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Tax Enforcement Actions

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the United States agency with primary responsibility for enforcing federal tax laws, working with the Department of Justice. Whistleblowers with knowledge of violations of the federal tax laws can submit a claim to the IRS under the IRS Whistleblower Reward Program, and may be eligible to receive a monetary reward.

Below are summaries of recently-announced settlements or successful prosecutions by the IRS or DOJ. If you believe you have information about fraud or wrongful conduct which could give  rise to a claim under the IRS Whistleblower Reward Program, please contact us to speak with one of our experienced whistleblower attorneys.

August 10, 2023

Redman Services Inc. and owner Jerry Lee Redman pleaded guilty to underreporting the business’s gross receipts on its corporate income tax returns and underreported his income on his personal income tax return, for at least 2015 through 2018. Redman caused customers to write checks to him personally, rather than to RSI, but did not include the checks in RSI’s gross receipts. RSI’s funds were withdrawn to cover personal expenses but weren’t recorded as income on his personal income tax return. Redman faces a maximum of 5 years of imprisonment if convicted. DOJ

October 17, 2022

A father and son, Mehdi and Saaed Moslem, have been sentenced to 3.3 years and 8 years in prison for concealing income from their lenders and the IRS, and evading taxes on their New York-based car dealership, Exclusive Motor Sports, and other businesses.  Along with the prison time, father Mehdi has been ordered to pay restitution of over $1 million and a $100,000 fine, and son Saaed has been ordered to pay restitution of nearly $2 million and a $200,000 fine.  USAO SDNY

October 5, 2022

Quin Ngoc Rudin has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after causing more than $62 million in losses to the IRS and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) while on supervised release for another fraud scheme.  Through his California-based tax preparation business, Mana Tax Services, Rudin and his brother Thanh had filed a series of false PPP loan applications, with supporting false income tax returns, on behalf of professional athletes, small businesses, shell companies, and other business entities.  His actions caused over $19 million in losses to the IRS, and over $43 million in losses to the PPP.  USAO EDVA

September 22, 2022

The operations manager for Zieson Construction Company has been sentenced to 8 years in prison, ordered to forfeit over $4.6 million in profits, and ordered to pay restitution of over $600,000 to the IRS and over $82,000 to the Missouri Department of Revenue for his role in a massive fraud scheme.  Using an African American service-disabled veteran as the nominal owner of Zieson, Patrick Michael Dingle obtained approximately $335 million in federal construction contracts that were set aside for small businesses owned and operated by individuals fitting the nominal owner’s profile.  In violation of program rules, however, Zieson was actually controlled by Dingle and his co-conspirators.  Dingle also separately admitted to filing fraudulent business tax returns from 2013 to 2016.  USAO WDMO

September 12, 2022

Two cigarette companies, Canada-based Grand River Enterprises Six Nations, Ltd., and its wholesaler, New York-based Native Wholesale Supply Company, Inc., have agreed to pay $50 million and follow corrective measures to resolve charges of evading New York state taxes.  According to the AG, Grand River—which manufactures Couture, Opal, and Seneca cigarettes—knew that its distributor, Native Wholesale, was not licensed to distribute or sell cigarettes in the state, and thus their cigarettes would not be taxed or stamped in accordance with state law, making their prices artificially lower and more accessible to young consumers.  NY AG

August 10, 2022

Melissa Lynne Horner, co-owner of H & H Earthworks, Inc., will spend 30 months in prison and pay over $2.8 million in restitution for failing to pay employee and employer taxes to the IRS, as well as Earthworks’ portion of the FICA taxes. Rather than paying taxes, Horner used the money for her personal gain, spending over $100,000 on motor sport vehicles, $90,000 to a real estate title company, and at least $50,000 on home renovations and $20,000 for a motorhome. USAO MT

August 10, 2022

Thomas Valdez Rodriguez will spend 24 months in prison and will pay over $12.7 million in restitution to the IRS. As owner of Tom-E-Lee Trucking and Tom-E-Lee Industries, Rodriguez failed to withhold employment taxes from his employees. In addition to his failures to meet his businesses’ tax obligations, Rodriguez has not paid personal income taxes since 2011. Rather than paying his taxes, Rodriguez lived extravagantly and enjoyed flying his friends on private jets to Dallas Cowboys games, where Rodriguez was a season ticket holder on the 50-yard line. All told, the harm to the government equated $12,714,214.42, of which Rodriguez paid $1 million immediately prior to his sentencing. USAO WDTX

July 14, 2022

Jesus Jose Mendez, co-owner of J&J Drywall, Inc., was sentenced to 3 years probation and ordered to pay $2.8 million to the IRS, and $62,730 to the MA DOL for evading income and employment taxes, and not making the requisite state unemployment contributions. From 2013 to 2017, defendants cashed over $16 million in business checks at check-cashing businesses and would leave cash-filled backpacks at their worksites from which to pay their employees. Meanwhile, deposits into the J&J bank account during this same timeframe equaled only $4 million, and deposits were frequently structured in amounts less than $10k, evading reporting requirements. Federal tax losses are estimated at just over $2.8 million, and the loss to MA DOL equaled nearly $63,000. Jamie Zambrano, Mendez’s business partner, is currently a fugitive. USAO RI

July 13, 2022

The owner and operator of North Carolina-based Kapital Financial Services, Joseph Octave, has been sentenced to over 3 years in prison after being convicted of orchestrating a criminal conspiracy that caused a $2.5 million loss to the IRS.  Between 2014 and 2019, under Octave’s direction, employees at the tax preparation business’s two offices falsified clients’ tax returns by claiming false deductions, business losses, and credits.  DOJ

June 16, 2022

A Florida man who was convicted of defrauding Medicare of over $20 million and evading taxes has been sentenced to 14 years in prison and ordered to pay $4 million in restitution to the IRS.  As the owner and operator of multiple telemarking and telemedicine companies, Marc Sporn marketed and sold signed prescription orders for medically unnecessary genetic tests, in exchange for illegal kickbacks from pharmacies and laboratories.  USAO SDFL
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