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Proposed Changes to NY FCA Tax Provisions Rattle Potential Tax Fraudsters

Posted 10/16/20

Albany New York Capitol Complex buildings against blue sky

New York is one of several states that has provisions in its state False Claims Act (“NY FCA”) allowing whistleblower (or qui tam) suits for violations of the state’s tax laws. On August 3, 2020 (Senate) and October 7, 2020 (Assembly), the New York state legislature, introduced bills proposing revisions to the NY FCA’s tax provisions.

The Proposed Legislation

The Senate bill’s accompanying memorandum...

Tagged in: FCA State, IRS Whistleblower Reward Program, Legislation and Regulation News, Tax Fraud,

Catch of the Week: Texas-Sized Indictment for $2 Billion Tax Fraud

Posted 10/16/20

texas longhorn bull standing in open grass field

Everything sure is bigger in Texas. Bigger hair, bigger churches, bigger stadiums, bigger ranches, and bigger sky. Oh, and as of this week, bigger billionaires committing bigger frauds! On Thursday, federal prosecutors in California charged Robert T. Brockman, a Houston tech executive, with hiding $2 billion in income from the Internal Revenue Service. True to Texas form, David L. Anderson, the U.S. attorney...

Tagged in: Abusive Tax Shelters, Catch of the Week, Importance of Whistleblowers, IRS Whistleblower Reward Program, Money Laundering, Tax Fraud,

Constantine Cannon Attorneys Ari Yampolsky and Chris McLamb Published in the Daily Journal on the California FCA

Posted 09/17/20

On September 8, 2020, Constantine Cannon attorneys Ari Yampolsky and Chris McLamb published an article in the Daily Journal discussing the California State Senate’s failure to pass critical amendments to the California False Claims Act. Among other things, the amendments would have closed a loophole that lets tax cheats off the hook and rebuffed defendants’ attacks on the CFCA’s longstanding materiality...

Tagged in: CC Lawyers, FCA State, Tax Fraud,

Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team’s Top-Ten “Staff Picks” of 2019

Posted 01/27/20

From cybersecurity, cryptocurrency, and “big data” to private-equity backed healthcare, private detention facilities, and the essential whistleblower experience – your prolific and relentless CC WB bloggers have chosen some of their favorite 2019 posts (and one from 2018) – don’t miss these insider-favorite gems!

1. Your worst nightmare – private data exposed to the unscrupulous – could be curbed...

Tagged in: Cryptocurrency, Cybersecurity and Data Breaches, FCA Federal, FCPA, Importance of Whistleblowers, Money Laundering, Pharma Fraud, Tax Fraud, Top 10, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

Top Ten Tax Enforcement Actions of 2019

Posted 01/17/20

Hundred Dollar Bills with American Flag, and 1040 Tax Form

Tax fraud and tax evasion persist each year in various forms and whistleblowers have been at the forefront in combatting entities and individuals cheating the system. Under the IRS Whistleblower Reward Program, whistleblowers who bring information regarding tax fraud to light that results in a recover of over $2 million can be eligible for a reward between 15 to 30% of the government’s recovery. The IRS...

Tagged in: Abusive Tax Shelters, Employment Tax Fraud, IRS Whistleblower Reward Program, Tax Fraud, Top 10,

Tax Whistleblowers Gain New Protections and Collect Over $120 Million in Awards in 2019

Posted 01/10/20

The IRS Whistleblower Program released its FY 2019 Annual Report to Congress this week, sharing details on its continued efforts to improve transparency, enforce whistleblower anti-retaliation provisions, and enhance communications. The IRS Whistleblower office also reported that in 2019:

- The U.S. collected over $616 million in proceeds attributable to whistleblower information; and
- The IRS paid over...

Tagged in: IRS Whistleblower Reward Program, Statistics, Tax Fraud,

Malta’s Ongoing Corruption Scandal Renews Focus on Money Laundering

Posted 12/5/19

The tragic murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in 2017 sparked international outrage—and the fear that nothing would be done to discover who was behind her death. This turns out not to be the case. After years of persistence from her family and journalist community, Yorgen Fenech, a gambling, real estate, and energy mogul, was arrested on November 20 for complicity in her murder. He has...

Tagged in: Abusive Tax Shelters, International Whistleblowers, Money Laundering,

Catch of the Week: B&H Photo Video Sued by NY State for Tax Fraud

Posted 11/15/19

This week’s Catch of the Week brings us back to the Big Apple, where New York Attorney General Letitia James joined a whistleblower lawsuit yesterday accusing the nation’s largest non-chain photo and video equipment retailer, B&H Photo Video, of tax fraud. The suit claims that long-time camera and electronics retailer B&H, which had more than $3 billion in revenue last year, knowingly failed to pay over $7...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, FCA State, Tax Fraud, Whistleblower Case,

Catch Our Rising Star!

Posted 10/17/19

Law360 has tapped Michael Ronickher, partner in the whistleblower practice at Constantine Cannon, for its 2019 Rising Star series. Law360 selected Mike for his work representing whistleblowers in all manner of reward programs, including his role in the groundbreaking cybersecurity whistleblower case against Cisco. What motivates Mike? His clients: “Our clients are a real reason that we all get out of bed in...

Tagged in: CC Lawyers, Cybersecurity and Data Breaches, FCA Federal, Importance of Whistleblowers, IRS Whistleblower Reward Program, Whistleblower Rewards,

How to Become an IRS Whistleblower

Posted 10/16/19

Answers to Common Questions from Prospective IRS Whistleblowers

[caption id="attachment_46025" align="alignright" width="325"]

Click for full size image[/caption] Although some state False Claims Acts allow whistleblowers to bring lawsuits based on violations of state and local tax laws, the federal False Claims Act (FCA) specifically excludes tax claims. Fortunately, the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of...

Tagged in: Importance of Whistleblowers, IRS Whistleblower Reward Program, Tax Fraud, Whistleblower Answers, Whistleblower Rewards,

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Proposed Changes to NY FCA Tax Provisions Rattle Potential Tax Fraudsters

The Proposed Legislation

Catch of the Week: Texas-Sized Indictment for $2 Billion Tax Fraud

Constantine Cannon Attorneys Ari Yampolsky and Chris McLamb Published in the Daily Journal on the California FCA

Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team’s Top-Ten “Staff Picks” of 2019

Top Ten Tax Enforcement Actions of 2019

Tax Whistleblowers Gain New Protections and Collect Over $120 Million in Awards in 2019

Malta’s Ongoing Corruption Scandal Renews Focus on Money Laundering

Catch of the Week: B&H Photo Video Sued by NY State for Tax Fraud

Catch Our Rising Star!

How to Become an IRS Whistleblower

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