New Mexico woman pleads guilty to posing as a tax officer, defrauding victim of ₹1.4 crore

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Sandra Vega admitted that she posed as a federal tax officer to convince a man that he was entitled to receive a large payment from the IRS. | World News

A 48-year-old woman from New Mexico has pleaded guilty to impersonating an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agent to cheat a victim out of more than $150,000 (around ₹1.4 crore).

Sandra Vega, a resident of Pecos, admitted that she posed as a federal tax officer between 2018 and March 2026 to convince a man, identified in court documents as John Doe, that he was entitled to receive a large payment from the IRS, according to the US justice department.

Vega told the victim that he needed to pay various fees and deposits before the money could be released, as per her plea agreement. Believing that the payments would be transferred to the IRS, the victim gave her at least $150,000. Vega, though, never sent the money to the tax agency and, instead, used the entire amount to cover her expenses.

Vega pleaded guilty to five charges: four counts of wire fraud, involving the use of electronic communications to carry out a financial scam, and one count of falsely impersonating a federal employee.

She faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 (around ₹2.2 crore) and an order to repay the victim. The final punishment and restitution amount will be decided by the court during sentencing.

Vega's case is among several instances in which fraudsters have posed as US government officials to deceive people and extract money.

In May, a Mexican national was sentenced to 48 months in prison for impersonating an IRS officer and convincing victims that he could help them recover hundreds of thousands of dollars through a fictitious government programme.

Francisco Ivan Velazquez told people who had previously lost their homes to foreclosure that they could recover money by applying to the IRS and paying him a fee to file the necessary paperwork, the IRS revealed in a statement.

In some cases, he also helped submit false tax returns seeking refunds of $100,000 or more. His scheme sought at least $1.8 million from the IRS.

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