“Will I get caught?” is one of the most common questions asked by potential tax cheats. The temptation to cheat the IRS is overwhelming for thousands of Americans. While no one knows whether and when they will be caught, the IRS has become much better at finding those who evade taxes. One of the best […]
Tax Evasion and Shell Companies – IRS Whistleblower Reward Post
[Updated through December 2020] The world is becoming more transparent by the day. As more banks and governments exchange financial information, thousands of innocent folks are getting caught in government drag nets designed to identify those with unreported offshore accounts. Many, however, are not innocent. Most folks with offshore accounts are dual nationals, foreign born […]
Think No One Will Discover Your Offshore Account? Read This!
by Brian Mahany We are never surprised anymore when the feds announce a new wave of indictments against taxpayers with unreported accounts. Until 2008, the IRS didn’t look very hard and prosecutions were few. As the economy has soured, tax authorities around the world have become quite creative in finding new revenue streams. To enforce […]
Battle of the Titans
by Brian Mahany We hear of many people making claims against their tax preparers for not properly advising them of their foreign account reporting requirements. Lately some taxpayers are suing Swiss banks for allegedly providing them bad advise – like, “don’t worry you won’t get caught.” Now in what may be the ultimate lawsuit, billionaire […]
Lawyer Indicted For Helping Clients Set Up Offshore Swiss Bank Accounts
by Brian Mahany The IRS and U.S. Department of Justice show no sign of letting up in their quest to ferret out U.S. taxpayers with unreported offshore accounts. Earlier this week Justice officials unsealed an indictment against a former San Diego tax attorney and two of his clients for alleging hiding millions in unreported Swiss […]
Can I Sue an Accountant for Failing to Report My Offshore Accounts?
Accounting Malpractice Post The IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative (OVDI) and other foreign account amnesty programs are long over. Between the 2009 and 2011 tax amnesty programs, roughly 30,000 taxpayers have come forward and reported their offshore accounts. Most have paid severe penalties of 20 to 25% of the value of their offshore holdings. That […]
Monkey See, Monkey Don’t – Help for Human Trafficking Victims
[Post updated 2021] Most of the articles we post are designed to help people who themselves the victim of fraud. Sometimes, innocent people find themselves victims of human trafficking. This a grim tale of a cop turned trafficker, former IRS Special Agent Kemp Shiffer. Afterwards we discuss how victims of trafficking can get help. Several […]
U.S. Tax Court Disallows 419A Plan, Upholds Penalties
In a recent U.S. Tax Court case, taxpayers suffered a double loss. The taxpayers, consisting of four couples, had purchased welfare benefit plans marketed by Benistar 419 Plan Services. Under the plan, Benistar provided preretirement life insurance to select employees of companies enrolled in the plan. Small employers like the plans because they allow pretax […]
IRS Pays CPA $4.5 Million For "Throwing Client Under The Bus"
For many people, that headline is probably quite disturbing. The IRS paid an in-house corporate accountant $4.5 million for turning in his or her own employer over an unreported tax debt. To add insult to the injury, the accountant’s identity is protected under the whistleblower rules. No one likes tax cheats but many folks are […]
IRS Makes Enron Whistleblower a Millionaire – Are You Next?
Long before Enron became a household world, an anonymous whistleblower came forward and tipped off authoritiesThe Internal Revenue Service paid an anonymous whistleblower a $1.1 million dollar reward for information about tax fraud at Enron. The award was paid out under the old IRS whistleblower program and represents the then maximum reward. For the same […]