IRS agents involved in drug arrests
IRS agents working in Fort Worth and throughout our country become involved in many different types of investigations. The underpinning, however, is usually a suspected violation of the Internal Revenue Code. It’s what got Al Capone in trouble in the 1930’s. They couldn’t nail the mobster for bootlegging and other nefarious acts, but IRS agents finally got him for income tax evasion. People resorting to criminal behavior normally do not spend a lot of time worrying about their tax deductions.
Last month, federal agents announced the arrests of 34 people for a variety of drug-related criminal charges in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The investigation originally focused into the Texas Syndicate prison gang but soon grew into a probe of a family suspected of drug-trafficking on a large scale.
The drug ring is accused of bringing drugs from Mexico to Dallas-Fort Worth and then shipping them to a variety of cities along the eastern seaboard. Agents state the drug ring has been operating since at least 2002. They claim drug proceeds were used to buy a house on Meadow Crest Lane in Mansfield in 2005.
And that is where the IRS agents entered the picture. Ultimately a number of the people arrested were charged with conspiring to engage in a monetary transaction in property derived from a crime (drug sales). Some were also charged with conspiring to commit money laundering by seeking to transfer funds (drug money) from the United States to a foreign country for the purpose of avoiding reporting requirements.
The government will more than likely seek forfeiture of the house and any other property related to the alleged criminal activity they are able to seize. The government now has four weeks to present their claims to a grand jury.
Any income earned by the defendants may be subject to taxation by the IRS. If a house is bought for cash, IRS agents may question where the cash came from. Of course, if the money was earned as a result of illegal activity, the money and anything purchased with it may be confiscated by the government. The laws and rules regarding these issues are complicated and sometimes confusing. An attorney knowledgeable in taxation and IRS procedure may be helpful resource.
Source: Star-Telegram, “34 arrested in alleged DFW drug ring,” Mitch Mitchell, July 13, 2011