IRS Criminal Investigation Annual Report — Fiscal Year 2021

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ANNUAL REPORT 2021

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Contents
	
3	
Message from the Chief
	
4	
2021 Snapshot
	
5	
Tax Crimes
	
6	
Non-Tax Crimes
	
8	
Cyber Crime Unit
	
9	
Narcotics and National Security
	 10	
PPP/EIDL/Covid Fraud
	 10	
Asset Recovery and 
	
	
Investigative Services
	 11	
Specialized Units
	 12	
Nationally Coordinated 
	
	
Investigations Unit
	 12	
Commissioner’s Protection Detail
	 13	
Office of International Affairs
	 14	
Digital Forensics
	 15	
National Forensic Laboratory
	 16	
Undercover Operations
	 17	
National Criminal Investigation 
	
	
Training Academy
	 18	
Office of Communication
	 18	
Professional Staff
	 19	
Workforce Development
	 19	
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
	 20	
Outreach and Community Engagement
	 21	
Field Office Map
	 22	
Case Closed: 
	
	
Significant Case Summaries
	 26	
Atlanta
	 27	
Boston
	 28	
Charlotte
	 29	
Chicago
	 30	
Cincinnati
	 31	
Dallas
	 32	
Denver
	 33	
Detroit
	 34	
Houston
	 35	
Las Vegas
	 36	
Los Angeles
	 37	
Miami
	 38	
Newark
	 39	
New York
	 40	
Oakland
	 41	
Philadelphia
	 42	
Phoenix
	 43	
Seattle
	 44	
St. Louis
	 45	
Tampa
	 46	
Washington D.C.
	 47	
Appendix
Click on a section to go to that page.
Table of Contents
2021 Snapshot Data
Field Office Map
Appendix: Investigation Data
Navigation Menu

I will preserve the legacy by doing 
all that I can to ensure that we 
maintain our place as the world’s 
finest financial investigative agency.
PRESERVE 
THE LEGACY
I will honor the badge by working  
with a sense of urgency, integrity,  
and professionalism every day.
HONOR 
THE BADGE
I will master my craft through 
continuous learning, pursuit of 
excellence, and engagement with 
internal and external stakeholders.
MASTER 
YOUR CRAFT
I will inspire the future through a 
constant personal commitment 
to mentor others within the 
organization.
INSPIRE  
THE FUTURE
I am proud to share the FY 2021 IRS Criminal Investigation Annual Report. 
The IRS, and our country, relies on CI’s ability to investigate and recommend 
prosecution of criminal tax violations and other related financial crimes to 
the Department of Justice. The deterrent effect from our work reinforces 
the backbone of our voluntary compliance tax system -- a system that funds 
our government, our military, and our infrastructure. Criminal tax cases 
that are prosecuted and publicized provide a strong deterrent message to 
would-be tax evaders, helping to ensure the integrity and fairness in the U.S. 
tax system.  It also provides deterrence to those who are considering other 
financial crimes. Our efforts put criminals on notice – they will be caught 
when they commit these crimes.
This year our country continued to face the challenge of the effects of 
Covid-19.  CI faced those challenges as well, both as we interacted with 
the public and as we managed our internal workforce. Although our core 
mission remained the same, we approached our investigations this year 
with compassion. We recognized that among other Covid-19 difficulties, 
members of families and friends were lost. We carefully approached our 
work this year with this recognition in mind. We also provided vital public 
safety messages about Covid-19-related scams to protect the public and 
their financial interests. 
But our underlying principles and our mission remained the same. They are 
what unite us and give us the structure to move forward seamlessly. Honor 
the Badge, Preserve the Legacy, Master Your Craft, and Inspire the Future 
are the guiding principles that IRS Criminal Investigation lives by and by 
which 2021 was defined.
HONOR THE BADGE. Our workforce honors the badge by working with a 
sense of ingenuity, tenacity, and teamwork to uncover the truth. We honor 
the badge by using not only the lessons learned in the past, but by looking 
ahead and developing the tools that will make us successful in the future. But 
honoring the badge many times comes down to doing the hard tax-related 
work we have always done. This was exemplified by a CI case this year 
where a software tycoon was charged in a 20-year scheme to hide $2 billion 
in income – hailed as the largest U.S. tax case ever against an individual.
PRESERVE THE LEGACY. Our cases continue to be some of the most 
complex and impactful cases in the world and regularly appear on the front 
page of the nation’s largest newspapers and websites. We increasingly rely 
on data analytics to augment good old-fashioned police work and find those 
cases that have the biggest impact on tax administration. We are leading 
the world in our ability to trace virtual currency in financial investigations 
while still working our foundational tax enforcement mission areas. This 
year, a civil forfeiture complaint was filed for thousands of Bitcoin valued at 
approximately $1 billion dollars, among the largest cryptocurrency seizures 
ever by the federal government.  The complaint related to the Silk Road case, 
a sprawling black-market bazaar where unlawful goods and services were 
bought and sold regularly by the site’s users.   
MASTER YOUR CRAFT. The speed at which money moves today is almost 
instantaneous and the convenience that comes with that opens the door 
for criminals to exploit the latest technological advancements. The internet 
and the dark web have facilitated this change. CI has committed to staying 
ahead of these developments and we have made significant investments in 
training our employees in the latest tactics and techniques to be successful 
in a digital financial world. This year, we saw the first-ever sentencing of a 
Bitcoin case with a tax component.  A former Microsoft employee defrauded 
the company of over $10 million using a bitcoin mixer to hide taxable income. 
He was sentenced to nine years in federal prison. 
INSPIRE THE FUTURE. The world is in many ways a smaller place these 
days, and financial crimes are increasingly international in scope. CI now 
works on a global scale to address this evolving future of law enforcement. 
We continued our partnership with the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement 
(J5), an alliance between the criminal tax authorities of the U.S., Australia, 
Canada, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, and this year we netted 
our second plea under this J5 umbrella in a $722 million cryptocurrency 
mining scheme. Our work is changing and has been impacted by cybercrime, 
but we have positioned ourselves to solve these sophisticated schemes. We 
also increasingly rely on social media to alert the public of our cases and 
warn them about possible scams. 
Today’s criminals think we cannot catch them, but as evidenced by some 
of the great casework in this report, it is clear we can. I’m proud of our 
accomplishments from this year and look forward to continued successes 
in the future.
–Jim Lee, Chief
Criminal Investigation 
Guiding Principles
Message from the Chief
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
3

DIRECT INVESTIGATIVE TIME SPENT*
PERCENTAGES
*1.4% UNCATEGORIZED
REFUND 
FRAUD
IDENTITY 
THEFT
EMPLOYMENT 
TAX
ABUSIVE 
TAX SCHEMES
GENERAL 
TAX FRAUD
INTERNATIONAL
CYBER CRIMES
PUBLIC 
CORRUPTION
CORPORATE 
FRAUD
GENERAL 
FRAUD
MONEY 
LAUNDERING
OCDETF 
Organized Crime 
Drug Enforcement 
Task Force 
72%
TAX
15.4%
11.2%
NON-TAX
NARCOTICS
1497
WARRANTS EXECUTED
$8.18B
OTHER FINANCIAL CRIMES
$2.19B
TAX FRAUD IDENTIFIED
89.4%
CONVICTION RATE
828
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES
27%
31%
IRS:CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION
13%
FINANCIAL CRIMES 
ENFORCEMENT 
NETWORK
13%
IRS:CIVIL
7%
PUBLIC
6%
STATE/LOCAL GOVERNMENT
3%
2030
2021
2021
2020
2020
PROFESSIONAL
STAFF
889
SPECIAL AGENTS
7.4% 
0.8% 
2046
2021 Snapshot
IRS:CI STAFFING
INVESTIGATION
SOURCES
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
4

