Meet Bradley Birkenfeld. Bradley is a disgraced former Swiss banker that spent about 2 and a 1/2 years in prison for helping Americans evade taxes and hide their money in Swiss accounts. He is out of jail now and is getting a check from Uncle Sam for $104 million. What did he do to earn […]
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 […]
Treasury Hunting Nominee Accounts – IRS Whistleblower Post
[Updated 2021] The U.S. government is getting quite sophisticated in its hunt for unreported foreign accounts and those they believe are laundering money. While most people who haven’t reported their offshore bank and brokerage accounts don’t have a clue about the disclosure rules, some do. The people who have decided not to cooperate with the […]
Another Can’t Lose Strategy Hits The Market
by Brian Mahany It seems that more and more we are reporting on companies offering “bulletproof” asset protection products. Moving your assets offshore might beneficial for some but thinking that you can purchase complete protection from all creditors “for just one easy payment of $995” is crazy. We chuckled this morning when we received an […]
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 […]
Looking To Evade Taxes? There Are Plenty Of People Still Willing To Help You!
by Brian Mahany Last spring I had the opportunity to represent a client with pending criminal charges in three different Arab emirates. While 7 emirates are loosely joined into the United Arab Emirates, the individual countries are very different. Most Americans are immediately familiar with Dubai and Abu Dhabi but cannot name the others. Although […]
Islamic Banks Next Target of IRS? (IRS Whistleblower Rewards Post)
[Arabis translation below – الترجمة العربية أدناه] Beginning in 2007, the IRS began cracking down on Americans and other U.S. taxpayers with unreported foreign accounts. Owning an offshore account isn’t illegal but failing to report the account is. First, Swiss banks began to be the targets. The government accused UBS and several other Swiss banks […]