credits and interest owed to ExxonMobil. In January 2024, after receiving the refund, Rupe attempted to deposit the U.S. Treasury check at multiple America First Credit Union locations on several occasions. 

Rupe is charged with wire fraud, mail fraud, bank fraud, and theft of government property. His initial appearance on the indictment is scheduled for July 3, 2024, at 2:30 p.m. in courtroom 8.4 at the United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City. 

U.S. Attorney, Trina A. Higgins, of the District of Utah made the announcement.

The case is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). 

Assistant United States Attorney Stewart M. Young of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah is prosecuting the case. 

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.