633
SENTENCED
850
PROSECUTIONS RECOMMENDED
1372
INVESTIGATIONS INITIATED
IRS: CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION’S (CI) primary 
resource commitment is to develop and investigate tax 
crimes, including both legal and illegal source cases. 
Prosecution of these cases supports the overall IRS 
compliance goals and enhances voluntary compliance 
with the tax laws. CI works some of these investigations 
with our federal, state, and local law enforcement 
partners, as well as with foreign tax and law enforcement 
agencies. The Illegal Source Financial Crimes Program 
encompasses tax and tax-related, money laundering, 
and currency violations. These investigations focus on 
individuals deriving income from illegal sources, such 
as money obtained through embezzlement, bribery, 
and fraud. The individuals can be legitimate business 
owners, who obtain their income through illegal means. 
These investigations focus on methods through which 
individuals seek to launder their ill-gotten income by 
making it appear the income is from a legitimate source. 
Frequent money laundering techniques include the 
manipulation of currency reporting requirements, the 
layering of transactions, and the international movement 
of funds.
GENERAL TAX FRAUD
General tax fraud investigations are at the core of CI’s law 
enforcement efforts and directly influence the American 
public’s confidence and compliance with the tax laws. 
The integrity of our tax system depends heavily on the 
taxpayers’ willingness to self-assess taxes owed and 
voluntarily file tax returns. CI investigations help show 
law-abiding taxpayers that individuals who deliberately 
under report or omit income from their tax returns will 
be held accountable for their actions. One area within 
this program is CI’s investigations regarding high income 
taxpayers who have a filing requirement but deliberately 
choose not to file returns and pay taxes owed. Other 
common practices involved in general tax fraud investi-
gations include keeping two sets of books, making false 
entries in books and records, claiming personal expenses 
as business expenses, claiming false deductions or 
credits against taxes owed, and hiding or transferring 
assets. CI special agents use their financial investigative 
expertise to uncover and quantify the seriousness of 
these schemes. They also work closely with Department 
of Justice (DOJ) prosecutors to gather the necessary 
evidence to bring these cases to a successful conclusion.
REFUND FRAUD PROGRAM
The Refund Fraud Program consists of three parts: 
Questionable Refund Program (QRP), identity theft refund 
fraud investigations, and the Abusive Return Preparer 
Program (RPP) for both individuals and businesses. These 
programs investigate individuals who file fraudulent tax 
returns to steal government funds. This type of theft 
erodes voluntary compliance and taxpayer confidence in 
the integrity of the tax system. It also results in the loss 
of vital funds needed to support government programs, 
many of which impact the most vulnerable Americans.
The QRP identifies fraudulent claims for tax refunds. 
Generally, these schemes involve individuals filing 
multiple fraudulent tax returns using the personally 
identifiable information (PII) of individuals, either 
knowingly or unknowingly, to facilitate the scheme. 
A significant number of these investigations are also 
considered identity theft investigations. 
Identity theft refund fraud occurs when someone uses 
the PII of another individual, without the person’s 
permission. The PII could include another person’s 
name, Social Security number, or address. These cases 
are commonly referred to as stolen identify refund fraud 
(SIRF) investigations. The crime usually occurs when an 
identity thief uses a legitimate taxpayer’s identity to file 
a fraudulent tax return and claim a refund. Generally, the 
identity thief will use a stolen SSN and other PII to file a 
fraudulent tax return and attempt to get a refund early in 
the filing season before the legitimate taxpayer files their 
tax return. 
In contrast, Abusive Return Preparer Program investi-
gations involve the orchestrated preparation and filing 
of false income tax returns by corrupt return preparers. 
These preparers often claim inflated personal or business 
expenses, false deductions, excessive exemptions, and 
unallowable tax credits. The preparers’ clients may or 
may not know their returns were falsified.
ABUSIVE TAX SCHEMES
CI focuses on the investigation of promoters and clients, 
who willfully violate tax laws by participating in domestic 
and offshore tax schemes. The schemes are usually 
complex involving multi-layer transactions for the 
purpose of concealing the true nature and ownership of 
the income and/or assets. Participants create structures, 
such as trusts, foreign corporations, and partnerships, to 
make it appear a trustee, nominee, non-resident alien, 
or other foreign entity is the owner of the assets and 
income, when in fact the true ownership and control 
remains with a U.S. taxpayer. 
EMPLOYMENT TAX FRAUD
Employment tax fraud includes cases involving 
employee leasing, paying employees in cash, filing 
false payroll tax returns, failing to file payroll tax 
returns, and “pyramiding.” Pyramiding occurs when a 
business withholds taxes from its employees, but then 
intentionally fails to forward the tax payments to the 
IRS. After a liability accrues, the individual starts a new 
business and begins to accrue a new liability under the 
new entity. Employment taxes include federal income 
tax withholding, Social Security taxes, and federal 
unemployment taxes. Some employers withhold taxes 
from their employees’ paychecks and use the funds for 
their personal expenses. Employment tax fraud can have 
serious ramifications for both employers and employees. u
TAX CRIMES
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
5

635
SENTENCED
1132
PROSECUTIONS RECOMMENDED
1209
INVESTIGATIONS INITIATED
IRS: CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION’S (CI) Illegal Source 
Financial Crimes Program investigates tax and tax related 
crimes, money laundering, and currency violations. 
The special agents’ investigations focus on individuals 
who receive income from illegal sources, such as 
embezzlement, bribery, and fraud. They also focus on 
money-laundering schemes, where individuals launder 
their ill-gotten gains by making the money appear as if it 
came from legitimate sources. Sometimes an individual 
will employ a third party or a professional third-party 
money launderer. Frequent money laundering techniques 
include manipulating currency reporting requirements, 
layering transactions, the use of cryptocurrency, the use 
of Black Market Peso, and moving funds internationally. 
The domestic and international law enforcement 
community recognize CI’s special agents as the premier 
experts in money laundering investigations.
MONEY LAUNDERING
Money laundering, as defined in the National Money 
Laundering Strategy, is criminal finance. Money 
laundering creates an underground, untaxed economy 
that harms our country’s overall economic strength. 
When criminals or criminal organizations seek to 
disguise the illicit nature of their money by introducing 
it into the stream of legitimate commerce and finance, 
they launder money. The traditional image of money 
laundering portrays someone manually washing drug 
money from city streets and turning it into legitimate 
financial transactions, such as those for bank deposits 
and other assets. In contrast, criminals today can 
utilize a computer, tablet, or smart phone to move large 
amounts of criminally derived funds into or through the 
United States and foreign financial institutions. They 
launder money through a wide variety of enterprises, 
such as banks, money transmitters, stock brokerage 
houses, casinos, and virtual currency exchanges. The 
flow of illegal funds around the world is estimated to 
be hundreds of billions of dollars. Whenever money, 
whether it be legal or illicit, moves through a financial 
system, it leaves behind a trail of transactions. When 
uncovered, the trails often identify the main perpetrator 
and accomplices, who willingly enable and finance the 
criminal activity. The perpetrators often view crime with 
deliberate blindness, negligence, or disregard. 
CI special agents are experts at uncovering money trails 
through traditional and virtual financial banking systems. 
They take part in a variety of investigations, financial task 
forces, and narcotics task forces, including Organized 
Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and the 
High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA).
BANK SECRECY ACT PROGRAM
The Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) mandates the disclosure of 
foreign bank accounts, the reporting of certain currency 
transactions conducted with a financial institution, and 
the reporting of the transportation of currency across 
U.S. borders. Through the analysis of BSA data, CI 
has identified significant, complex money laundering 
schemes and other financial crimes. CI is one of the 
largest law enforcement consumers of BSA data. The CI 
BSA program has grown substantially since its start in 
early 2000. The primary objective of the program is to 
analyze BSA information to identify significant financial 
criminal activity. Although Financial Crimes Enforcement 
Network (FinCEN) is the agency tasked with administering 
the BSA, they have no criminal enforcement authority. 
The U.S. Treasury Secretary delegated all criminal 
enforcement of BSA to IRS:CI. Other federal agencies 
can investigate criminal violations of the BSA, but CI 
is the only federal agency that actively reviews all BSA 
data for leads and possible criminal violations. CI uses 
various data analytics tools to actively analyze BSA data 
and to identify leads for possible investigation. CI leads 
SAR Review Teams (SAR RTs) and Financial Crimes 
Task Forces (FCTFs) in all 94 judicial districts across the 
country.
The SAR RTs and FCTFs focus on specific geographic 
areas and involve collaboration between CI and 
federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies 
for identifying and investigating financial crimes, 
including BSA violations, money laundering, narcotics 
trafficking, and terrorist financing. Each of the SAR RTs 
and FCTFs operate in a slightly different fashion, based 
on the direction and oversight from their respective 
U.S. Attorney’s offices (USAO). Once CI special agents 
NEWARK FIELD OFFICE: 
Special agents show their 
badges while visiting a 
person of interest during an 
investigation.
NON-TAX CRIMES
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
6

identify leads in their respective areas, they meet with 
participating law enforcement agencies to discuss and 
disseminate the leads for action. While all of the major 
federal agencies use BSA data to supplement their 
investigations, only CI regularly triages BSA data for leads 
and possible criminal violations. CI’s financial investi-
gative focus allows them to leverage BSA data better than 
any other U.S. law enforcement agency. As a result, 13% 
of all CI investigations initiated in fiscal year 2021 were 
the direct result of BSA data. CI currently has upwards of 
200 special agents and investigative analysts working on 
SAR RTs and FCTFs around the country. 
CI strengthens the BSA program by maintaining excellent 
working relationships with anti-money laundering officials 
within the financial industry. During the past year, CI 
participated in numerous local, regional, national, 
and international anti-money laundering forums and 
conferences, both in-person and virtually, and presented 
on various topics including CI’s role in investigating 
financial crimes, case studies, and typologies. CI also 
continues to partner with FinCEN and other federal law 
enforcement agencies to provide feedback and outreach 
to the financial industry.
PUBLIC CORRUPTION
CI investigates elected and appointed individuals who 
violate the public’s trust. These individuals are from all 
levels of government including local, county, state, and 
federal, as well as foreign officials. Public corruption 
investigations include such criminal offenses as bribery, 
extortion, embezzlement, kickbacks, tax fraud, and 
money laundering. Corruption by public officials results in 
the loss of taxpayer dollars. In addition, the United States 
is often a desirable destination for the monies of corrupt 
foreign officials. This type of corruption undermines 
democratic institutions and threatens national security. 
Public officials, who violate the public trust, are often 
prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, with large 
fines and increased jail time for offenders.
CORPORATE FRAUD
The corporate fraud program concentrates on violations 
committed by publicly traded or private corporations 
and their senior executives. Some specific criminal acts 
involving corporate fraud include falsifying, fabricating, 
or destroying company records. Fraudsters then use 
NEWARK FIELD OFFICE: 
Special agents arrest 
a suspect during an 
investigation.
the false information to complete tax returns, financial 
statements, and reports for regulatory agencies or 
investors. Corporate fraud can also include executives 
who receive unauthorized compensation, unapproved 
payments and bonuses, corporate funds, or fraudulent 
loans used to pay personal expenses.
GENERAL FRAUD
CI special agents also investigate healthcare, financial 
institution, and Covid-19 related fraud. Covid-19 
related fraud includes schemes targeting the Paycheck 
Protection Program (PPP), Economic Injury Disaster 
Loan (EIDL) program, and Unemployment Insurance 
(UI) programs. CI special agents often work with federal, 
state, and local law enforcement partners, as well as 
with foreign tax and law enforcement agencies, to bring 
income tax and money laundering charges to criminal 
cases, which enhance the prosecutors’ effectiveness to 
combat these and other types of fraud. 
SIGNIFICANT CASE
August 2021, the United States District Court for the 
Middle District of Florida sentenced two sisters for 
their $25 million tax fraud scheme. Petra Gomez was 
sentenced to eight years in federal prison for conspiracy 
to defraud the government and tax evasion. Gomez’s 
sister, Jakeline Lumucso, previously pleaded guilty to 
conspiracy to defraud the government and was sentenced 
to four years in prison. The court also ordered Gomez 
and Lumucso to pay $24,940,495 in restitution to the 
IRS. Gomez was ordered to pay an additional $510,999 
to the IRS for tax evasion. From January 2012 to June 
2016, Gomez and Lumucso conspired to defraud the IRS 
by submitting more than 16,000 false tax returns, which 
resulted in nearly $25 million in fraudulent tax refunds. 
To conceal the fraud, Gomez and Lumucso created five 
different tax preparation companies. In some instances, 
they opened the companies in the names of other people 
to conceal the fraud. In addition, when filing her 2014 tax 
return, Gomez failed to declare more than $800,000 in 
income. Gomez claimed $213,434 in earnings, when she 
actually earned $1,110,508. This resulted in an additional 
tax liability of $510,999 for tax year 2014. u
DENVER FIELD OFFICE: 
Special agents conduct 
training on how to safely 
secure an office building.
Non-Tax Crimes
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
7

