Woman gets 18 months behind bars for stealing $1M in iPods meant for Native American stude...

AppleInsider

After a lengthy trial and sentencing process, a New Mexico woman has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for her involvement in a scheme to steal and resell iPods intended for Native American students.

Apple iPods

Stock, 46, admitted to stealing more than 3,000 iPods purchased by the Central Consolidated School District in New Mexico between 2013 and 2018. After stealing the iPods, Stock sold them on eBay for her own personal benefit, the Justice Department said in a news release.

Between 2010 and 2019, Stock worked for the school district and was responsible for overseeing a program to provide iPods to Native American children living on tribal reservations in New Mexico.

Stock said she received more than $800,000 in illegal proceeds from selling the stolen iPods, which were themselves worth more than $1 million, the Justice Department said.

Additionally, Stock also admitted to falsifying tax returns for the 2012 to 2017 calendar years. She failed to report signifiant amounts of taxable income, which caused a tax loss for the U.S. of $270,821.

U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake charged Stock for interstate transportation of stolen goods and tax fraud. In addition to the 18 months in prison, her sentence includes three years of supervised release.

Read on AppleInsider

chadbag

So in reality there was no tax loss by the government because the activity that netted the income was illegal and wouldn't have otherwise happened.    

Yes, her failure to report her I'll gotten gains was illegal but the activity it was based on shouldn't have been happening and since she will have to forfeit the I'll gotten gains, they never happened and the government didn't lose any tax money on gains she didn't end up having. 

anoylla

chadbag said:

So in reality there was no tax loss by the government because the activity that netted the income was illegal and wouldn't have otherwise happened.    

Yes, her failure to report her I'll gotten gains was illegal but the activity it was based on shouldn't have been purchased by the Central Consolidated School District in New Mexico and since she will have to forfeit the I'll gotten gains, they never happened and the government didn't lose any tax money on gains she didn't end up having. 

You forgot the "purchased by the Central Consolidated School District in New Mexico" part, that I assume the Central District got their money back

stevegee

given the harm she caused to the intended recipients, her sentence seems a slap on the wrist. 

patchythepirate

It's amazing to me that people actually think they can get away with things like this.

But then again, there was that lady recently on an airplane that freaked out after it was discovered the "baby" she was "nursing" was a taxidermied lynx cat with googly eyes (if you haven't seen the video, it's worth looking up lol).

emig647

patchythepirate said:

But then again, there was that lady recently on an airplane that freaked out after it was discovered the "baby" she was "nursing" was a taxidermied lynx cat with googly eyes (if you haven't seen the video, it's worth looking up lol).

That was staged. 

I honestly don't get how people think they can get away with it either. I'd like to know more about her mental state. 

strangedays

chadbag said:

So in reality there was no tax loss by the government because the activity that netted the income was illegal and wouldn't have otherwise happened.    

Yes, her failure to report her I'll gotten gains was illegal but the activity it was based on shouldn't have been happening and since she will have to forfeit the I'll gotten gains, they never happened and the government didn't lose any tax money on gains she didn't end up having. 

Still a theft of taxpayer dollars - she took in large amounts of income, without paying taxes on it. That’s tax evasion and theft. Thus…Al Capone was put away for tax evasion. You have to pay taxes, even if you’re a drug dealer or wherever it comes from. Doesn’t matter what alternate timelines you’re referring to…here in our shared reality, she generated the income, but didn’t pay the income tax on it. Thus am added charge, rightly so. 

edited January 2022

patchythepirate

emig647 said:

patchythepirate said:

But then again, there was that lady recently on an airplane that freaked out after it was discovered the "baby" she was "nursing" was a taxidermied lynx cat with googly eyes (if you haven't seen the video, it's worth looking up lol).

That was staged. 

I honestly don't get how people think they can get away with it either. I'd like to know more about her mental state. 

Really?? That's a bit of a relief.

At the risk of diagnosing from my armchair, I wouldn't be surprised if bipolar disorder was playing a role. The grandiosity that comes with bipolar disorder can convince people they can do anything. A lot of the cast of characters in the Tiger King episodes seem to fit into this cat..egory.

sbdude

chadbag said:

So in reality there was no tax loss by the government because the activity that netted the income was illegal and wouldn't have otherwise happened.    

