DOJ tax fraud crackdown: 76 defendants, nearly $500M in alleged losses
The US Justice Department announced a nationwide tax fraud operation involving 76 defendants and over $490M in estimated losses. The six-week surge involved 35 US attorneys' offices and IRS investigators.
US Justice Department launches first-ever National Tax Enforcement Surge
The Justice Department announced Wednesday a nationwide tax fraud crackdown involving 76 defendants and more than $490 million in estimated intended tax losses, according to foxnews.com. The operation — dubbed the first-ever National Tax Enforcement Surge — ran for approximately six weeks and brought together 35 US attorneys' offices alongside IRS criminal investigators.
The surge produced 23 new charging actions tied to more than $350 million in alleged intended tax losses. A further 45 defendants were involved in trials, guilty pleas and sentencings linked to nearly $140 million in estimated intended losses. In total, 31 individuals face new charges accused of schemes targeting American taxpayers.
"Every dollar stolen through tax fraud is a dollar taken from the American people," Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a news release. "What we uncovered during this concentrated surge is only the tip of the iceberg. The Department of Justice is committed to expanding our investigations and exposing schemes designed to evade accountability, because there is no safe haven for fraudsters."
IRS Criminal Investigation chief Jarod Koopman described the operation as a departure from previous enforcement strategies and signalled further crackdowns to come. "The consolidated actions we are announcing today represent an entirely new approach in our enforcement strategy," Koopman said at Wednesday's news conference. "Although this type of enforcement is the first of its kind, it will not be the last."
Texas trust scheme and Georgia refund fraud among largest cases
Among the most significant cases highlighted was an alleged fraudulent trust scheme in Texas, where four defendants were charged with promoting tax shelters that prosecutors say concealed more than $1.5 billion in income and caused over $200 million in estimated tax losses.
In Georgia, three Mexican citizens were indicted in connection with an alleged $74 million tax refund scheme involving more than 16,000 US Treasury checks. Prosecutors allege the defendants used Mexican identification documents belonging to other individuals to obtain IRS taxpayer identification numbers and file fraudulent returns.
Asset recovery effort under way
When asked at the news conference how much money taxpayers could expect to recover, Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald acknowledged that fraudulent proceeds are sometimes spent before investigators are able to retrieve them. McDonald said the Justice Department is building a dedicated asset forfeiture and recovery team to pursue assets allegedly purchased with fraud proceeds, including luxury vehicles and real estate. He did not provide a total recovery figure, noting that several cases remain in early stages.
The crackdown follows the Justice Department's establishment of its National Fraud Enforcement Division in April. All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)