$3.5B
CRYPTOCURRENCY 
SEIZED
93%
OF ALL CI SEIZURES
SINCE 2015, CI continues to build a cybercrimes 
program to address the exponential growth of cybercrime 
impacting the tax, financial, and economic systems 
of the United States. A Cyber Crime Unit (CCU) with 
locations in our Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Field 
Offices was part of the initial launch of the program and 
a headquarters Cyber Crimes office and cybercrimes 
coordinators in each of our 21 Field Offices followed. 
Over the last few years, CI has prioritized training and 
the deployment of cryptocurrency, blockchain and 
open-source intelligence (OSINT) technologies to unravel 
complex cyber-financial criminal schemes. To ensure 
CI’s capabilities continue to evolve with the online 
and digital payment landscape, CI plans to launch an 
Advanced Collaboration & Data Center (ACDC) in the 
Northern Virginia area in 2022. The focus of the center 
will be to bring together data, technology, and specialized 
personnel from across Treasury and government to work 
on high impact solutions to protect the integrity of our tax 
and financial systems. The integration of the Eastern CCU 
(Washington D.C Field Office) and Cyber Support Unit will 
ensure ACDC maintains an operational focus and strives 
to bring high-tech solutions posing the most significant 
threats to our tax, financial and economic systems. 
CCU investigations involve the internet and internet-based 
technologies that enable criminals to engage in illegal 
activity with anonymity and without a defined physical 
presence. The CCU focuses its efforts on multijurisdic-
tional investigations posing the most significant threats to 
the U.S. tax and financial systems. These crimes almost 
always involve the use of crypto currencies to facilitate 
the criminal activity. Field office special agents and 
professional staff working cybercrime investigations are 
focused primarily on cyber enabled investigations that 
involve theft and fraud and are increased in scale by the 
use of computers, computer networks, or other forms of 
technology. 
Over the past several years, CI has seen an increasing 
growth in the number of criminals using the cyber 
environment to facilitate Stolen Identity Refund Fraud 
(SIRF), Covid fraud, and other refund fraud using the tax 
system as a facilitator to receive government payments. 
During this same period, data loss incidents reported 
to the IRS have drastically increased. These data 
loss incidents include data intrusions, business email 
compromises, phishing schemes, and bank account 
takeovers victimizing private sector entities involved 
in the tax eco-system and the IRS. These thefts target 
detailed financial data, prior year tax returns, and 
payroll records that criminals use to generate SIRF 
claims that mirror a victim’s actual tax return. During 
these types of cybercrime investigations, special agents 
use their close working partnerships with other law 
enforcement agencies and 
their capabilities as law 
enforcement officers to 
gather valuable intelligence 
about SIRF, refund fraud 
crimes, and information that 
affects the integrity of IRS 
online systems and the tax 
system as a whole. They 
share criminal intelligence in 
real time with their IRS civil 
counterparts to aid taxpayer 
and revenue protection 
efforts. The IRS also uses 
this information to develop 
internal defenses that help 
identify and prevent further 
losses associated with 
fraudulent claims.CI’s cybercrime investigative efforts 
focus on subjects using the internet as an essential 
means to commit the crime, remain anonymous, and 
elude law enforcement while concealing financial 
transactions, ownership of assets, or other evidence. As 
with all types of crimes within CI’s area of responsibility, 
special agents working cybercrimes investigations use 
the same “follow the money” strategy that made CI’s 
involvement in complex investigations a mainstay since 
the creation of the agency in 1919. 
SIGNIFICANT CASES
Feds Seize over $1 Billion in Crypto Currency
November 5, 2020, the United States moved to forfeit 
thousands of bitcoins, valued at over $1 billion, seized 
by CI CCU. Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht was convicted 
in 2015 by a New York federal jury of seven criminal 
counts, including conspiracy to distribute narcotics and 
money laundering. His prosecution left open a billion-
dollar question – where did the money go? This forfeiture 
answers that question, at least in part. This was the 
largest seizure of cryptocurrency in U.S. history. CCU 
special agents and personnel used a third-party bitcoin 
attribution company to analyze bitcoin transactions 
executed by Silk Road and were able to identify 54 
previously undetected bitcoin transactions executed by 
Silk Road, which were the proceeds of unlawful activity, 
stolen from Silk Road in or about 2012 and 2013. These 
funds were traced to a bitcoin address. Further investi-
gation of that bitcoin address by CCU special agents & 
personnel revealed that the funds were connected to 
Individual X. It was further determined that Individual X 
had hacked the funds from Silk Road. 
Pursuant to the investi-
gation of the hack, CCU 
special agents seized 
several thousand Bitcoins 
on November 3, 2020. On 
November 4, 2020, the 
seized Bitcoin had a value of 
over $1 billion. 
CI Lifts the Fog on 
Notorious Darknet 
Cryptocurrency Mixing 
Service
April 27, 2021, Roman 
Sterlingov, a dual Russian-
Swedish national, was 
arrested at Los Angeles 
International Airport on criminal charges related to 
his alleged operation of the longest-running bitcoin 
money laundering service on the darknet. Sterlingov, 32, 
operated Bitcoin Fog since 2011. Bitcoin Fog was the 
longest-running cryptocurrency “mixer,” gaining notoriety 
as a go-to money laundering service for criminals seeking 
to hide their illicit proceeds from law enforcement. Over 
the course of its decade-long operation, Bitcoin Fog 
moved over 1.2 million bitcoin – valued at approximately 
$335 million at the time of the transactions. The bulk of 
this cryptocurrency came from darknet marketplaces 
and was tied to illegal narcotics, computer fraud and 
abuse activities, and identity theft. Sterlingov is charged 
with money laundering, operating an unlicensed money 
transmitting business, and money transmission without 
a license in the District of Columbia. This is only the 
second cryptocurrency mixing service case brought by 
the Department of Justice, and both were investigated 
by CI CCU. The investigation illustrates CI’s dual focus of 
fighting crypto-related crime and protecting the tax and 
financial systems from illicit activity. 
Microsoft Employee Sentenced to 9 Years for Stealing 
more then $10 Million and Using a Bitcoin Mixing 
Service to Hide the Proceeds 
November 9, 2020, Volodymyr Kvashuk, was sentenced 
to 9 years in prison for 18 felonies related to his scheme 
to defraud Microsoft of more than 10 million dollars. 
Volodymyr Kvashuk, 26, was convicted in February 
of wire fraud, money laundering, and filing false tax 
returns, among other charges, connected with his 
scheme to embezzle over $10 million worth of gift cards 
from Microsoft. Kvashuk was a software developer for 
Microsoft that exploited a vulnerability in Microsoft’s 
program for testing software related to their online store. 
This vulnerability allowed Kvashuk to obtain over $10 
million in virtual gift cards at no cost. Kvashuk sold the 
gift cards on a third-party website at a large discount 
in exchange for bitcoin, which he attempted to launder 
through the use of bitcoin mixing services. He then used 
the laundered funds to purchase a $1.6 million waterfront 
property, a $160,000 Tesla vehicle, and fund a million-
dollar investment account. Kvashuk then lied to his tax 
return preparer regarding the source of his wealth and 
filed a fraudulent tax return, failing to report his income 
from the scheme. CI CCU special agents and personnel 
investigating the case were able to connect Kvashuk to 
the theft of over 150,000 gift cards, track their sale for 
bitcoin, and follow the proceeds through bitcoin mixing 
services until Kvashuk ultimately converted the bitcoin 
to cash, and identified the assets he subsequently 
purchased. CCU special agents were able to document 
and explain methods used by Kvashuk at trial, leading to 
a conviction on 18 counts, including wire fraud, money 
laundering, and filing false tax returns. 
Ukrainian Cyber Criminal Extradited for Decrypting 
the Credentials of Thousands of Computers across 
the World and Selling Them on the Dark Web to 
Facilitate Tax Fraud, Ransomware and Other Crimes 
September 7, 2021, Glib Oleksandr Ivanov-Tolpintsev 
(28, Chernivtsi, Ukraine) was ordered detained by U.S. 
Magistrate Julie S. Sneed pending trial. Glib Oleksandr 
Ivanov-Tolpintsev was extradited in connection with 
charges of conspiracy, trafficking in unauthorized access 
devices, and trafficking in computer passwords. Ivanov-
Tolpintsev faces a maximum penalty of 17 years in 
federal prison. Ivanov-Tolpintsev was taken into custody 
by Polish authorities in Korczowa, Poland, on October 
3, 2020, and extradited to the United States pursuant 
to the extradition treaty between the United States and 
the Republic of Poland. Ivanov-Tolpintsev controlled a 
“botnet,” which is a network of computers infected with 
malware and controlled as a group without the owners’ 
knowledge. He used the botnet to conduct brute-force 
attacks designed to decrypt numerous computer login 
credentials simultaneously. During the course of the 
conspiracy, Ivanov-Tolpintsev stated that his botnet 
was capable of decrypting the login credentials of at 
least 2,000 computers every week. Ivanov-Tolpintsev 
then sold these login credentials on a dark web website 
that specialized in the purchase and sale of access to 
compromised computers. Once sold on this website, 
credentials were used to facilitate a wide range of illegal 
activity, including tax fraud and ransomware attacks. CI 
CCU special agents and personnel helped unwind the 
digital and financial trails to bring Ivanov-Tolpintsev and 
others to justice. Through this work, CI helped identify 
thousands of victims and protect thousands more from 
tax fraud and other financial crimes. u
CYBER CRIME UNIT
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
8