Yes, her failure to report her I'll gotten gains was illegal but the activity it was based on shouldn't have been happening and since she will have to forfeit the I'll gotten gains, they never happened and the government didn't lose any tax money on gains she didn't end up having. 

That you could somehow explain away her malfeasance, thereby ameliorating her guilt, is confounding. Even drug dealers get put away for tax evasion.

chadbag

anoylla said:

chadbag said:

So in reality there was no tax loss by the government because the activity that netted the income was illegal and wouldn't have otherwise happened.    

Yes, her failure to report her I'll gotten gains was illegal but the activity it was based on shouldn't have been purchased by the Central Consolidated School District in New Mexico and since she will have to forfeit the I'll gotten gains, they never happened and the government didn't lose any tax money on gains she didn't end up having. 

You forgot the "purchased by the Central Consolidated School District in New Mexico" part, that I assume the Central District got their money back

How is that relevant to the question of paying taxes on her income from this scheme?   I didn't forget anything.   I addressed only the tax evasion part. 

chadbag

StrangeDays said:

chadbag said:

So in reality there was no tax loss by the government because the activity that netted the income was illegal and wouldn't have otherwise happened.    

Yes, her failure to report her I'll gotten gains was illegal but the activity it was based on shouldn't have been happening and since she will have to forfeit the I'll gotten gains, they never happened and the government didn't lose any tax money on gains she didn't end up having. 

Still a theft of taxpayer dollars - she took in large amounts of income, without paying taxes on it. That’s tax evasion and theft. Thus…Al Capone was put away for tax evasion. You have to pay taxes, even if you’re a drug dealer or wherever it comes from. Doesn’t matter what alternate timelines you’re referring to…here in our shared reality, she generated the income, but didn’t pay the income tax on it. Thus am added charge, rightly so. 

If the income was forfeited then it was no longer income for her.  I understand people are required to pay taxes on illegal income.  My point was she no longer had the income once it was forfeit.  

crowley

chadbag said:

StrangeDays said:

chadbag said:

So in reality there was no tax loss by the government because the activity that netted the income was illegal and wouldn't have otherwise happened.    

Yes, her failure to report her I'll gotten gains was illegal but the activity it was based on shouldn't have been happening and since she will have to forfeit the I'll gotten gains, they never happened and the government didn't lose any tax money on gains she didn't end up having. 

Still a theft of taxpayer dollars - she took in large amounts of income, without paying taxes on it. That’s tax evasion and theft. Thus…Al Capone was put away for tax evasion. You have to pay taxes, even if you’re a drug dealer or wherever it comes from. Doesn’t matter what alternate timelines you’re referring to…here in our shared reality, she generated the income, but didn’t pay the income tax on it. Thus am added charge, rightly so. 

If the income was forfeited then it was no longer income for her.  I understand people are required to pay taxes on illegal income.  My point was she no longer had the income once it was forfeit.  

At the time of completing her tax return she had the income, therefore she fraudulently completed the return.  The subsequent seizure of the income because of its illegal origin is irrelevant to the tax fraud.

entropys

Usually people get done for tax evasion because the authorities can’t get them for other charges though.

Having been the complainant in a number of fraud cases in recent years (I run government grant programs) the police do tend to come up with as many charges as they can. I am surprised that some of them exist as a crime.  And often a lot are dropped or watered down before or during a trial.

I have also discovered that often the process is the punishment.  Before my experience with the justice system I always wondered why sometimes sentences were so light, until I now realise that sometimes the justice system takes years for something to be concluded.  I often wonder how the people I have referred to the police can sleep at night while they have been caught, charged and awaiting the conclusion of their trials.  Not that I have much sympathy.

Look at this case: stealing iPods! It seems over 2013 to 2018 when she was caught (no 2018 tax issues). So this has been going on since she was charged four years ago.

entropys

chadbag said:

StrangeDays said:

chadbag said:

So in reality there was no tax loss by the government because the activity that netted the income was illegal and wouldn't have otherwise happened.    

Yes, her failure to report her I'll gotten gains was illegal but the activity it was based on shouldn't have been happening and since she will have to forfeit the I'll gotten gains, they never happened and the government didn't lose any tax money on gains she didn't end up having. 

Still a theft of taxpayer dollars - she took in large amounts of income, without paying taxes on it. That’s tax evasion and theft. Thus…Al Capone was put away for tax evasion. You have to pay taxes, even if you’re a drug dealer or wherever it comes from. Doesn’t matter what alternate timelines you’re referring to…here in our shared reality, she generated the income, but didn’t pay the income tax on it. Thus am added charge, rightly so. 

