Mellon Financial Corp. has agreed to pay $30,000 in costs to the U.S. government to settle a federal criminal investigation into the destruction of some 77,000 tax returns and payments by employees who felt overwhelmed by their workload and were not able to meet a contractual deadline with the Internal Revenue Service. According to the settlement, Mellon will avoid charges and a fine, while six former bank employees have been indicted and another has pleaded guilty. Mellon “fully accepts responsibility” for its staff’s conduct, reports Reuters, which included a v.p. deceiving the IRS about meeting the agency’s deadline to avoid violating its contract. The bank reportedly will not face charges if it complies with the agreement over a three-year period, during which Mellon will be monitored by an independent third party.
