A tax return preparer is any individual who accepts payment for preparing “all or a substantial portion of a tax return or claim for refund under … the Internal Revenue Code.” Making a little more income over tax season by preparing returns for family and friends could put you into […]
Category: Tax Crimes
“It is better to give than to receive,” the old saying goes. Philosophers such as Peter Singer are exploring the deeper aspects of this statement, probing the sense in which giving is a key act of moral agency. There are, however, also plenty of fraudsters and scammers who take advantage […]
We regularly represent taxpayers, businesses and tax preparers in Texas and beyond facing potential tax-related criminal investigation or charges by the IRS Criminal Investigation division. This week, the IRS announced in a news release that it had released its fiscal year 2016 annual report of Criminal Investigation activities. Criminal defense […]
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is cracking down on fraudulent tax preparer services. The federal agency initiated 252 investigations in 2016 alone, searching out any individual or business that it believes was conducting fraudulent practices while preparing taxes. 72.8 percent of these investigations resulted in incarceration. Although these efforts are […]
Tax law is complex. Only a handful of people fully understand it and taxes are often controversial. While they pay for various services, who pays and how much are tricky policy questions. Tax laws, like any laws are violated for various reasons. Sometimes, the violations are motivated by greed, but […]
Legendary crime boss and Mafioso Al Capone learned the hard way that the tax man always cometh. Even “Scarface” himself wasn’t immune to the eventualities of life: death and taxes. Despite being a known gangster and bootlegger, openly running illegal gambling operations and brothels, extorting countless and being responsible for […]
As high-profile energy industry investor Morris Zuckerman can attest, failure to pay taxes on money earned through energy production can result in serious criminal tax evasion or fraud charges. The Zuckerman case is a complicated one, involving a number of years and myriad investments on behalf of his Manhattan-based M.E. […]
Everyone has heard of notorious U.S. mobster Al Capone. But few may realize that it wasn’t his many crimes committed as a mob boss that landed him in federal prison – it was tax evasion. For years, state and federal prosecutors tried to charge and convict Capone for various crimes […]
The Internal Revenue Service is much more than just the federal agency that collects taxes. It has broad power to investigate individuals and businesses for evidence of potential tax crimes like fraud or evasion involving tax preparation, bankruptcy, banking, gaming, health care, underreporting, employment taxes, identity theft, money laundering, tax […]
Under the Bank Secrecy Act, $10,000 is the threshold amount for triggering various reporting requirements for cash transactions. The law is supposed to deter money laundering by big-time drug dealers, organized crime figures or terrorist groups. Far too often, however, federal authorities accuse ordinary citizens of “structuring” their transactions, i.e., […]