Tax Law BlogPage 7 of 28
Expert insights on IRS tax resolution, criminal tax defense, and compliance from our attorneys.
Cryptocurrency Company Owners Face 5 Years in Prison!
The founders of a cryptocurrency company, Bruce Bise and Samuel Mendez, pleaded guilty to tax evasion for a scheme that defrauded more than 13,000 investors of approximately 24 million dollars. Bise and Mendez marketed their company, Bitqyck, and the company’s currency, Bitqy, as a way for “those
Your IRS Questions Answered Here…
Question: The IRS is hounding me and won’t leave me alone, so I’ve finally decided to seek help from a Tax Professional who specializes in IRS problems. I want to start getting my paperwork together for the appointment; what will I need to bring with me? Answer: It’s very important to have certain
Serial Tax Evader Goes to Jail For Not Paying Taxes on 20 Million Dollars
A New Jersey businessman, Jason Kronick, has been arrested on four counts of tax evasion. Kronick evaded paying more than 4.3 million dollars in income taxes from 2008 to 2010, despite having earned approximately 20 million dollars in taxable income during that time period. Kronick spent approxi
Cisco Employee Did it His Way To the Tune of Millions
A former Cisco employee, Prithvirag Bhikha, is headed to prison for tax and wire fraud. In 2013 Bhikha was assigned to lead a new Cisco venture called “Project New York” which entailed hiring third party vendors to negotiate savings with manufacturers Cisco worked with. In 2014, Bhikha asked a ven
Employee Steals from Church and Has to Answer to Higher Power and The IRS
The former head of construction and land management at the Catholic Diocese of St. Augustine in Florida was sentenced to 33 months in prison for tax and wire fraud charges. Charles Jon David was responsible for selling land owned by the church, and in 2013 sold a property to two individuals for we
Thief & Tax Evader Takes From Needy Kids and Gives to Himself
Saurabh Chawla, a Colorado businessman, was found guilty of trafficking in stolen goods and tax evasion. From 2009 to 2019 Chawla purchased more than 3.5 million dollars in goods he knew were stolen, from various individuals, and resold the items on eBay. Chawla purchased and resold 3,000 Apple iP
IRS Crime Investigators Moving to the Digital Age with Billboards
IRS Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), in partnership with New York State Crime Stoppers, has launched its first ever digital billboard campaign with the hope of catching tax evaders. The billboard, which is part of a 12-week public service campaign, is off the Kensington Expressway in Buffalo, New Y
Check Cashing Business Owner Hides Millions from IRS and Faces 10 Years in Prison!
John Drago, the owner of six check cashing businesses in Long Island, pleaded guilty to payroll tax evasion and illegally structuring financial transactions. Financial institutions are required to file a Currency Transaction Report (CTR) for each transaction of $10,000 or more, this includes when
Your IRS Questions Answered Here…
Question: I owe $74,367 for several years of back taxes but do not have the money to pay the IRS. I want to get them off my back and heard of something called an Offer in Compromise. What is it and how do I qualify? Answer: An Offer in Compromise is the IRS’ tax […]
New York City Council Member Loses Job for Cheating on Taxes!
Former New York City Council Member, Chaim Deutsch, was sentenced to three months in prison for filing a false tax return in connection with outside income he received while serving on the city council. In addition to his job as a council member, Deutsch was the owner of Chasa Management, a real e
Businessman Constructs False Tax Returns for Hefty Refunds
Shawn Smith, a Chicago business owner, was sentenced to three years in prison for filing false tax returns. Smith created several companies, including a construction business, that did very little work, but provided him with the opportunity to create false W2s that falsely listed him as earning mi
Antique Dealer Illegally Selling Walrus Tusks Pays Fine in Six-Figures and Marine Mammal Parts
An Alaskan antique dealer, Walter Earl, was found guilty of tax evasion and trafficking in illegal walrus ivory. Earl, the owner of The Antique Gallery, was caught selling illegal walrus skulls and ivory tusks to undercover agents, a crime that led to the discovery of his tax evasion. Earl didn’
Couple Strikes Out with Gambling Ruse, Ends Up in Prison!
Cherie and Dudley Hellenbrand, owners of Middleton Sports Bowl, a bowling alley and sports bar in Wisconsin, pleaded guilty to underreporting the sales receipts from video gambling machines they had installed in their business in 2010. The Hellenbrands scheme came to light when they admitted to a
Corporate Secretary Puts Plumbing Company in Hot Water for Embezzling Almost a Million Dollars!
