Source: United States Department of Justice News
HARRISBURG – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Erin Hossler, age 52, of Pottsville, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on March 24, 2022, to 15 months’ imprisonment by United States District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani for tax evasion. She was also ordered to pay $153,539.70 in restitution to the IRS.
According to United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, Hossler stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from Cressona Borough, where she previously worked as Secretary/Treasurer and failed to file income tax returns during the years 2015, 2016, and 2017. Hossler misappropriated the funds in a number of ways, including having numerous checks issued to herself, forging signatures on checks, and using online banking for the borough’s bank accounts to pay her personal bills. To conceal her activities, Hossler altered federal records and withheld payment of federal employment taxes for Cressona Borough employees. Hossler also altered an audit from an independent accounting firm to make it appear that the firm approved of the borough’s finances.
In 2019, Hossler was charged in state court for these theft offenses and, served a state prison sentence of 12 months to 24 months in state prison for the state crimes. Hossler pleaded guilty to the federal tax evasion charges in July 2021, after she completed her state sentence.
Hossler asked Judge Mariani for a reduced federal sentence because of the punishment she received in state court. Judge Mariani found that while Hossler had been punished in state court for that part of her crimes, she had not been punished for evading United States’ taxes and that 15 months in federal prison was warranted.
The case was investigated by the IRS Criminal Investigation and is assigned to Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Consiglio for prosecution.
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