UBS has just struck a deal with the US Government to give up 52,000 names of Americans who have Swiss bank accounts. In the upcoming weeks, we can expect to see many guilty tax evaders being charged with heavy IRS penalties as well as innocent account holders who will need to defend themselves. (Read more about the latest UBS settlement.)
It is not uncommon for American businesspeople to hold foreign bank
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As a part of recent IRS efforts to find wealthy Americans who have been deliberately evading taxes by using offshore bank accounts, a deal has been reached today with UBS. The US Government and Switzerland have come to an agreement today that will force the Swiss bank, UBS, to turn over 52,000 names of suspected tax evaders.
According to the New York Times (www.nytimes.com), “UBS and the Swiss government have been
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In a high-profile Tax Day press conference, President Obama announced an even more aggressive war on tax cheats. Now, the IRS is planning the assault.
By Michael Rozbruch
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It was only a couple of months ago that President Barack Obama, still freshly inaugurated, stood in the White House and announced his plan to go after — and go after aggressively — tax cheats, no matter where they hide their money.
His plan focused
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Jon Dale Adams of Jackson, Miss., was sentenced to 18 months in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release, for filing a false federal income tax return in 2000. Adams was also ordered to pay a $5,000 fine.
The former owner of a strip club, Adams was indicted by a federal grand jury in February 2007. According to the indictment, Adams was charged with filing false returns that
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Georgia resident Yolanda Canty and Jacqueline Kier pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the government following an IRS investigation that discovered their fraudulent tax-refund scheme.
The pair was involved in a scheme to file false tax returns based on fabricated W-2 forms in their own names and in the names of others.
Most of the “taxpayers” had no knowledge of the returns being filed in their names.
They would persuade individuals to provide
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In the current environment of increasing IRS enforcement efforts, it is unwise for taxpayers to evade taxes and think that they can get away with it.
While it may be true that a small percentage of tax evaders could enjoy a few years of “freedom” from the IRS, the ones who do get caught could be served with debilitating bank levies and heavy wage garnishments for life. (And you never know
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A California businessman pleaded guilty to not reporting $15 million in capital gains from the sale of real estate.
Luke D. Brugnara was in the business of acquiring and renting real estate in the San Francisco area and elsewhere. In February 1998, the IRS requested copies of Brugnara’s individual income tax returns for the years 1990 to 1996, in addition to copies of tax returns for Brugnara Corporation. Brugnara returned those
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A Florida businessman was sentenced 22 years and six months in federal prison for, among other charges, for conspiring to commit wire fraud, obstructing an agency proceeding and impeding the IRS, and failing to remit payroll taxes.
Frank L. Amodeo, 48, of Orlando, pleaded guilty and was also ordered to forfeit more than $1 million seized from various accounts, three homes, several luxury automobiles, commercial real estate, a Lear Jet and
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The former chief executive of a Nevada sports energy drink company has been indicted on tax evasion charges.
Xyience CEO Russell Pike, of Las Vegas, is charged with one count of tax evasion for failing to file a federal individual income tax return for 2006 and failing to pay taxes on more than $6.9 million in income he earned in 2006. Pike is also charged with using nominees and a forward-dated
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A revenue agent with the Internal Revenue Service has agreed to plead guilty to a federal tax fraud charge for filing a personal income tax return that claimed he suffered a loss in a real estate transaction when in fact he realized a substantial profit.
In a plea agreement, Jim H. Liu, 43, of Diamond Bar, Calif., agreed to plead guilty to subscribing to a false tax return — a charge
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President Obama announced an overhaul of the tax code to “detect and pursue” U.S tax evaders and go after their offshore tax shelters.
The President’s two-part plan calls for nearly 800 new IRS agents to enforce the U.S. tax code - and help wage war against multi-national corps and their offshore tax havens.
Under the current tax code, companies with operations overseas pay U.S. taxes only if they bring the profits back
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A San Antonio, Texas, woman was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $1.5 million in restitution to the IRS for her role in a fraudulent tax scheme.
In addition to the prison term, United States District Judge Fred Biery ordered that Terrell Diamond be placed under supervised release for a period of three years after completing her prison term.
According to court records, Diamond, along with her
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Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, Obama’s pick to head the Department of Health and Human Services, did not pay $7,040 in taxes between 2005 and 2007. She paid the back taxes and penalty after they were identified.
In addition to Sebelius, five other Obama administration nominees have come under fire for unpaid taxes including Tom Daschle and Timothy F. Geithner. Labor secretary Hilda L. Solis  had to answer questions about $6,400 in
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A financial services consultant based in Memphis pleaded guilty in New York to conspiracy to defraud the IRS in connection with tax shelters marketed by the accounting firm Ernst & Young.
According to the information filed in Manhattan federal court and statements made during the guilty plea, 46-year-old Charles Bolton, from 1998 to 2002, was involved with an E&Y group, known initially as “VIPER” for “Value Ideas Produce Extraordinary Results,” and
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A Texas woman faces up to three years in prison after pleading guilty to tax charges.
Donna J. Nelson, of Sulphur Springs, Texas, pleaded guilty to false income tax reporting. According to information presented in court, Nelson admitted to understating her 2006 income by $136,100 on her Form 1040 U.S. Income Tax return. Other court documents also showed she had similarly underreported earnings for tax years 2003 through 2007, totaling $479,781.36.�
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