If the income was forfeited then it was no longer income for her.  I understand people are required to pay taxes on illegal income.  My point was she no longer had the income once it was forfeit.  

I think the tax office/IRS does not know if your income is illegal or not. It just wants to know if you have disclosed all of your income and paid your assessed tax. It isn’t as though it would be listed as “stolen iPod sales” on the tax return.  I suspect even a thief could be more creative than that.

edited January 2022

sdw2001

chadbag said:

So in reality there was no tax loss by the government because the activity that netted the income was illegal and wouldn't have otherwise happened.    

Yes, her failure to report her I'll gotten gains was illegal but the activity it was based on shouldn't have been happening and since she will have to forfeit the I'll gotten gains, they never happened and the government didn't lose any tax money on gains she didn't end up having. 

Um, that's not how any of this works.  The gains may have been ill-gotten, but they were still gains,  The IRS even states that proceeds from stolen property must be reported as income unless they are returned too the owner in the same tax year.  It's dumb, but true.  She engaged in a business activity and profited, even if the products were stolen.  Technically, the government was entitled to a portion of those transactions.  

jeffythequick

sbdude said:

chadbag said:

So in reality there was no tax loss by the government because the activity that netted the income was illegal and wouldn't have otherwise happened.    

Yes, her failure to report her I'll gotten gains was illegal but the activity it was based on shouldn't have been happening and since she will have to forfeit the I'll gotten gains, they never happened and the government didn't lose any tax money on gains she didn't end up having. 

That you could somehow explain away her malfeasance, thereby ameliorating her guilt, is confounding. Even drug dealers get put away for tax evasion.

I think it's sad that we have a system that can't/won't put people away for the horrendous things they do, so they make stealing from the government the "gotcha" crime.

jeffythequick

entropys said:

chadbag said:

StrangeDays said:

chadbag said:

So in reality there was no tax loss by the government because the activity that netted the income was illegal and wouldn't have otherwise happened.    

Yes, her failure to report her I'll gotten gains was illegal but the activity it was based on shouldn't have been happening and since she will have to forfeit the I'll gotten gains, they never happened and the government didn't lose any tax money on gains she didn't end up having. 

Still a theft of taxpayer dollars - she took in large amounts of income, without paying taxes on it. That’s tax evasion and theft. Thus…Al Capone was put away for tax evasion. You have to pay taxes, even if you’re a drug dealer or wherever it comes from. Doesn’t matter what alternate timelines you’re referring to…here in our shared reality, she generated the income, but didn’t pay the income tax on it. Thus am added charge, rightly so. 

If the income was forfeited then it was no longer income for her.  I understand people are required to pay taxes on illegal income.  My point was she no longer had the income once it was forfeit.  

I think the tax office/IRS does not know if your income is illegal or not. It just wants to know if you have disclosed all of your income and paid your assessed tax. It isn’t as though it would be listed as “stolen iPod sales” on the tax return.  I suspect even a thief could be more creative than that.

Should they issue themself a W-2S (for stolen?), or a 1090S?

georgebmac

I'm wondering why that school district was buying iPods for students anyway?
How were they going to improve their education? 

itguyinsd

How, exactly, does one legally report income from the sale of stolen goods on your income taxes and pay said tax on the income of stolen goods without getting caught?

edited January 2022

georgebmac

jeffythequick said:

sbdude said:

chadbag said:

So in reality there was no tax loss by the government because the activity that netted the income was illegal and wouldn't have otherwise happened.    

Yes, her failure to report her I'll gotten gains was illegal but the activity it was based on shouldn't have been happening and since she will have to forfeit the I'll gotten gains, they never happened and the government didn't lose any tax money on gains she didn't end up having. 

That you could somehow explain away her malfeasance, thereby ameliorating her guilt, is confounding. Even drug dealers get put away for tax evasion.

I think it's sad that we have a system that can't/won't put people away for the horrendous things they do, so they make stealing from the government the "gotcha" crime.

Stealing is stealing.  Crime is crime. 

Because some manage to cheat the justice system and (literally) get away with murder doesn't change that.

pjohnt

A school district buying iPods for their students seems like an enormous waste of money.