IRS:CI SIGNIFICANTLY CONTRIBUTES to the success 
of U.S. national security programs by identifying, 
disrupting, reducing, or eliminating the profits and 
financial incentives of individuals, entities, and 
transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) engaged 
in crimes associated with narcotics trafficking, human 
trafficking, terrorism financing, economic espionage, and 
money laundering crimes in support of these crimes. 
CI special agents investigate criminal violations of the 
Internal Revenue Code, Bank Secrecy Act, federal money 
laundering statutes, and the International Emergency 
Economic Powers Act. CI special agents utilize their 
unique financial investigation skills to trace financial 
transactions between individuals, businesses, and 
criminal organizations and to identify sophisticated 
schemes designed to disguise illegal transactions. 
Criminal prosecutions in these cases dismantle and 
disrupt criminal networks through criminal prosecution. 
CI’s office of Narcotics and National Security section 
has senior liaison officers who provide interagency 
coordination, deconfliction, advice, strategy, financial 
analysis, network exploitation and coordination of field 
office resources, in support of a whole of government 
approach to our national security threats. 
Some of the multi-agency task forces with CI presence 
and participation include: 
•	 Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force 
(OCDETF) - Executive Office
•	 OCDETF Regional Coordinators
•	 Drug Enforcement Administration  
Special Operations Division (SOD)
•	 OCDETF Fusion Center (OFC)
•	 International Organized Crime Intelligence  
and Operations Center (IOC2)
•	 Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement (J-CODE) 
•	 National Joint Counterterrorism Task Force (NJTTF)
•	 National Counterintelligence Task Force (NCITF)
•	 High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA)
The Narcotics and National Security sections also support 
the following programs: the U.S. National Drug Control 
Strategy, the White House’s Strategy to Combat Transna-
tional Organized Crime, the 2020 National Illicit Finance 
Strategy, the U.S. Government’s National Counterter-
rorism Strategy, the National Strategy for Countering 
Domestic Terrorism, and the National Counterintelligence 
Strategy.
IRS:CI focuses heavily on narcotics and financial investi-
gations related to high-priority targets identified by 
OCDETF. These cases often involve the convergence of 
program areas, and these prosecutions have a greater 
effect on dismantling large TCOs. In 2019, Narcotics 
and National Security partnered with the Organization 
for Economic Cooperation and Development Task Force 
on Tax Crimes and Other Crimes to update their Money 
Laundering and Terrorist Financing Awareness Handbook 
for tax examiners and tax auditors. This work continued 
in 2020 and 2021 and resulted in updates to the Financial 
Action Task Force’s recommendations for member 
countries to improve money laundering compliance. 
The products and engagement raise awareness on 
money laundering and terrorist financing techniques 
with our international partners and encourage bi-lateral 
investigations. In 2021, Narcotics and National Security 
partnered with Treasury’s Office of Terrorism Finance 
and Financial Crimes to update the FY 2021/FY 2022 
National Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risk 
Assessment. The purpose of the risk assessment is to 
identify, assess, and understand the changing landscape 
of money laundering and terrorist financing within 
the United States, so that agencies, prosecutors, and 
legislative changes can be considered and implemented 
to mitigate these risks. 
In September 2020, CI’s Director of Narcotics and 
National Security participated in the Federal Bureau 
of Investigation’s inaugural kick off of their National 
Counterintelligence Task Force (NCITF), where CI was 
an inaugural member. As of May 2021, CI formalized its 
partnership in NCITF.
Beginning with FY 2021, Narcotics and National Security 
established the Cyber-OCDETF initiative. This is a pilot 
program working with field offices, contractors, and law 
enforcement partners to coordinate on cyber-related 
narcotics investigations. This initiative led to CI ‘s 
Narcotics and National Security section formalizing our 
participation and engagement with Joint Cyber Opioid 
Darknet Enforcement (JCODE) task force. In June 2021, 
CI assigned a liaison officer to the JCODE mission to 
develop, research, coordinate, and refer cyber narcotics 
investigations to CI special agents. 
SIGNIFICANT CASE
August 2019, CI special agents worked with 30 other law 
enforcement agencies in Virginia, North Carolina, and 
Texas in a joint OCDETF operation known as Operation 
Cookout. The investigation pertained to a transnational 
criminal organization linked to the Sinaloa Cartel. 
The organization had a narcotics distribution network 
operating on both the east coast of the United States 
and California. The investigators executed simultaneous 
search, arrest, and seizure warrants, which resulted in 
the arrest of 35 defendants for their respective roles in 
the ongoing criminal conspiracy enterprise. Investigators 
also seized 24 firearms, 30 kilograms of fentanyl, 30 
kilograms of heroin, 5 kilograms of cocaine, and over 
$700,000 in cash. In July 2021, the ringleader and 
last defendant to be convicted was sentenced to 33 
years in prison. In all, 45 defendants were charged in 
Operation Cookout and all have pleaded guilty. Most of 
the defendants’ sentences ranged from 2 to 10 years 
in prison. However, five defendants were sentenced to 
between 15 and 25 years in prison. u
NEWARK FIELD OFFICE: 
Special agents collect 
documents, records, and 
computer assets during 
a search and seizure.
Special agents meet about an investigation as they enter 
the Narcotics and National Security main office.
NARCOTICS AND NATIONAL SECURITY
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
9

