Former Township supervisor pleads guilty to tax evasion and bank fraud

Date: August 4, 2025

Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov

WILLIAMSPORT — The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Linda Tarlecki, of Aristes, Columbia County, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty yesterday to tax evasion and bank fraud before Chief United States District Judge Matthew W. Brann.

According to Acting United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, Tarlecki was the former Secretary/Treasurer for Conyngham Township, Columbia County. From 2013 through 2017, Tarlecki defrauded the Township and Fulton National Bank of over $147,000 by issuing forged paychecks to herself to which she was not entitled. Tarlecki also failed to report this additional income on her personal income taxes, resulting in a tax loss to the IRS of over $38,000.

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service. Assistant United States Attorney Geoffrey MacArthur prosecuted the case.

The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is 35 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a 90% federal conviction rate. The agency has 19 field offices located across the U.S. and 14 attaché posts abroad.