White collar crime is all around us. A business owner hopes to boost a sagging bottom line. An entrepreneur sees a chance for a luxury car where the IRS is looking for a payroll tax payment. Motivation, perception and action are all it takes to get a tax crime underway.
Edner Escarne was a mid-level manager at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. From 2017 until January 2025, Escarne was the director of talent acquisition at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). Escarne did pretty well for himself. According to the indictment, Escarne enjoyed yearly salary increases that boosted his salary from $183,768 in 2019 to $231,572 in 2023.
Escarne was at a successful midcareer point. He had a good job with room to grow. But, apparently, that was not enough.
But like many, Escarne crossed the line. He conducted a simple scam. He falsified W-4 forms, indicating that he was exempt from federal income tax withholding. A W-4 form is the form filled out at the outset of employment, wherein an employee provides directions on how much federal withholding should be applied to their paycheck. As you may have guessed, Escarne was not eligible for exempt status. This enabled him to pocket what should have been withheld and paid over to the government that employed him between 2019 and 2022.
Escarne added to his troubles by failing to file his tax returns on time for the years 2019 through 2023. For individuals engaged in tax fraud, failure to file is common, but there are not too many scammers who accurately report their ill-gotten gains to the IRS on their annual tax return.
If you are engaged in a small or large criminal tax scheme, take note. It is easy to fall into a habit of tax fraud, and it can be difficult to extricate yourself. Along with tax collection, the IRS is very good at detection. It is possible that Escarne’s failure to report his taxes for several years triggered a red flag. To learn more about what the IRS is watching for, download our ebook, "Will I be Charged with Criminal Tax Fraud?"
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Escarne was arrested on an April morning in Washington, D.C., and arraigned in the afternoon, entering a not guilty plea. A fast fall and a life and career in pieces.
Robert J. Fedor, Esq., LLC is a highly regarded legal group representing individuals and businesses with concerns about allegations of tax crime, tax litigation, and complex IRS examinations. When you receive a letter from the IRS or believe you may be under investigation, contact the firm's tax attorneys. We represent clients domestically and internationally from our offices in Chicago and Cleveland.