THROUGHOUT FISCAL YEAR 2021, we continued 
to deal with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. 
Unfortunately, criminals haven’t stopped committing 
crimes just because there is a national health emergency. 
In fact, some criminals pounce on the opportunity to take 
advantage of others as well as government programs 
designed to help the American people in times of crisis. 
We lead investigations into fraudulent claims for 
economic impact payments, Paycheck Protection 
Program (PPP) loans, and refundable payroll tax 
credits from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic 
Security (CARES) Act. The PPP offers billions of dollars 
in potentially forgivable loans to keep workers on the 
payroll, guaranteed by the Small Business Administration 
(SBA). Working with our law enforcement partners, CI 
has opened investigations involving various allegations 
of individuals attempting to take advantage of these 
government programs designed to help struggling 
individuals and businesses.
Some examples of these investigations include:
February 10, 2021, David T. Hines of Miami, Florida, pled 
guilty to fraudulently obtaining nearly $4 million in PPP 
loans. Hines fraudulently sought millions of dollars in 
PPP loans through applications to an insured financial 
institution on behalf of various companies. These loan 
applications made numerous false and misleading 
statements about the companies’ respective payroll 
expenses. Instead of using the received PPP funds to 
make payroll payments, Hines instead used approxi-
mately $318,000 of those funds to purchase a 2020 
Lamborghini Huracan sports car. Hines was sentenced 
to 78 months confinement and 36 months of supervised 
release. 
March 15, 2021, Mukund Mohan of Clyde Hill, 
Washington, pled guilty in connection with his role 
in obtaining over $5.5 million in PPP loans. Mohan 
submitted at least eight fraudulent PPP loan applications 
to federally insured financial institutions in which he 
made false and misleading statements, as well as 
submitted fake and altered tax filings and incorpo-
ration documents. Mohan was sentenced to 24 months 
confinement, 36 months of supervised release and a fine 
of $100,000.
June 2, 2021 Thomas Smith of Pewaukee, Wisconsin, 
was sentenced to 57 months confinement, 24 months 
of supervised release and ordered to pay $960,000 
in restitution for fraudulently obtaining over $1 million 
in PPP loans. Smith fraudulently sought over $1.2 
million in PPP loans through applications to a federally 
insured financial institution on behalf of eight different 
companies. According to his plea agreement, Smith 
caused to be submitted fraudulent loan applications 
containing numerous false and misleading statements 
about the companies’ respective payroll expenses. 
Based on these representations, the financial institution 
approved and funded over $1 million in loans. Smith then 
directed his co-conspirators to send him portions of the 
PPP funds.
July 28, 2021, Dinesh Sah of Coppell, Texas, was 
sentenced to 135 months of confinement, 36 months 
of supervised release and ordered to pay $17,284,649 
in restitution in connection with his fraudulent scheme 
to obtain approximately $24.8 million in PPP loans. Sah 
submitted 15 fraudulent applications, filed under the 
names of various purported businesses that he owned 
or controlled, to eight different lenders seeking approxi-
mately $24.8 million in PPP loans. Sah claimed that these 
businesses had numerous employees and hundreds of 
thousands of dollars in payroll expenses when, in fact, 
no business had employees or paid wages consistent 
with the amounts claimed in the PPP applications. Sah 
received over $17 million in PPP loan funds and diverted 
the proceeds for his personal benefit, using them to 
purchase multiple homes in Texas, pay off the mortgages 
on other homes in California and buy a fleet of luxury 
cars, including a Bentley convertible, Corvette Stingray 
and Porsche Macan.
September 16, 2021, Fahad Shah of Murphy, Texas, was 
sentenced to 31 months confinement and 36 months 
of supervised release for perpetrating a scheme to 
fraudulently obtain more than $3.3 million in PPP loans. 
According to court documents, Shah sought approxi-
mately $3.3 million in PPP funds by claiming that his 
family’s business, WBF Weddings by Farah Inc. (WBF), 
employed more than 100 individuals and paid millions 
of dollars in compensation to those employees. In 
actuality, WBF had no employees aside from Shah and his 
wife. Based on Shah’s false representations and forged 
documents, an SBA-approved lender provided over $1.5 
million in PPP loan funds to Shah. Shah then used the 
funds for personal gain contrary to program’s terms, 
paying off his home mortgage and purchasing two Teslas 
and a Mercedes, among other items. u
IRS:CI ASSET FORFIETURE PROGRAM uses seizure 
and forfeiture authority as an investigative tool to disrupt 
and dismantle criminal enterprises. The program seeks 
to deprive criminals of property used in, or acquired 
through, illegal activities. IRS:CI conducts criminal 
investigations that use our financial expertise and 
resources. In part, IRS:CI is one of the larger contributors 
to the Treasury Forfeiture Fund (TFF), which the Treasury 
Executive Office for Asset Forfeiture manages. Forfeited 
funds are returned to identified victims of criminal 
activity as well as to reimburse for law enforcement 
related expenses, such as additional training, equipment, 
and the cost of conducting significant investigations. 
In addition, the TFF shares a portion of forfeited funds 
with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. 
As of September 30, 2021, IRS:CI seized assets having 
an estimated value of approximately $1.3 billion and 
forfeited approximately $91 million in ill-gotten proceeds. 
SIGNIFICANT FORFEITURES 
New York Field Office
Switzerland’s largest insurance company, Swiss Life 
Holding AG, and three subsidiaries entered a deferred 
prosecution agreement (DPA) with the Department 
of Justice in the Southern District of New York. Swiss 
Life admitted to conspiring with U.S. taxpayers to hide 
assets and income in offshore accounts and as part of 
the agreement, Swiss Life will pay a total of $77,374,337 
to the United States, to include a forfeiture of $35.7 
million. From 2005 to 2014, Swiss Life through affiliated 
insurance carriers in Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and 
Singapore maintained approximately 1,608 Private 
Placement Life Insurance (PPLI) policies. The PPLI 
Carriers’ issuance and administration of those policies 
and the related investment accounts were often done in 
a manner to assist U.S. taxpayers in evading U.S. taxes 
and reporting requirements as well as concealing the 
ownership of offshore assets.
Atlanta Field Office
Wade Ashley Walters, a co-owner of numerous 
compounding pharmacies and pharmaceutical 
distributors, was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment 
in the Southern District of Mississippi for his role in a 
multimillion-dollar scheme to defraud TRICARE, the 
health care benefit program serving the U.S military, 
veterans, and their families, as well as private health care 
benefit programs. 
Walters was also ordered to pay $287,659,569 in 
restitution and forfeit $56,565,963, representing the 
proceeds he personally derived from the fraud scheme. 
Between 2012 and 2016, Walters orchestrated the 
scheme to defraud the health care benefit programs 
by distributing compounded medications that were 
not medically necessary in an amount exceeding 
$287 million. Walters further conspired with others to 
launder the proceeds of his fraud scheme by engaging 
in monetary transactions in amounts of over $10,000 in 
proceeds from the fraud scheme, including transactions 
relating to his participation in a sham intellectual property 
scheme. u
WASHINGTON D.C. FIELD OFFICE: Special agents seize a 
airplane as part of an investigation. 
PPP/EIDL/COVID FRAUD
ASSET RECOVERY  
& INVESTIGATIVE SERVICES
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
10

INTERNATIONAL TAX AND 
FINANCIAL CRIMES
IRS:CI increased voluntary compliance and reduced the 
tax gap related to offshore tax evasion through several 
well-publicized programs and investigations, including 
the Swiss Bank Program and the UBS, Credit Suisse and 
the HSBC investigations. CI started the International Tax 
and Financial Crimes (ITFC) group in late 2017. The group 
is a specialty group within the Washington, D.C. Field 
Office and is made up of special agents from across the 
United States. The special agents are experts in interna-
tional tax investigations and use their skills to identify and 
investigate international tax evasion schemes.
The ITFC utilizes strategic partnerships with external 
agencies, including the United States Attorney’s offices 
and the Department of Justice Tax Division. IRS:CI 
also created a network of internal resources that assist 
in identifying leads, analyzing data, and performing 
investigative tasks. The ITFC works with investigative 
analysts, foreign-based attachés, personnel from special 
investigative techniques, and International Operations. 
The ITFC is also a major contributor to the Joint Chiefs 
of Global Tax Enforcement (J5) and collaborates with the 
other J5 countries (United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, 
and the Netherlands) to further CI’s international mission 
to combat offshore tax evasion.
The IFTC works to identify and investigate enablers, 
financial institutions, third-party asset managers, 
promotors, referral agents, and expatriated U.S. citizens, 
who utilized international jurisdictions to effect tax fraud. 
The ITFC also ensures compliance with the Bank Secrecy 
Act by identifying and investigating those U.S. persons 
who fail to report their foreign accounts. 
SIGNIFICANT CASE
May 2021, the United States District Court for the 
Southern District of Florida sentenced Dusko Bruer to 24 
months in prison for willfully evading the assessment of 
millions of dollars in taxes between 2007 and 2014 and 
for not reporting his foreign financial accounts from 2006 
through 2015. Bruer, a Croatian national and naturalized 
United States citizen, filed income tax returns for the 
tax years 2007 through 2014, which he knew did not 
include income received from his company or through 
his foreign bank accounts. Bruer used bank accounts in 
Croatia, Germany, Serbia, and Switzerland to conceal 
his income from the IRS from 2006 to at least 2015, 
and he did not report the bank accounts, as required by 
law. Between 2007 and 2011, Bruer transferred $5.8 
million from domestic accounts to these foreign financial 
accounts. In total, between 2007 and 2014, Bruer did not 
report $7,726,213 in income, which would have resulted 
in an additional tax due of $2,789,538. Bruer used his 
unreported offshore accounts to fund a lavish lifestyle, 
which included the purchase of foreign property, a 
$1,350,000 yacht, and $1,650,000 home in Lake Worth, 
Florida.
November 5, 2020, the IFTC executed a global day 
of action on a case involving a tax evasion case 
with multiple targets. Special agents from the IFTC 
coordinated enforcement activity in nine states and 
three countries, on three separate continents. The IFTC 
coordinated with J5 personnel, seven IRS:CI field offices, 
and IRS:CI attaches in London, The Hague, and Dubai. In 
connection with this day of action, the following activities 
occurred: 
•	 Search warrants were executed at three locations 
in the United Kingdom and at two locations in the 
Netherlands.
•	 Agents interviewed 25 witnesses in nine U.S. states, 
including Oregon, Florida, California, Texas, Hawaii, 
Alabama, New York, Colorado, Memphis, and in three 
countries (the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and 
the United Arab Emirates). Offers of cooperation were 
secured from several witnesses/subjects.
•	 Agents served 43 grand jury subpoenas.
GLOBAL ILLICIT FINANCIAL TEAM 
The Global Illicit Financial Team (GIFT) is a task force 
led by IRS:CI that investigates organizations that illicitly 
move money used to support international crime organi-
zations. GIFT is a major conduit of CI’s money laundering 
strategy and a focal point for the CI Money Laundering 
Cadre. GIFT works with various partner agencies, 
including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and 
the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General 
(DOD OIG). GIFT and CI Money Laundering Cadre consist 
of special agents from all CI field offices, as well as 
partner agencies. The group is supervised by an IRS:CI 
Supervisory Special Agent (SSA), who reports to the 
Special Agent in Charge of the Washington, D.C. Field 
Office. 
GIFT investigations are centered on international 
third-party money laundering and include investigations 
of illegal money transfer businesses, professional 
enablers of money laundering, money laundering through 
real estate or investment products, financial institutions 
concealing and disguising illegal transactions, laundering 
of business email compromise or other cyber intrusions, 
public corruption and extortion, government contract 
fraud, the sale of contraband goods, and terror financing 
and sanctions violations.
Since its inception in 2010, GIFT investigations have 
resulted in seizures and forfeitures of over $4.2 billion, 
fines and penalties on settlements of over $15 billion, 
and a conviction rate of over 90%. 
ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO  
TAX AND TRADE BUREAU
Reminiscent of Eliot Ness and Elmer Irey’s “T-Men,” 
IRS:CI continues its partnership with the Alcohol and 
Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) to combat illicit 
tobacco and alcohol trade. The TTB was created in 
January 2003, when the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, 
Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) was extensively 
reorganized under the provisions of the Homeland 
Security Act of 2002 and realigned to the Department 
of Justice. The act called for the tax collection functions 
to remain with the Department of the Treasury, thereby 
creating TTB.
TTB regulates and collects taxes on the trade and 
imports of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and ammunition 
within the United States. In 2009, TTB entered into an 
inter-agency agreement with CI to provide special agents 
to enforce TTB’s criminal provisions. These special agents 
are strategically dispersed across the country. This group 
is supervised by an SSA, who reports to the Special Agent 
in Charge of the Washington D.C. Field Office. This group’s 
sole focus is combating the illicit trade of tobacco and 
alcohol. Since the agreement began in 2009, the group 
has initiated over 180 investigations. u
WASHINGTON D.C. FIELD OFFICE: 
Special agents investigate an 
illegal distillery where untaxed 
moonshine is prepped for 
interstate transport.
SPECIALIZED UNITS
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
11

