Chicago Restaurant Tax Case Highlights Broad DOJ Authority

Law360, New York (May 25, 2016, 4:32 PM ET) -- The U.S. Department of Justice’s filing of criminal charges against a Chicago restaurant owner who failed to pay state sales tax demonstrates the perils business owners face if they underreport their gross receipts to avoid paying sales tax. Hu Xiaojun, who owns and operates nine restaurants in the Chicago area, was charged with federal wire fraud and money laundering Read More

Alan Weisberg Quoted in Norcal Record Article

Attorney Alan Weisberg was extensively quoted in a recent Norcal Record article about staying calm in a volatile stock market year. Click here to read the full story. Read More

Panama Papers Leak Puts Spotlight on Offshore Accounts

Law360, New York (May 2, 2016, 11:19 AM ET) -- Ivan H. Golden The Panama Papers leak last month is yet another reminder that U.S. taxpayers who are still using undeclared offshore accounts to hide wealth or avoid tax are at serious risk of discovery and should carefully consider disclosing their accounts before it is too late. On April 3, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) Read More

Panama Papers Spark US Criminal Tax Evasion Probe

Law360, New York (April 20, 2016, 2:36 PM ET) -- The U.S. Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation into the international tax avoidance schemes exposed by the Panama Papers leak, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists confirmed Wednesday. The ICIJ, which had obtained 11.5 million previously secret documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca & Co. earlier this month, Read More

Feds act against 2 in South Florida accused of filing fraudulent returns

From the Miami Herald Tax preparers Rose Chazulle and Eli St. Phard filed thousands of tax returns on behalf of other people out of their South Florida businesses before federal authorities started noticing problems. Both individuals are accused of churning out return after return with overstated refunds and false claims to tax credits, according to civil lawsuits filed Monday — the day tax returns were due — by Read More

IRS Urges Americans: Come Clean Now, Before We Read Panama Papers

From NBC News U.S. officials revealed to NBC News that they have taken part in two global meetings about the Panama Papers to plan how to use the huge trove of leaked documents to catch criminals — and urged Americans to come clean now before illegal activity is discovered. Last week's discussions in Paris and Washington between IRS and Treasury officials and their counterparts from around the world are the first Read More

Former U.S. Tax Court Judge Kroupa Indicted For Tax Evasion, Conspiracy, Obstruction

Click here to read the formal indictment. From Forbes A former Tax Court Judge, Ms. Diane L. Kroupa is alleged to have filed fraudulent tax returns while she was sitting as a U.S. Tax Court Judge. She and her husband, Robert E. Fackler, are alleged to have conspired to evade over $400,000 in taxes. This is only anindictment, and Judge Kroupa and her husband deserve the benefit of the doubt. Still, it is shocking Read More

Tax Dodger's $1.6M Trust Fund Must Go To Feds, Court Says

From Law360 Law360, New York (April 4, 2016, 6:16 PM ET) -- A $1.57 million deposit in the Nevada district court’s registry from a trust to which transfers had been made fraudulently to avoid a convicted tax dodger’s $335 million debt will be paid out to the U.S. government, according to a judge’s order Monday. The judgment follows U.S. District Judge Andrew P. Gordon’s ruling last month that the primary income Read More

Tax Court Says Embezzling Ex-IRS Agent Doesn't Owe Tax

From Law 360 Law360, New York (March 31, 2016, 4:22 PM ET) -- The U.S. Tax Court said Thursday that a former Internal Revenue Service agent who pled guilty to a criminal count of tax evasion nevertheless doesn't owe taxes to the agency because the evidence shows that he did not have any unreported income. Bohdan Senyszyn pled guilty to tax evasion in connection with embezzling some $250,000 from New Jersey real Read More

Alan Weisberg Quoted in Daily Business Review Article on Curacao Startups

Attorney Alan Weisberg was recently quoted in a Daily Business Review article on startups in the island nation of Curacao. Click the images to enlarge and read the full article below! Curacao Stock Exchange Seeks International Startups Monika Gonzalez Mesa, Daily Business Review March 30, 2016 Read more Rene Romer, ceo and managing director of the Dutch Caribbean Stock Exchange handout Officials in Curacao, a Read More