[POLITICO] The IRS has notified congressional staff that top officials in the agency's Affordable Care Act implementation team were recently placed on administrative leave for potential improprieties, according to a congressional source.
The agency told lawmakers that Fred Schindler, who is Sarah Hall Ingram's deputy, and another staffer in the division were put on leave. The move is the result of gifts the staffers allegedly received -- including $1,100 in free food and other items -- while attending a 2010 health care conference.
The IRS didn't immediately comment.
The agency is surrounded in scandal after acknowledging last month that it wrongly targeted tea party groups applying for a tax exemption. The IRS came under additional scrutiny yesterday after an inspector general released a report saying the agency spent about $49 million on conferences between 2010 and 2012.
Acting IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel placed Lois Lerner, a senior official in the division overseeing nonprofits, on leave last month. |