North Idaho woman who embezzled from grandfather convicted of tax evasion

BOISE, Idaho — Dec. 19, 2024 — A North Idaho woman is on probation for state income tax evasion after embezzling money from her grandfather.

The Kootenai County District Court placed Nicole Ellis, of Coeur d’Alene, on supervised probation for five years after convicting her of income tax evasion. The court also ordered her to pay more than $20,900 to the Idaho State Tax Commission.

Ellis is on probation until 2031 from a previous conviction of grand theft and exploitation of a vulnerable adult related to this case. She’ll serve her tax evasion sentence consecutively.

In 2019, Nicole Ellis used her power of attorney access to her grandfather’s bank account to embezzle money. Ellis only had access to the account to help her grandfather manage his finances. She didn’t have permission or authority to spend the money on herself. Ellis embezzled more than $306,000 through unauthorized payments, transactions, and ATM withdrawals.

According to the Idaho State Tax Commission, Ellis willfully evaded taxes on her 2019 Idaho individual income tax return by failing to report the embezzled funds.

“Taxpayers must report income from all sources on their taxes, including income from illegal activities,” Tax Commission Chairman Jeff McCray said. “Intentionally providing false or incomplete information on a tax return is fraud.”

The Tax Commission discovers tax crime by routinely analyzing tax returns and conducting tax audits, as well as through tips from law enforcement, other state agencies, and the public.

To report tax crime, email the Tax Commission’s fraud unit at fraud@tax.idaho.gov or complete the online fraud referral form at tax.idaho.gov/fraud. You can choose to remain anonymous.