Tax Law BlogPage 17 of 32
Expert insights on IRS tax resolution, criminal tax defense, and compliance from our attorneys.
Your IRS Questions Answered Here…
Question: I received a Notice of Federal Tax Lien via certified mail for unpaid back taxes and I’m scared and don’t know what to do. Can you help? Answer: Yes. A Notice of Federal Tax Lien (NFTL) is public record and is generally filed with the County Recorder where you reside. A federal tax lien
Gregory McCauley, Esq.•1 min readFeb 27, 2020Did You Know?
The highest income tax bracket today is 37% but it has been much higher. The individual Income Tax Act of 1944 raised tax rates to the point where the highest bracket was 94%.
Gregory McCauley, Esq.•1 min readFeb 25, 2020The IRS Dirty Dozen
For the last several years, the IRS has issued a list of “Dirty Dozen” tax scams. Below are a couple recently released from 2019. Promises of Inflated Refunds Unethical tax return preparers promise taxpayers inflated tax refunds. Often, it’s the elderly and low income taxpayers, with no obligation t
Gregory McCauley, Esq.•1 min readFeb 20, 2020Bad Sport Didn’t Play by the Rules
Peggy Ann Fulford, 60, was sentenced to ten years in prison for defrauding former NBA players Travis Best and Dennis Rodman and NFL players Ricky Williams and Lex Hilliard out of millions. Fulford befriended the athletes before getting them to let her handle all their finances – including paying the
Gregory McCauley, Esq.•1 min readFeb 18, 2020Troupe of Frauds
Aaron Troupe, 30, who was in the business of filing false tax returns using stolen identities, was sentenced to five years and one month in federal prison for theft of government property and aggravated identity theft. Troupe also had debit cards in his name that had been loaded with illegally obtai
Gregory McCauley, Esq.•1 min readFeb 13, 2020They Knew the Drill But Cheated the IRS (and got caught) Anyway
Dentists Mike Hsieh and Christine Chen, owners of Comfort Family Dentistry in Washington state, have pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return. Between 2007 and 2014 Hsieh and Chen kept two sets of financial statements for the business. One set of books showed actual expenses while another showed
Gregory McCauley, Esq.•1 min readFeb 11, 2020Down for the Count
Rocky Tingler, owner of McWilliams Building & Construction in West Virginia, pleaded guilty to understating the gross sales on his 2015 tax return by more than $988,000. He also admitted that in the third quarter of 2014 he collected $790 in federal income tax from his employees when the amount shou
Gregory McCauley, Esq.•1 min readFeb 6, 2020Stormy Outlook for Attorney Michael Avenatti
Michael Avenatti became a household name as the attorney representing former adult film star Stormy Daniels in her case against President Donald Trump. But Avenatti’s most recent notoriety is strictly of his own doing. During a California Bar Association disciplinary hearing over allegations that he
Gregory McCauley, Esq.•1 min readFeb 4, 2020A Very Bad Day in Court
New Jersey tax preparer Brian Day pleaded guilty to filing false tax returns and bank fraud in a scheme to misappropriate clients’ money and defraud the IRS. Day told his clients that they owed more money to the IRS than they actually did. He instructed them to write checks made out to the IR
Gregory McCauley, Esq.•1 min readJan 30, 2020Making a Profit from a Non-Profit
Movita Johnson-Harrell, a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, has resigned from office after being accused of using funds for personal items from a non-profit she created to help people struggling with addiction, poverty and mental illness. She founded the non-profit, Motivations, E
Gregory McCauley, Esq.•1 min readJan 28, 2020Multiple Businesses, Multiple States Multiple Prison Sentences
Vincent Celentano, the owner of several businesses in Florida and Michigan, has been indicted for tax evasion, employment tax fraud and other tax crimes. Celentano is accused of using more than $360,000 from his businesses’ bank accounts to pay for personal expenses, including credit card payments a
Gregory McCauley, Esq.•1 min readJan 23, 2020At Loggerheads with the IRS
For more than 20 years, Denver resident, Lawrence Martin Birk, failed to pay federal income taxes. It wasn’t until the IRS began collection efforts that the owner of Terryall River Log Homes, which built and sold log homes, hired a tax firm to prepare eight years of returns. However, Birk left out a
Gregory McCauley, Esq.•1 min readJan 21, 2020Unspeakable Lack of Vision
Robert Lawrence Gazdick, Jr., the owner of an audio-visual equipment rental business in Virginia pleaded guilty to tax fraud for failing to pay payroll taxes for his employees from 2013 to 2018. Gazdick deducted the taxes from his employees’ paychecks but failed to pay the funds to the IRS. In total
Gregory McCauley, Esq.•1 min readJan 16, 2020CPA Gambled Using Rich and Famous Client’s Money
A gambling addiction led Los Angeles CPA Jonathan Schwartz, the business manager for Alanis Morissette and other well-known performers and athletes, to steal more than seven million dollars from his clients’ accounts. Schwartz had access to his clients’ bank accounts to pay their bills and ge
