Tax Fraud
This archive displays posts tagged as relevant to tax fraud and underpayment. You may also be interested in the following pages:
January 26, 2022
Todd Kozel was sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $29.5 million to the IRS following his guilty plea on tax charges. Kozel worked abroad as the CEO of an oil company with operations in Iraq, earning compensation in excess of $66 million. However, Kozel failed to file personal federal income tax returns, using sophisticated offshore structures, trusts, and bank accounts to conceal undeclared income from the U.S. government. SDNYTop Ten Tax Recoveries for 2021
Posted 01/19/22
January 11, 2022
A man who orchestrated a $10 million tobacco excise tax evasion scheme against the State of Washington, engaged in money-laundering, and evaded $850,000 in federal income taxes has been sentenced to a little over 2 years in prison and ordered to pay $5 million in restitution. Through his company, TC MAC, Hyung Il Kwon of Nevada purchased significant quantities of tobacco in cash, failed to report the purchases to the state, and subsequently resold the products for cash. In order to avoid alerting the state to large cash deposits, Kwon then laundered the money by writing checks in exchange for large amounts of cash. Kwon has a prior state conviction for similar charges. USAO WDWAJanuary 10, 2022
Following his guilty plea on charges related to the filing of false tax returns claiming nonexistent fuel tax credits, Michael Dexter Little was ordered to forfeit $12.3 million and sentenced to 19.5 years in prison. Little and his fellow fraudsters filed false tax returns in their own names and in the names of identity theft victims, and laundered the proceeds via real estate and other assets. USAO MDFLJanuary 4, 2022
A rabbi who was shot at an attack on a San Diego synagogue in April 2019 has been sentenced to 14 months in prison and ordered to pay $2.8 million in restitution for defrauding the IRS, several Fortune 500 companies, and multiple public and private agencies. In exchange for a 10% cut, Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein provided fake donation receipts from the Chabad of Poway that helped co-conspirators claim illegal tax deductions or pocket matching donations from their employers. He also let his brother, Mendel Goldstein, conceal income from the IRS by allowing him to deposit nearly $1 million in bank accounts belonging to the Chabad. Lastly, with co-conspirator Alexander Avergoon, the rabbi used false information and fake records to fraudulently apply for emergency funds, grants, and loans from FEMA, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, and private foundations. USAO SDCADecember 20, 2021
James Tarpey, an attorney and principal in Project Philanthropy Inc. dba Donate for Cause (DFC), has been ordered to pay $8.5 million in penalties for promoting a tax shelter with claims that timeshare owners could donate their unwanted timeshare interests to DFC and receive tax benefits in return. Tarpey and his agents prepared appraisals on donated timeshares, despite lacking sufficient independence and knowing that his false appraisals resulted in tax avoidance. DOJDecember 13, 2021
Following his conviction at trial on tax fraud charges, John Barry Jr. was sentenced to 12 years in prison and ordered to pay $4.2 million in restitution. According to evidence at trial, Barry promoted a “mortgage recovery” tax scheme, telling clients that they could extinguish mortgage debts by filing false forms with the IRS claiming that a large amount of taxes had been withheld. These false withholding claims caused the IRS to issue more than $4 million in refunds to Barry’s clients; Barry typically charged each client a fee of between 20% to 35% of the refund obtained. DOJThe New ENABLERS Act May Be a Backdoor Way to Expand the Anti-Money Laundering Whistleblower Program
Posted 10/14/21
Pandora Papers Show the Value of Financial Transparency, the Critical Role of Whistleblowers – and the Need for Additional Regulation
Posted 10/8/21
