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Promising Changes to IRS Whistleblower Program – Tax Whistleblowers Now Protected Against Retaliation and Improved Communication when Reporting Tax Violations

Posted 08/21/19

Recent legislation marks a potential huge step forward for the IRS Whistleblower Program, which offers rewards of 15 to 30% of government recoveries to whistleblowers who report tax avoidance. The Taxpayer First Act (TFA), which came into force on July 1, 2019 introduced key reforms that should benefit whistleblowers reporting tax evasion and underreporting. A few months ago, the IRS Whistleblower Office released...

Tagged in: Importance of Whistleblowers, IRS Whistleblower Reward Program, Statistics, Tax Fraud, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Eligibility,

Legal Sports Betting Is Leading to Serious Fraud Risks

Posted 05/31/19

man holding cell phone to place sports bet

With the NBA finals upon us, you may be thinking putting down some cash on one team or the other. Thanks to a Supreme Court decision last year, your state may even allow such bets. And no wonder. Illegal sports betting is a gigantic industry—estimated at $150 billion a year, it eclipses the $5 billion legally gambled in Nevada. Much of that money goes into the hands of mafia interests, who increasingly use online...

Tagged in: Abusive Tax Shelters, FCA State, Financial and Investment Fraud,

The Latest on Cryptocurrency, Offshore Tax Avoidance and Money-Laundering, and Whistleblowing: A Report from OffshoreAlert Miami 2019

Posted 05/3/19

Hanging Hundred Dollar Bills on Clothes Line

“A diverse collection of the hunters and the hunted.” That’s how the Wall Street Journal described the OffshoreAlert Conference in 2009. The 2019 conference was no different, bringing together those who work in the offshore industry, the government enforcers who try to stop the unscrupulous among them, and the asset recovery professionals who pursue lost funds. Alongside them were whistleblowers and their...

Tagged in: CFTC Whistleblower Reward Program, Cryptocurrency, Financial and Investment Fraud, Importance of Whistleblowers, IRS Whistleblower Reward Program, Market Manipulation and Trading Violations, Money Laundering, Ponzi Schemes, SEC Whistleblower Reward Program, Securities Fraud, Tax Fraud,

Annual 2018 IRS Whistleblower Program Report

Posted 03/25/19

Tax whistleblowers and those who believe that no one should be able to lie, cheat, or buy their way out of paying their tax bills got some good news in the IRS Whistleblower Office’s report last month on the 2018 fiscal year. Notably, the IRS issued 217 whistleblower awards totaling over $312 million, a nearly tenfold increase over the prior year. That’s an enormous shot in the arm for what should be a highly...

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

Canada Makes First Securities Fraud Whistleblower Award

Posted 03/6/19

Canadian maple leaf flag in cloth with draping

The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) announced last week roughly CAD $7.5 million in whistleblower awards to three individuals who reported violations of Ontario securities laws. The awards are the first ever by a Canadian securities regulator. In keeping with its commitment to protecting the confidentiality of whistleblowers, the OSC did not disclose any information that might reveal the whistleblowers'...

Tagged in: International Whistleblowers, SEC Whistleblower Reward Program, Tax Fraud,

Top Ten Tax Recoveries of 2018

Posted 01/18/19

Person in suit using calculator while examining documents in binder with magnifying glass

Tax fraud and tax evasion can take many forms, but there is one constant: when entities and individuals pay less tax than they owe, they are cheating the system. Bringing cases against companies and individuals that cheat the system is central to the Internal Revenue Service's mission. Tax fraud may also give rise to a claim under the IRS Whistleblower Reward Program, which pays eligible whistleblowers 15 to 30% of...

Tagged in: Tax Fraud, Top 10,

What the Government Shutdown Means for Whistleblowers

Posted 01/3/19

Lincoln Memorial behind fence with sign saying closed for shutdown

As of January 3, 2019, the federal courts are still open, and say they can stay open at least through January 11 by using available funds from court fee payments and other sources not dependent on new appropriations. However, most Department of Justice civil attorneys have been furloughed. Without attorneys from DOJ, cases involving the United States are not be able to proceed as they normally would. ...

Tagged in: CFTC Whistleblower Reward Program, FCA Federal, IRS Whistleblower Reward Program, SEC Whistleblower Reward Program,

Constantine Cannon Attorneys Eric Havian and Michael Ronickher Published in Law360 on the Need for Anti-Money Laundering Whistleblower Rewards

Posted 12/12/18

In the wake of anti-money laundering enforcement activity spurred by the Panama Papers, Constantine Cannon attorneys Eric Havian and Michael Ronickher published an article in Law360 on why we need an anti-money laundering whistleblower program. Havian and Ronickher argue for a new, DOJ-led whistleblower program to close the “large enforcement gap” left open by the existing IRS and SEC programs: “Domestic law...

Tagged in: Abusive Tax Shelters, CC Lawyers, Financial and Investment Fraud, Financial Institution Fraud, Importance of Whistleblowers, International Whistleblowers, Money Laundering,

Listen: Taxcast’s November 2018 Podcast on How Governments Can Better Protect and Encourage Whistleblowers

Posted 12/7/18

Constantine Cannon partner Mary Inman is featured in the Tax Justice Network’s November podcast on, among other things, whistleblowing on tax fraud. Inman discusses the impact of U.S. whistleblower laws on corporate wrongdoing and white collar enforcement and speaks to improvements governments can make to better protect whistleblowers, encourage whistleblowers to bring evidence to their governments, and financially...

Tagged in: CC Lawyers, International Whistleblowers, IRS Whistleblower Reward Program, Tax Fraud,

Money Laundering Watch: Will More Chickens Come Home to Roost Following Deutsche Bank Raid?

Posted 11/30/18

The Panama Papers fallout continues with a massive early morning raid on Deutsche Bank headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. Some 170 officers searched for evidence of the bank’s role in over $350m worth of suspected money-laundering through organizations in the British Virgin Islands. Deutsche Bank confirms the investigation is related to the Panama Papers: the April 2016 release of over 11 million files about...

Tagged in: Abusive Tax Shelters, Financial and Investment Fraud, Financial Institution Fraud, Importance of Whistleblowers, International Whistleblowers, Money Laundering,

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Promising Changes to IRS Whistleblower Program – Tax Whistleblowers Now Protected Against Retaliation and Improved Communication when Reporting Tax Violations

Legal Sports Betting Is Leading to Serious Fraud Risks

The Latest on Cryptocurrency, Offshore Tax Avoidance and Money-Laundering, and Whistleblowing: A Report from OffshoreAlert Miami 2019

Annual 2018 IRS Whistleblower Program Report

Canada Makes First Securities Fraud Whistleblower Award

Top Ten Tax Recoveries of 2018

What the Government Shutdown Means for Whistleblowers

Constantine Cannon Attorneys Eric Havian and Michael Ronickher Published in Law360 on the Need for Anti-Money Laundering Whistleblower Rewards

Listen: Taxcast’s November 2018 Podcast on How Governments Can Better Protect and Encourage Whistleblowers

Money Laundering Watch: Will More Chickens Come Home to Roost Following Deutsche Bank Raid?

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