Gregory McCauley, Esq.•1 min readJan 14, 2020Your IRS Questions Answered Here…
Question: I own a small business and in order to keep afloat, I did not pay the IRS for my employee’s withholding taxes for a few years. How much trouble will I be in? Answer: Owing 941 payroll taxes is very different than owing personal 1040 income taxes. Not only can the IRS shut […
Gregory McCauley, Esq.•1 min readJan 13, 2020Your IRS Questions Answered Here…
Question: I received a notice from the IRS because I did not have the funds to pay the tax I owed on my 2017 income tax return. I also was late in filing my tax return. Not only is the IRS demanding the tax I owe, but they have slapped on these huge amounts for […]
Gregory McCauley, Esq.•2 min readDec 26, 2019Easy Come Easy Go
A 29-year-old Florida man submitted a false tax return to the IRS in 2016 and got a refund check for $980,000. Ramon Christopher Barnett claimed $18,497 in income, $47,357 in deductions, and one million dollars in income tax credit withholding. His return included a fictitious attachment that contai
Gregory McCauley, Esq.•1 min readDec 19, 2019Temp Agency Owner May Find Himself Temporarily in Jail
California business owner, Luis Perez, has been charged with tax evasion for failing to pay almost 30 million dollars in wages he withheld from employee paychecks. Perez, the owner of four staffing agencies, deducted the taxes from his employees’ paychecks but failed to pay the money to the IRS. The
Gregory McCauley, Esq.•1 min readDec 17, 2019Credit Union CEO Credited with Shutting Down CBS Credit Union
Longtime CEO of the CBS Employee Credit Union, Edward Rostohar, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for embezzling 40 million dollars over a 20-year period. Rostohar left the credit union insolvent, and it was absorbed by University Credit Union, which took over all 2,800 accounts. Rostohar claimed
Gregory McCauley, Esq.•1 min readDec 12, 2019With a Middle Name Like Prosper…
A Nigerian national living in Missouri was sentenced to four years and three months in prison without parole for filing false tax returns and for his part in various Internet scams that defrauded victims. Segun Prosper Otaru, 27, was ordered to pay $26,056 in restitution and the same amount to the g
Gregory McCauley, Esq.•1 min readDec 10, 2019Scammers’ Target Gets Target to Help Catch Them
Two Los Angeles women, Ailing Lu and Ji Hyun Lee, both 25, are in jail and facing criminal charges as a result of an IRS scam that netted them thousands of dollars. The women were caught after one of their victims reported the fraud to the police. The victim said he received a call from […]
Gregory McCauley, Esq.•1 min readDec 5, 2019This Isn’t Child’s Play; Baltimore Mayor Didn’t Go by the Book
Former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh has been indicted for committing fraud, evading federal taxes and illegally boosting her political campaign in association with a series of children’s books she self-published. Pugh, 69, is alleged to have sold hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of her Healt
Gregory McCauley, Esq.•1 min readDec 3, 2019Your IRS Questions Answered Here…
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 spouse and now the IRS is sending me notices stating I owe $67,000. I have no idea how they are coming up with this amount as […]
Gregory McCauley, Esq.•1 min readNov 26, 2019Unusual Taxes Throughout History All Over the World
In ancient Egypt people were taxed on purchasing cooking oil. They were also forbidden from using the oil more than once. During the Middle Ages, European governments taxed soap. This law stayed in effect for years to come, with Great Britain taxing soap until 1835. Russian Emperor Peter the Great
Gregory McCauley, Esq.•1 min readNov 21, 2019Like Father Like Son Land Both in Jail
George Bussanich Sr., and his son George Bussanich Jr., of New Jersey both pleaded guilty in Newark federal court to one count of tax evasion. Bussanich Sr. also pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud conspiracy. Between 2009 and 2012 the Bussaniches’ conspired to defraud mortgage lenders though
Gregory McCauley, Esq.•1 min readNov 19, 2019Did You Know…
Most know that the hit Broadway musical Hamilton is based on Alexander Hamilton who was one of the first founding fathers, the first United States Secretary of Treasury and is on the $10 bill. Here are some fun facts about Hamilton that you might not know: He probably lied about his age. He never li
Gregory McCauley, Esq.•1 min readNov 14, 2019The Second Time Around Isn’t Always Better Than the First
Self-employed Contractor, Timothy Blackman, formerly from Auburn, New York, pleaded guilty in Federal court in Syracuse to filing a false tax return on October 2019. Blackman who provided construction and remodeling services to customers, failed to file and pay income taxes for the years 2007 throug
Gregory McCauley, Esq.•1 min readNov 12, 2019Showing 433–459 of 838 articles
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