Church bookkeeper from Idaho Falls convicted of tax evasion
BOISE — A bookkeeper from Idaho Falls is serving prison time for state income tax evasion, perjury and grand theft after embezzling money from her church, a press release said Thursday.
The Bonneville County District Court sentenced Kaitlyn Fisher to two years fixed and three years indeterminate for tax evasion, three years fixed and 10 years indeterminate for perjury and three years fixed and 10 years indeterminate for grand theft, according to the Idaho State Tax Commission.
Fisher will serve all prison sentences concurrently with credit for time served. The court also ordered her to pay more than $338,000 in restitution to her former employer.
In 2018, Fisher began working as a church administrator and bookkeeper. A co-worker reported Fisher to the Idaho Falls Police in 2022 after going through the church’s financial books and discovering Fisher was embezzling money.
"Fisher used her access to the church’s bank accounts to embezzle over $338,000. She made several unauthorized purchases at department stores and restaurants and used funds to build and decorate a new home and buy a four-wheeler," the release said.
According to the Idaho State Tax Commission, Fisher willfully evaded taxes on her Idaho individual income tax returns for 2019-2022 by failing to report the embezzled funds.
“Taxpayers must report all sources of income on their taxes, including income from illegal activities,” Tax Commission Chairman Jeff McCray said. “Deliberately providing false or incomplete information on a tax return is fraud.”