New Mexico woman posed as IRS agent, took over $150,000 promising tax windfall; pleads guilty to five federal charges

A New Mexico woman impersonated an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agent and convinced a victim that he would receive a large sum of money from the US tax agency if he first paid various fees and deposits. The victim handed over at least $150,000, believing the money would be transferred to the IRS, but the woman allegedly spent it on personal expenses.

According to a November 9 announcement by the US Department of Justice (DOJ), Sandra Vega, 48, of Pecos, has now pleaded guilty to five federal charges in connection with the fraud scheme, which operated for nearly eight years.In her plea agreement, Vega admitted that she posed as an Internal Revenue agent between 2018 and March 2026 to defraud a man identified in court documents as John Doe. She persuaded him that he was entitled to receive a substantial payout from the IRS but needed to pay several fees and deposits before the money could be released.The victim made payments totalling at least $150,000, expecting that Vega would forward the amount to the federal tax agency.