A Baltimore man was charged in connection with an international tax-fraud conspiracy that sought to obtain more than $35 million in federal and state income tax refunds using the identities of 3,300 federal prisoners.
Ten men, including the leader of the conspiracy, Marvin Berkowitz, 62, of Jerusalem, Israel, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Chicago after Berkowitz and the others were arrested in Israel and other locations throughout the
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In my industry, I see many cases where taxpayers could avoid or reduce IRS penalties if they provide sufficient documentations that substantiate their business deductions.
Upon IRS request, you must have sufficient documentation to prove the legitimacy of your tax deductions in order to avoid tax evasion charges. If however, you are unaware of illegal deductions that your spouse made on your joint tax return, you are eligible to file for
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Recently I blogged about my guest appearance on Fox Business News talking with Brian Sullivan about the latest IRS collection efforts and how taxpayers need to know how to avoid and resolve back taxes in order to secure their financial future.
In the current tax climate, the US Government is hard-pressed for funding in order to pay for programs such as the $800 billion stimulus package, the “Cash for Clunkers” program,
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Baseball superstar, “Miracle Met” Jerry Koosman went from being cheered by his fans to being escorted by the police to jail for not paying his back taxes for the years 2002-2004.
Between Koosman’s Major League Baseball pension, autographs, public appearances, and selling his stocks, he made around $754,950 over those years, out of which $80,000 belonged to the government.
In May, Koosman pleaded guilty to IRS tax evasion charges. “Like most people
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Recently I was a guest on Fox Business News with Brian Sullivan to talk about the latest increase in IRS enforcement and how taxpayers and small business owners can protect their financial well-being by seeking professional tax representation.
With the government struggling for funds to pay for economic stimulus plans such as the “Cash For Clunkers” program and the $800 billion stimulus package, the IRS is under high pressure to collect
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This Wednesday, I will be appearing as an expert guest on Fox Business News to talk about some of the pressing tax problems taxpayers are facing due to the recent surge in IRS enforcements.
Please tune in to Fox Business News tomorrow morning, September 2nd, at 8am to learn how you can protect your financial future by staying informed of your tax obligations as well as how you can save money
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Thomas R. Kelley, of Salem, S.D., was originally indicted by a federal grand jury on Dec. 3, 2008, for filing a false income tax return, impeding the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and 16 counts of uttering fictitious obligations. A new superseding indictment added two counts of tax evasion and three counts of willful failure to file tax returns. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison and a
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It’s official–UBS, the Swiss Banking Giant has reached a deal with the US Government and the Swiss Government to release around 4,450 names of American account holders suspected of tax evasion.
The US Government estimates there to be $18 billion hidden in these offshore accounts–giving the IRS plenty reason to scrutinize and audit both the innocent and guilty in the upcoming months.
If you have a UBS account and have not paid
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Hope everyone had a great weekend! CNBC.com reporter Mark Koba quoted me in a recent article about last week’s agreement by Swiss bank UBS to name US account holders. This is being seen as a watershed, leaving many wealthy Americans with foreign accounts scrambling to figure out what to do
Anyone who has not checked the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) box on Schedule B of form
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Architect Thomas Allan Bouffard, 48, of Vacaville, Calif., was audited by the IRS and pleaded guilty to attempted tax evasion. Bouffard admitted that for tax year 2002 he understated his income by $121,693, resulting in an underpayment $38,388. In 2005, during an IRS tax audit, discrepancies were found in Bouffard’s return for tax year 2002. The IRS then expanded the audit to include his 2003 tax return, and Bouffard admitted
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As Swiss bank UBS and the Swiss government consider reneging on a deal to turn over 52,000 names of U.S. clients, Justice Department warns criminal prosecution may be next step
By Michael Rozbruch
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For those who follow tax compliance news, February was a big month.
That’s when the U.S. Department of Justice announced a deal with Swiss bank UBS.
The U.S. government agreed to waive criminal prosecution — federal prosecutors suspected the Swiss bank
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Javid David Azari, 60, of Portland, Ore., pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion. As part of the plea agreement, Azari agreed to cooperate with the United States regarding the whereabouts of all assets related to income tax evasion.
According to the plea, Azari knew he had unpaid federal income taxes for the years 1997 to 1999, and he attempted to evade payment of those taxes by transferring money out
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As the economy grows gloomier, identity thieves are getting more desperate and creative to trick people into paying up. The latest IRS warning urges  people to be cautious of identity theft scams that involve using the IRS name, logo, and web address to fool people into believing the IRS is contacting them to request personal information.
Protect your finances and personal information from identity thieves by staying alert and cautious around
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With the recent surge in IRS enforcement, small businesses have become a major target for the government. The staggering annual $345 billion tax gap can be largely attributed to small business tax evasion; much of this has been because small businesses are difficult to enforce and many can manage to slip through the tax cracks by underreporting actual income.
Therefore, the IRS has shifted into high gears to catch and penalize
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UBS and the U.S. and Swiss governments are nearing a settlement over the Swiss bank’s forced disclosure of 52,000 names of  U.S. clients suspected of tax evasion.
While the final form of agreement is not yet in place, there are many implications for U.S. taxpayers, including innocent offshore account holders who did not use their Swiss accounts to evade taxes. They may be heavily investigated, so it will be
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