On Jan. 6, 2017, Janis Edwards, the owner of a professional employer organization, pleaded guilty to tax evasion arising from failing to pay over to the IRS between $3.5 million and $25 million in withholdings that her...more
On Friday, Sept. 30, 2016, the Department of Defense, the General Services Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration issued a Final Rule aimed at blocking tax evaders and convicted felons from...more
On Friday, September 30, 2016, the Department of Defense, General Services Administration and National Aeronautics and Space Administration issued a Final Rule aimed at blocking tax evaders and convicted felons from receiving...more
The investigation and prosecution of tax evasion has, in the past decade, grown from a specialized subcategory of law enforcement into a first-tier policy concern for the international community. Financial institutions,...more
Tax fraud occurs on a considerable scale that can exceed law enforcement’s ability to detect and punish the conduct. This is true at both the federal and state levels. As of 2015, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) and the...more
BSI of Lugano, Switzerland, became the first bank to earn a non-prosecution agreement under the U.S. DOJ’s Program for Swiss Banks, paying a penalty of $211 million. First announced on August 29, 2013, the program offered...more
On February 19, 2015, Georges Briguet, the owner of New York restaurant Le Perigord, pleaded guilty to one count of corruptly endeavoring to obstruct the IRS by concealing the existence of his Swiss bank accounts. According...more
Multiple outlets are reporting that on February 2, 2015, three years after his indictment in the Southern District of New York, Swiss banker Roger Keller was arrested at the Frankfurt airport. On January 3, 2012, the U.S....more
On October 20, 2014, Menashe Cohen pleaded guilty in New Hampshire federal court to one count of filing a false income tax return for failing to report the existence of his Swiss and Israeli bank accounts on his 2009 tax...more
On October 3, 2014, according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office press release and court records, Howard Bloomberg, a forensic accountant and certified fraud examiner, pleaded guilty to one count of failure to file an FBAR reporting...more
On August 19, 2014, Bernard Kramer pleaded guilty in the Southern District of New York to conspiracy to defraud the United States and filing a false income tax return relating to his concealment of “at least $1.1 million” in...more
On July 30, 2014, the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) proposed rules requiring U.S. financial institutions to collect “Customer Due Diligence” information, including identifying the true...more
Former DOJ Tax Division AAG Kathy Keneally warned on June 24, 2014, that taxpayers should think carefully before signing a certification of non-willfulness and entering the IRS’s new Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures....more
Bloomberg BNA reported on May 9, 2014, that Swisspartners Group resolved a U.S. criminal tax probe by forfeiting $3.5 million and paying $900,000 in restitution for helping U.S. clients evade taxes with secret accounts. ...more
On April 30, 2014, a federal grand jury in Los Angeles, California, indicted Shokrollah Baravarian for Klein conspiracy: conspiracy to defraud the United States by impairing and impeding the IRS.
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Bloomberg news reports that on March 18, 2014, U.S. Senators Carl Levin and John McCain wrote a letter urging the Justice Department to seek extradition of about 30 Swiss bankers and others who are charged with enabling...more
On February 13, 2014, the OECD published a standard for the automatic exchange of tax information among governments, intended to help fight cross-border tax evasion. Under the standard, governments would collect information...more
Multiple outlets are reporting that on February 26, 2014, Martin Lack, a Swiss investment adviser and former UBS banker, will plead guilty in the Southern District of Florida to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United...more
The Chicago Tribune reports that Beanie Babies creator Ty Warner, who pleaded guilty last year to one of the largest tax frauds in Chicago-area history, has asked the federal court to sentence him to probation. His sentencing...more
On November 29, 2013, the Cayman Islands and the U.S. Signed a FATCA IGA. The Cayman Islands IGA is a Model 1B agreement, meaning that FFIs in the Cayman Islands will be required to report tax information about U.S. account...more
Tax Analysts Tax Notes reports that the IRS Small Business/Self-Employed Division's special enforcement program (SEP) will soon begin examining U.S. taxpayers suspected of holding undeclared accounts in Indian banks. An IRS...more
Tax Analysts Tax Notes reports that Potomac, Maryland, attorney George Nelson Smith pleaded guilty on November 1, 2013 to filing a false tax return and failing to file a tax return. According to his plea agreement, Smith is...more
Tax Analysts Tax Notes is reporting that David Raminfard of Los Angeles pleaded guilty on November 4, 2013, in federal court to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States (Klein conspiracy). ...more
Multiple outlets are reporting that on October 15, 2013, William Reed, a Nevada businessman, was sentenced to nine years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States, tax evasion, and...more
Bloomberg BNA is reporting that two prominent Phoenix businessmen were each sentenced to 10 months in prison for their roles in a scheme to stash more than $8 million in secret offshore Swiss bank accounts and for not...more