THE NATIONALLY COORDINATED INVESTIGATIONS 
UNIT (NCIU) contributes to CI’s strategy by using 
technology and data to drive decisions in case selection 
and to identify patterns of non-compliance. The NCIU 
works alongside data scientists and data analysts to 
develop models that identify individuals whose financial 
activities match patterns linked to non-compliance with 
tax laws. The NCIU focuses on identifying domestic 
and international tax evasion and money laundering 
schemes. The NCIU evaluates the leads for the presence 
of criminal acts and refers investigative leads to CI’s 
field offices for further investigation. In FY 2021, NCIU 
made 164 referrals to field offices. The NCIU continues 
to modernize the way CI develops cases. The NCIU 
identifies trends in non-compliance and emerging threats 
by building strategic partnerships with internal and 
external stakeholders. Through partnerships with CI’s 
field offices, the NCIU has expanded regional projects 
to national projects. The NCIU works closely with 
multiple IRS business operating divisions to facilitate a 
collaborative, service-wide approach to enforcement, and 
to promote data analytics throughout the IRS. In addition 
to case development, the NCIU offers continuous support 
to CI’s field offices by offering initiative-specific training 
and investigative research. 
During FY 2021, the NCIU applied resources to case 
development in the following areas of focus: interna-
tional, virtual currency, employment taxes, abusive 
schemes, Forms 1099-K, gambling, exempt organi-
zations, Schedule Cs, and social media. The NCIU also 
works in partnership with other organizations to develop 
cases in certain areas. For example, the NCIU works in 
partnership with the IRS’s Office of Fraud Enforcement 
(OFE) for matters of Covid-19 related fraud, with other 
law enforcement agencies in National Targeting Center 
cases to combat money laundering through transnational 
organized crime, with the Miami Field Office and the 
Departamento de Hacienda for fraud related to Acts 
20/22, a Puerto Rican tax incentive. 
Members of the NCIU and Miami Field Office meet with 
representatives from Departamento de Hacienda, Puerto 
Rico’s taxation authority. 
164
INVESTIGATION 
REFERRALS
THE COMMISSIONER’S PROTECTION DETAIL (CPD) 
is a specially trained cadre of IRS:CI special agents, 
who provide personal security and protection of the IRS 
Commissioner. Since 1999, this dedicated team has been 
charged with protecting the Commissioner during official 
business operations. CPD agents provide protection of 
the Commissioner within the National Capital Region and 
while in travel status, foreign and domestically. 
As the leader of the IRS, the Commissioner frequently 
attends meetings, conferences, publicized hearings and 
speaking engagements in locations such as the White 
House, U.S. Capitol, U.S. Treasury, and other venues in 
Washington, D.C., as well as around the globe. In a typical 
year, the CPD protects the Commissioner on approxi-
mately 500 protective movements, 20 domestic trips, 
and 2-3 international visits. 
CPD agents are trained in protective service operations 
with an emphasis on operational planning, motorcade 
operations, protective intelligence, and preventing and 
responding to attacks. Protective operations are a team 
effort and require detailed advanced preparations aimed 
at identifying and mitigating potential risks, threats, and 
vulnerabilities. u
Special agents assigned to the Commissioner’s Protection Detail meet with Charles P. Rettig, IRS Commissioner.
NATIONALLY COORDINATED  
INVESTIGATIONS UNIT
COMMISSIONER’S
PROTECTION DETAIL
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
12

OTTAWA
WASHINGTON, D.C.
MEXICO CITY
PANAMA CITY
BARBADOS
BOGOTA
HONG KONG
LONDON
SYDNEY
CANBERRA
FRANKFURT
THE HAGUE
DUBAI
HEADQUARTERS
ATTACHÉ
ATTACHÉ (J5)
CANBERRY 
& SYDNEY
DUBAI
THE HAGUE
LONDON
OTTAWA
BRANCH A:
PANAMA CITY
FRANKFURT
BOGOTA
MEXICO CITY
BARBADOS
HONG KONG
BRANCH B:
IRS:CI HAS SPECIAL AGENT attachés strategically 
stationed in 11 foreign countries, including Mexico, 
Canada, Colombia, Panama, Barbados, China, Germany, 
the Netherlands-Europol, England, Australia, and the 
United Arab Emirates. Attachés continuously build and 
maintain strong alliances with foreign governments, law 
enforcement, embassy personnel, and industry partners. 
These alliances give IRS:CI the ability to develop leads 
for domestic and international investigations with an 
international nexus. In addition, attachés provide support 
and direction for investigations with international issues, 
a foreign witness, foreign evidence, or overseas special 
investigative technique operations. The vigilance of CI’s 
special agent attachés helps uncover emerging schemes 
perpetrated by promoters, professional enablers, and 
financial institutions. These entities facilitate tax evasion 
of federal tax obligations by U.S. taxpayers, as well as 
other financial crimes. 
International Affairs also educates foreign governments 
and agencies on crime detection, investigative 
techniques, case studies, emerging trends, and best 
practices. Special agents train foreign governments 
through collaborative efforts with the International Law 
Enforcement Academies (ILEA) in Budapest, Hungary; 
Bangkok, Thailand; San Salvador, El Salvador; and 
Gaborone, Botswana. In addition, IO conducts training 
at the International Academy for Tax Crime Investigation 
at the Guardia di Finanza Economic and Financial Police 
School in Ostia, Italy. The training is sponsored by the 
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development 
and the U.S. Department of State.
Attachés also partner with the CI’s International Training 
Team (ITT) to deliver virtual training to representatives 
from multiple countries, including Taiwan, Palau, 
Philippines, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Namibia, 
Moldova, and Azerbaijan. One notable training coincided 
with the announced partnership between CI and the 
South African Revenue Service to coordinate efforts to 
investigate crimes affecting both countries. As part of the 
alliance, the ITT provided training to approximately 40 
South African law enforcement officers and government 
officials and committed to providing additional training 
in the future. These strategic partnerships are essential 
for fighting global financial crimes. As Global Operations 
Executive Director Guy Ficco stated when this alliance 
was announced, “The global fight against financial crimes 
is not one that can be fought alone by any one country. 
Our partnership with the South African Revenue Service 
will soon reveal operational results made possible by our 
strong alliance and collaborative efforts.” 
In FY 2021, International Affairs had several significant 
accomplishments:
IRS:CI applied for membership with Europol’s Joint 
Cybercrime Action Taskforce (J-CAT) and was officially 
approved as a full member in July 2021. The J-CAT 
is a taskforce operated through Europol’s European 
Cybercrime Centre. Their objectives are to drive 
coordinated action against key cybercrime threats 
and targets by facilitating the joint identification, 
prioritization, preparation, initiation, and execution of 
cross-border investigations and operations to target 
cyber dependent crimes, transnational payment 
fraud, online child exploitation, and cross-crime cyber 
facilitators. In addition to IRS:CI, current member 
countries of the J-CAT include nine European Union (EU) 
Member States (Austria, France, Germany, Italy, the 
Netherlands, Romania, Poland, Sweden, and Spain) and 
seven Non-EU members (Australia, Canada, Columbia, 
Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the 
U.S. [FBI and Secret Service]). To further support CI’s 
cyber program this year, International Affairs deployed 
its first cyber attaché internationally to Europol in The 
Hague, Netherlands. The attaché proactively supported 
cyber investigative needs of CI’s Cybercrime Units and 
field offices through onsite coordination and contact 
with cyber partners at Europol. The cyber attaché also 
focused on case development from cyber related investi-
gative data, shared emerging trends and technologies, 
and facilitated the exchange of cyber-related information. 
In addition, the cyber attaché was assigned as CI’s Cyber 
Liaison Officer to the J-CAT. CI continued its partnership 
with the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement (J5), 
an alliance between the criminal tax authorities of the 
U.S., Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, and the United 
Kingdom. J5’s focus is combatting international tax 
and financial crimes through proactive collaboration 
and information sharing using each country’s collective 
resources. In FY 2021, the J5 continued its focus on 
professional enablers, virtual currency crimes, interna-
tional tax evasion, technology sharing, and innovation.  
CI has developed Public-Private Partnerships with financial 
institutions and the Fin-Tech industry to further facilitate 
cooperation, deterrence, identification, and enforcement of 
international tax evasion and related financial crimes. u
OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
13

