Clothier Pleads Guilty to Bribery of IRS Employee
A 31-year-old Glendale man has pleaded guilty to charges of bribing an Internal Revenue Service employee who was auditing his personal tax return.
Asatur Kaplanyan, who operates a clothing company in Los Angeles, was charged with paying the auditor $2,000 on July 16 during a meeting that was monitored and taped by IRS investigators.
Kaplanyan pleaded guilty to one felony count of bribery of a public official before U.S. District Judge Terry J. Hatter on Monday. He faces maximum penalties of 15 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is set for Dec. 15.
The auditor contacted superiors after growing suspicious that Kaplanyan was about to offer a bribe, said Thom Mrozek, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Central District of California office in Los Angeles.
“At the first sign of possible illegal conduct, the IRS auditor contacted supervisors,” said Mrozek. “The IRS launched an internal investigation that culminated with the payment of the bribe and the arrest.”
Mrozek said attempts to bribe IRS auditors are “very unusual but not unheard of,” adding that Los Angeles government attorneys have prosecuted several such cases in recent years.
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