Sara Collins, the corporate secretary of a plumbing, heating, and air conditioning business in Delaware, pleaded guilty for failing to pay employment taxes on behalf of her employer. From 2013 to 2019 Collins paid less than $37,000 in payroll taxes when the business owed a total of more than $960,00
Millionaire Tax-Evader and Medicaid Thief Goes to Jail!
Jeffrey Scott Allen, a Missouri businessman, pleaded guilty to tax evasion for underreporting his income from 2012 to 2017. Allen’s business provides installation services for satellite based Internet and television, and he contracts labor with five different contractors. He claims an annual profit
Your IRS Questions Answered Here…
Question: I owe a several years of back taxes, about $43,000, but do not have the money to pay the IRS. I want to get them off my back and heard of something called an Offer in Compromise. What is it and how do I get one? Answer: An Offer in Compromise (“OIC”) is […]
Tobacco Farmer’s False Federally Insurance Claims Go Up in Smoke
Christopher Hickerson, a tobacco farmer in Kentucky, was found guilty of crop insurance fraud and tax fraud. From 2009 to 2016 Hickerson filed false claims of loss on his Multi-Peril Crop Insurance policies. These policies are federally sponsored and funded with taxpayer money. Hickerson got the own
Bookkeeper’s Numbers Don’t Add Up She Faces Jail Time and a $750K Fine
Melodie Ann Eckland pleaded guilty to defrauding her extended family and her employer, a non-profit adoption and surrogacy agency. From 2011 to 2018 Eckland, a bookkeeper, stole funds from her employer by making unauthorized wire transfers, wiring checks to herself and paying herself unauthorized bo
Businessman Gambles with the IRS and Loses
A Florida businessman, Alejandro Gomez, pleaded guilty to tax evasion after causing the IRS a tax loss of over $545,000. Gomez ran Fleischmann’s Produce, a company that imported fresh herbs for wholesale distribution, and got in the habit of writing off gambling losses as company expenses. In 2014 G
You Steal, Cheat and Commit Tax Evasion? BINGO! Your Number’s Up
Linda Pylant, the office administrator for a trade organization in Maryland, has been indicted on charges of tax evasion, wire fraud, identity theft and social security fraud. From 2012 to 2020 Pylant was responsible for the organization’s bookkeeping, and in 2017 opened a bank account in her employ
Bogus Tax Deduction Gets Dentist Extracted from Society and Sent to Prison
Homayoun Zadeh, an associate professor of dentistry at USC, pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return in connection with the college admissions scandal. Zadeh paid $100,000 to a bogus charitable organization run by Rick Singer, the mastermind behind the admissions scandal, in order to secure his d
Pop-Up Church Didn’t Have a Prayer
Trenton Switzer, the owner of a successful sales training business in Colorado, was found guilty of submitting a false tax return. In 2015 Switzer attempted to avoid paying taxes by claiming that he had made a $250,000 charitable donation to a church he created for the purpose of evading taxes. As p
Your IRS Questions Answered Here… Innocent Spouse?
Question: I’m currently separated from my spouse, who owns his own business, and we are in the process of getting a divorce. I have always filed jointly with my husband and now the IRS is sending me notices stating I owe $65,000. I have no idea how they are coming up with this amount as […]
A Guide to State Level Offers in Compromise
An Offer in Compromise (OIC) is an agreement between the taxpayer and the government to settle a tax debt for less than what is owed. They afford the taxpayer an opportunity to clear the balance at a discount while the tax collector is ensured as to the collectability of at least a portion of a […]
A 5 Million Dollar Judgment for Tax Evasion Did Not Keep this Man From Trying Again
Michael Goldner already had a five million dollar restitution judgment against him for a tax evasion and wire fraud conviction when he concocted a scheme to avoid paying taxes on additional income. From 2013 to 2017, Goldner accrued a tax liability of $1,858,740. In order to avoid paying these tax
Financial Crimes Detective and Wife Head to Jail for Fraud and Tax Evasion!
Stephanie Roskovski, the COO of Butler Memorial Hospital, was sentenced for mail fraud and filing a false tax return. Her husband, Scott Roskovski, was sentenced for filing a false tax return and submitting a false loan application. From 2011 to 2017 Stephanie Roskovski embezzled more than 1.3 mil
Housing Authority Secretary May End Up in the Big House
Janice White, the executive secretary for the Rochester Housing Authority, pleaded guilty to defrauding the charity, which provides housing opportunities and other services to the community. In 2018, White started a company, HJJ Property Development, which was listed as a heating and air condition
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