Utah-based former IRS employee faces charges for attempting to embezzle millions from the government

Salt Lake City, Utah – A former IRS employee faces charges for allegedly trying to steal over $2 million in tax credits by abusing his position.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Rodney Quinn Rupe, 46, of Syracuse, was charged on Wednesday with wire fraud, mail fraud, bank fraud, and theft of federal property.

According to court records, Rupe allegedly came up with a plan between July 2021 and March 2024 to deceitfully obtain funds from the IRS and Exxon Mobile Corporation (Exxon Mobile) and utilize them for his own purposes.

The DOJ said that Rupe had access to specific taxpayer accounts and case processing tools in an IRS computer database because he was a former IRS account management employee. He was able to modify interest, penalties, credits, and taxes.

According to the DOJ, Rupe misused his position to transfer tax credits that were due to ExxonMobile to Ex Xo Exteriors Ltd., a company he founded and controlled.

“For example, in July 2021, Rupe accessed an IRS database to assign a newly created employer identification number (EIN) to Ex Xo Exteriors Ltd.,” the DOJ said. “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.”

Reportedly, the interest owing to ExxonMobile and the diverted tax credits made up the refund.
Rupe allegedly made repeated attempts to deposit the cheque at various America First Credit Union locations in January 2024 after receiving the return.