HOUSTON
LOS ANGELES
OAKLAND
DALLAS
DENVER
KANSAS CITY
ATLANTA
TAMPA
MIAMI
CHICAGO
PHOENIX
SEATTLE
PHILADELPHIA
NEW YORK
BOSTON
GROUP 7
GROUP 6
GROUP 5
GROUP 4
GROUP 3
GROUP 2
GROUP 1
LAB LOCATION
WOODBRIDGE
CHARLOTTE
CLEVELAND
3000
COMPUTER DEVICES
1350
TERABYTES OF DATA
830
SEARCH WARRANTS
Computer Investigative Forensic Specialist Greg Masi 
works to recover data from a hard drive.
THIS YEAR, DIGITAL FORENSICS joined with IRS:CI’s 
CyberCrimes Unit and the National Forensics Lab as 
part of the new Headquarters Cyber and Forensic 
Services section. Under this new structure, Digital 
Forensics is positioned to continue providing world class 
digital forensic services to special agents and other 
law enforcement stakeholders, while combining CI’s 
respective electronic, cyber and technical expertise 
and talents. The primary mission of Digital Forensics is 
the forensic acquisition, preservation, and analysis of 
the digital and multimedia evidence related to ongoing 
criminal investigations. To carry out this mission, our 
Computer Investigative Specialists (CISs) are routinely 
called upon to assist agents with the acquisition of digital 
evidence, to assist in the preparation and execution of 
search warrants, to analyze the resulting evidence, and to 
testify. 
This year, a CIS testified in federal court in Reno, Nevada, 
regarding a case against an attorney accused of evading 
federal income tax. The CIS agent was qualified as 
an expert witness in the recovery, interpretation and 
reporting of file metadata by the magistrate judge. 
The attorney created and used multiple spreadsheets, 
together with his administrative assistant, to 
keep track of cash inflows and outflows. The 
metadata was an important evidentiary item 
with respect to file attribution, time, date, and 
author. The testimony was useful in showing 
that the defendant had accessed, edited, 
printed, and sent files on his work and personal 
computers, proving that his defense that he 
never saw or edited the files was false. He was 
convicted and sentenced to 2½ years in prison, 
and he forfeited his law license.
Electronic evidence and digital forensics are 
used in every criminal investigation. Such 
digital evidence can be as simple as a query 
of subpoenaed email production to the most 
complex of digital tasks, like imaging a server 
farm and subsequently analyzing the terabytes 
of data in a virtual environment. Experts 
in digital forensics specialize in extracting 
evidence from a variety of sources, including 
personal computers, mobile phones, tablets, 
business computer networks and systems, 
servers, cloud storage, and even the Dark 
web. Criminals continue to use advanced 
technologies to hide evidence in the digital 
world. In response, CI’s digital examiners 
continue to advance, as well. IRS:CI’s Digital 
Forensics examiners are recognized leaders in the 
extraction of data from unique devices, such as vehicles, 
drones, smart devices, and various other electronic 
media known as the Internet of Things.
Digital Forensics current staffing includes seven groups 
of CISs spread throughout 47 local laboratories. Digital 
Forensics also maintains an 11,000-square foot lab and 
training center, which houses forensic specialists. The 
specialists are skilled in various digital forensic  
disciplines, such as data recovery, mobile support, 
hardware and software testing and deployment, and the  
planning and delivery of the vital training needed to keep 
the CISs highly skilled and current on technology and 
processes. The lab assists with solving more complex 
data extractions and challenges encountered by the 
digital forensic examiners. 
This year, Digital Forensics continued to see 
advancement in the goal of consolidating the 
current local CIS labs into 18 regional digital 
forensics laboratories (RDFLs). IRS:CI invested 
heavily in acquiring the latest technology to 
provide CISs the equipment needed and to 
deploy the RDFLs as they begin to open in 
FY 2022. In addition, Digital Forensics took 
a leading role in the lawful seizures of digital 
currency that were proceeds or facilitated 
financial crimes, by working with headquarter’s 
Warrants and Forfeiture section to provide a 
more effective and secure seizure process. 
Digital Forensics CISs and specialists also 
played a large part in the development of a 
new tactical law enforcement network, which 
will greatly enhance CI’s ability to deploy tools 
and resources to special agents in a secure and 
flexible environment. 
In FY 2021, Digital Forensics personnel partic-
ipated in over 830 search warrants or other 
digital forensic operations and lawfully seized 
more than 1,350 terabytes of data from over 
3,000 computers, laptops, external devices and 
mobile devices. IRS:CI’s Digital Forensics unit 
continues to be the premier digital forensics unit 
in federal law enforcement. u
DIGITAL FORENSICS
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
14

84
DATA PROCESSING CENTER
138
TRIAL GRAPHICS & DESIGN
113
SCIENTIFIC SERVICES
National Forensic Lab Cases
SINCE THE EARLY 1970’S, scientists and technical 
experts at the National Forensic Laboratory (NFL) have 
reported the results of forensic testing and technical 
services to investigators for use in both exploring 
potential criminal violations and for adjudication of the 
Internal Revenue Code and related financial crimes. 
Results of the NFL’s work are used by CI special agents 
or other customers of the laboratory to analyze elements 
to provide pivotal direction in their investigations. Often, 
support provided by the NFL doesn’t end with delivery 
of a scientific report or product. Visual information 
specialists design and develop interactive professional 
presentations for trial and forensic scientists testify 
to their findings. An integral important function of the 
laboratory role is to support judicial proceedings where 
and when required.
The laboratory’s work is critical in ensuring the efficient 
processing of crucial evidence in CI investigations. The 
NFL consists of three sections, each offering specific 
scientific or technical services. The Scientific Services 
section offers forensic disciplines that include electronics 
(audio, video, and image intelligibility), latent prints 
(finger and palm print development and comparison), 
polygraph, questioned documents, chemistry, and 
DNA collection. The Trial Graphics and Design section 
simplifies complicated cases into succinct effective 
visuals that help show, rather than tell, all the elements 
of extremely complex investigations. Although these 
services are primarily for CI special agents preparing for 
trial, Trial Graphics and Design also assists in the creation 
of high-level presentations and other special projects 
such as CI branding and marketing outreach. The Data 
Processing Center (DPC) located in Florence, Kentucky, 
is responsible for taking information, either hard copy 
or electronic, and compiling it into a database that is 
delivered to the customer and can be used to efficiently 
manage and analyze case-related data. By doing so, the 
DPC saves investigators countless hours of tedious labor, 
while enabling them to focus their energy on other key 
areas of the investigation. 
When the experts at the NFL are not working on 
evidence, they are providing tours to agents and various 
IRS:CI stakeholders at their building located in downtown 
Chicago. One of the most effective ways to educate 
others about the NFL’s capabilities is by demonstrating 
their state-of-the-art equipment and sharing stories. 
Thanks to the talented men and women of the NFL and 
their dedication to science and their technical services, 
as well as the mission of IRS:CI, the customers of 
the laboratory have come to know and expect their 
high-quality work. The successes of their cases speak for 
themselves and nothing is more gratifying to the NFL than 
seeing them get fully adjudicated. But equally important 
is helping investigators know when to consider closing 
a case. Regardless of the outcome, the NFL scientists 
and technical experts continue to strive in their role as 
servants of the criminal justice system. u
NBC Nightly News met with 
National Forensic Laboratory 
scientists and technical 
experts to broadcast a 
segment on the forensic 
science behind financial 
crime. Segments included 
questioned documents (top), 
latent prints (left), polygraph 
(middle), and chemistry 
(right).
NATIONAL FORENSIC LABORATORY
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
15

