Justice Department Unveils Nationwide Tax Fraud Crackdown With 76 Defendants Claimed to Have Caused Nearly $500 Million in Losses

DOJ's First National Tax Enforcement Surge in Six-Week Crackdown Targets 76 Defendants Across 35 U.S. Attorney's Offices

US Attorney Ryan Raybold announced the results of a statewide tax fraud enforcement in North Texas.

US Attorney Ryan Raybold announced the results of a nationwide tax enforcement search. North Texas prosecutors are targeting tax fraud and financial looters targeting Main Street investors.

The Justice Department on Wednesday announced a nationwide tax fraud crackdown that included 76 defendants and more than $490 million in estimated tax damages, including new charges against 31 people accused of schemes that targeted American taxpayers.

The first national tax enforcement surge brought together 35 IRS law offices and criminal investigators over the course of nearly six weeks. The operation resulted in 23 new indictments involving more than $350 million in intended tax losses, while another 45 defendants entered trials, guilty pleas and sentences related to approximately $140 million in intended losses.

"Every dollar stolen through tax fraud is a dollar taken from the American people," Attorney General Todd Blanch said in a statement.

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At a news conference Wednesday, IRS Criminal Investigations Chief Jarrod Koopman described the operation as a new enforcement strategy and said similar crackdowns would follow.

"The consolidated actions we're announcing today represent a completely new approach to our enforcement strategy, working with the Department of Justice to strategically increase resources across a broad range of tax crimes. And while this type of enforcement is the first of its kind, it won't be the last," Koopman said.

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Among the biggest cases highlighted was an alleged fraudulent trust scheme in Texas, in which four defendants were accused of promoting tax shelters that prosecutors say generated more than $1.5 billion in revenue and more than $200 million in estimated tax losses.

In Georgia, three Mexican nationals were charged in connection with a $74 million tax refund scheme involving more than 16,000 U.S. Treasury checks. Prosecutors allege the defendants used Mexican identification documents belonging to other people to obtain IRS taxpayer identification numbers and file false returns.

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When asked how much taxpayers can expect to recover, Assistant U.S. Attorney Colin MacDonald acknowledged that fraudulent proceeds are sometimes spent before investigators can recover them.

MacDonald said the Justice Department is building an asset forfeiture and recovery agency to pursue assets allegedly purchased with fraudulent proceeds, including luxury vehicles and real estate. He did not provide full recovery statistics and noted that some cases are still in their early stages.

The crackdown follows the Justice Department's establishment of a national fraud enforcement division in April. Defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

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