State employee sentenced to 5 years for tax fraud

by Tom Scheck, Minnesota Public Radio

St. Paul, Minn. — A judge has sentenced a former Minnesota Department of Revenue employee to five years in prison for creating false tax returns.

The sentence comes after Pamela Dellis, of Lindstrom, pleaded guilty in March to embezzling $1.9 million in state funds.

At the time, Dellis admitted to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and one count of money laundering. She was an auditor for the Revenue Department. Her sister and niece also admitted to embezzling money through false tax refund checks and pleaded guilty.

The criminal activity was discovered when another Revenue Department staffer noticed that refunds generated by Dellis were issued to the same taxpayer.

The Department of Revenue says it took steps to ensure that the problem doesn't happen again. The agency has increased oversight and hired an internal audit manager to ensure that future tax returns are not falsified.