A former employee of the Canada Revenue Agency has received a conditional sentence, probation and community service for a conviction on a charge of fraud and breach of trust.

The CRA announced that former employee, Diane Speranza, was found guilty on one count of fraud over $5,000, and one count of breach of trust by a public officer, in the Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto on January 9. She received a nine-month conditional sentence that includes three months house arrest, followed by two years probation. She was also ordered to perform 240 hours of community service.

The offences took place from July 1998 to November 2005, when Speranza accessed the tax accounts of acquaintances for the purpose of making fraudulent adjustments to their tax declarations. This resulted in the CRA issuing approximately $270,000 in refunds to which these taxpayers were not entitled, it said.

The CRA says that it has recouped the majority of the refunds from these taxpayers.

The agency says that it has mechanisms in place to ensure that employees are held accountable for their work, and it has strict standards of conduct. Any breach of these rules may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment as well as criminal investigation and referral for prosecution by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.