IRS: CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION (CI) has a long 
history of using undercover techniques to investigate 
crime. These techniques are well-documented, 
and they play a significant role to bring criminals 
to justice. Special Investigative Techniques (SIT) 
oversees CI’s undercover activities and reviews, 
approves, funds, and trains personnel to carry out 
undercover operations. Special agents and leadership 
teams initiate and manage day-to-day operations in 
their respective field offices. CI has a cadre of active 
undercover agents that use sophisticated means 
to initiate contact with individuals perpetrating tax 
crimes and to gain evidence needed to prosecute 
their crimes. In FY 2021, agents conducted 
approximately 292 undercover operations.
292
UNDERCOVER  
OPERATIONS
NEWARK FIELD OFFICE: Special agents conduct surveillance on suspected illegal activities.
SIGNIFICANT CASES
IN APRIL 2021, the United States District Court for 
the District of New Hampshire indicted six individuals, 
including Ian Freeman, for participating in a conspiracy 
to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, 
wire fraud, money laundering, and operating a continuing 
financial crimes enterprise.
According to the indictment, the individuals operated a 
business that enabled customers to exchange over $10 
million in fiat currency for virtual currency, charging a fee 
between 10 to 14% for their service. They operated their 
virtual currency exchange business using websites and 
virtual currency ATM machines in New Hampshire.
They knowingly operated the virtual currency exchange 
business in violation of federal anti-money laundering 
laws and regulations. In furtherance of their scheme, 
some individuals opened bank accounts in the names of 
purported religious entities. They engaged in substantial 
efforts to evade detection of their unlawful virtual 
currency exchange scheme by avoiding answering 
questions from financial institutions regarding the nature 
of the business and by misleading financial institutions 
into believing their unlawful virtual currency exchange 
business was instead a religious organization that 
received charitable contributions. Ian Freeman also told 
the banks that he was dealing in rare coins. Freeman 
claimed that there are only 21 million bitcoins ever 
mined, so bitcoin are rare coins. He argued that he did not 
defraud banks by saying he was dealing in rare coins. 
During the investigation, an IRS:CI undercover agent 
posed as a drug dealer looking to conceal and disguise 
proceeds from narcotic sales. The undercover agent 
communicated with Freeman and others on multiple 
occasions and met with the individuals named in the 
indictment in New Hampshire. The undercover agent 
also engaged in multiple transactions with Freeman 
to exchange proceeds from narcotic sales for bitcoin 
through Freeman’s business and ATMs. Specifically, one 
transaction was conducted through Freeman’s ATM in 
the amount of $19,900 dollars for approximately 1.54 
bitcoins. Freeman was aware that the proceeds were 
from narcotic sales. 
IN JUNE 2021, the United States District Court for 
the District of Columbia, indicted Roman Sterlingov, a 
resident of Sweden and a citizen of Russia, for money 
laundering, operating an unlicensed money transmitting 
business, and money transmission without a license 
in the District of Columbia. Sterlingov operated the 
business Bitcoin Fog since 2011. Bitcoin Fog was 
the longest-running cryptocurrency “mixer,” gaining 
notoriety as a go-to money laundering service for 
criminals seeking to hide their illicit proceeds from law 
enforcement. Bitcoin Fog moved over 1.2 million bitcoins 
valued at approximately $335 million. The bulk of this 
cryptocurrency came from Dark web marketplaces 
and was tied to illegal narcotics, computer fraud, illicit 
activities, and identity theft. 
During the investigation, an IRS undercover agent 
communicated with Sterlingov, while posing as a drug 
dealer looking to clean proceeds from narcotic sales. 
Sterlingov did not prevent the deposit or withdrawal 
of funds through Bitcoin Fog when the funds were 
represented to him as narcotics proceeds. u
CI’S UNDERCOVER PROGRAM HISTORY
In 1929, Michael Malone successfully infiltrated 
Al Capone’s Chicago gang for nearly two years. 
Because of his work, the government successfully 
prosecuted Capone and his top enforcer, Frank 
Nitti, for tax crimes. In 1963, the Undercover 
Operation (UCO) was centralized into the National 
Office. UCO focused on illegal gambling and 
organized crime, and most operations lasted 
longer than one year. In the late 1960s, CI initiated 
the Courier Project to corroborate persistent 
allegations concerning the movement of casino 
receipts by couriers to offshore tax havens. UCO 
infiltrated organized crime organizations that used 
fall guys to operate casinos.
In the late 1970s, the UCO was decentralized. 
The National Office retained review, approval, 
funding and training authority, and districts were 
responsible for the initiation and daily management 
of the operation. This organization continues 
today. In the 1980s, UCO focused on offshore 
banking schemes and illegal tax shelters. The 
estimated revenue loss from these shelters was 
about $120 billion by 1985. With the advent of 
money laundering laws, undercover agents became 
proficient at conducting investigations into the 
laundered illegal proceeds of narcotics traffickers.
Today, CI uses undercover operations in investi-
gations on unscrupulous tax return preparers, 
offshore tax schemes, money launderers, Dark 
web marketplace operators, and those who seek 
to conceal the movement of money for illegal 
purposes, including tax evasion.
UNDERCOVER OPERATIONS
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
16

14weeks
SPECIAL AGENT  
INVESTIGATIVE TECHNIQUES
11weeks
CRIMINAL INVESTIGATOR 
TRAINING PROGRAM
6months
TRAINING FOR 
NEW SPECIAL AGENTS
IRS:CI SPECIAL AGENTS are among the most highly 
trained financial investigators in the world. They begin 
their training at the National Criminal Investigation 
Training Academy (NCITA). NCITA is located at the 
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in 
Brunswick, Georgia. NCITA is dedicated to fostering the 
highest levels of professionalism and ethical behavior 
throughout the CI workforce. NCITA’s primary focus 
is training new special agents in the fundamentals of 
financial investigations, and agents learn to recognize 
the elements of tax offenses and methods of proof 
unique to federal tax investigations. They acquire the 
knowledge, skills, and abilities required to be federal law 
enforcement’s finest financial investigators. 
New special agents complete six months of training, 
which begins with an 11-week Criminal Investigator 
Training Program (CITP) run by FLETC. CITP covers topics 
common to all federal law enforcement agents, including 
basic criminal investigation skills, federal criminal 
law, courtroom procedures, enforcement operations, 
interviewing skills, and firearms training. Following CITP, 
new special agent trainees take a 14-week NCITA Special 
Agent Investigative Techniques (SAIT) course. The SAIT 
program trains new agents in tax law, evidence gathering, 
interviewing, report writing, methods of proving 
unreported income, and money laundering violations. 
It also provides physical fitness conditioning and use 
of force training, which includes firearms, weaponless 
tactics, and building entry.
In addition to SAIT, NCITA assists in providing advanced 
training to special agents in use of force, firearms 
instruction, defensive tactics, and building entry. Each 
year, NCITA assists in developing continuing professional 
education courses for special agents and professional 
staff, with an emphasis on emerging trends and issues 
within the law enforcement environment.
IRS:CI special agents receive regular refresher training. 
They attend quarterly training in firearms, defensive 
tactics, and building entry. Through frequent use of force 
training, they maintain their skills and abilities to ensure 
good judgement and to apply the appropriate degree of 
force necessary to safely carry out enforcement activities, 
including issuing search warrants, arrests, surveillance, 
dignitary protection, undercover activities, and seizures.
NCITA also provides training to foreign governments 
and agencies regarding crime detection, investigative 
techniques, case studies, developing trends, and best 
practices. The International Training Team (ITT) delivered 
24 training events in FY 2021, 22 of which were virtual. 
In total, the ITT made 910 new contacts with foreign 
officials through the delivery of international training. The 
foreign officials held various positions in their government 
agencies, including positions with Financial Intelligence 
Units, Tax/Revenue Authorities, National Police Units, 
Attorney General’s Offices, and Ministries of Justice. 
In addition to working with these foreign officials, the 
ITT also partnered with numerous U.S. entities for the 
delivery of international training, including partnerships 
with the FBI, the U.S. Department of State, the State 
Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law 
Enforcement Affairs (INL), the Department of Justice 
Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development Assistance 
and Training Program (OPDAT), and the National Center 
for State Courts.
NCITA and CI are committed to continual improvement of 
new agent training through modernization. In doing so, CI 
has revamped case study videos, automated case activity 
documents, and created tax lessons that will eventually 
be completed virtually, prior to arrival at FLETC. These 
changes have allowed NCITA to increase the flexibility 
for scheduling instructors, reduce travel and associated 
costs, and reduce in person training by five training days. 
Overall, these changes will ensure NCITA continues to 
produce effective and modern training for IRS:CI special 
agents. u
FY 2021 HIGHLIGHTS
Although NCITA continued to overcome Covid-related 
issues during FY 2021, the following training classes were 
held for IRS:CI special agents:
•	 Six Special Agent Basic Training (SABT) classes, 
which graduated 124 new special agents
•	 Three Integrated Use of Force Instructor Trainings 
(IUOFIT) classes
•	 One Integrated Use of Force Instructor Refresher 
Training (IUOFIRT) class.
NATIONAL CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION 
TRAINING ACADEMY 
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
17

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION (CI) serves the American 
public by investigating potential criminal violations of the 
Internal Revenue Code and related financial crimes. This 
includes promoting CI’s activities to foster compliance 
and educating taxpayers about the agency’s enforcement 
efforts. Doing so builds confidence in our nation’s tax 
system and puts criminals on notice – they will be 
prosecuted when they commit crimes. 
The Office of Communication directly supports CI’s 
mission by building awareness with internal and external 
stakeholders about the agency’s work, and it provides 
vital public safety messages about Covid-19-related 
scams and IRS impersonation schemes to protect the 
public and their financial interests. 
The Office continues to expand its efforts in two 
important areas – the international arena and social 
media. CI’s work has an increasingly global reach 
through its partnership with the Joint Chiefs of Global 
Tax Enforcement (J5), an international group comprised 
of tax organizations from five countries. The J5 combats 
tax crime through collaboration, information-sharing, 
and enforcement operations. Communication between 
participating countries on topics like cryptocurrency, tax 
crimes, and financial crimes continues to expand each 
year.
CI also maintains the Twitter account, @IRS_CI, to 
supplement IRS compliance and enforcement messaging. 
This account creates awareness about CI while providing 
real-time information on criminal cases to the media and 
public. Since its launch in May 2020, CI’s Twitter account 
averages over one million impressions per quarter, 
generates hundreds of tweets and continues to grow 
exponentially. 
In September 2021, CI launched its agency account on 
LinkedIn. This account, in addition to the J5 LinkedIn 
account, serves as a channel for CI to disseminate 
information to taxpayers, particularly about recruiting and 
job opportunities within the agency. It also provides an 
outlet to reach a new population of social media users, 
who may not be avid Twitter users, but have a special 
interest in CI’s work. 
The Office of Communication houses two CI legislative 
liaisons. Legislative liaisons serve as conduits for 
communicating information to and from Capitol Hill. They 
assist with hearing preparation for senior-level officials 
and provide Congressional briefings. They analyze, 
research and formulate official responses to requests 
from House and Senate members and their staff, as well 
as oversight committees.
IRS:CI communicators have implemented a compre-
hensive communications strategy that balances outreach 
to the public, federal and legislative communities, and 
CI’s global partners, while protecting the sensitive nature 
of CI investigations. The Office of Communication’s 
efforts serve as an integral part of building understanding 
about CI’s work and deterring violations of the U.S. tax 
system. u
PHOENIX FIELD OFFICE: A special agent participates in a television interview with Channel 3 KTVK. 
OFFICE OF COMMUNICATION
DURING 2021, IRS:CI hired a record number of 
professional staff, raising the ranks to 889 employees, 
which is nearly one-third of CI’s workforce. In addition 
to traditional hiring, CI continued to capitalize on 
excepted hiring, including The Veteran’s Recruitment 
Act, Schedule-A, and 30% disability hiring authorities. 
Over 100 individuals were hired through these programs 
during this fiscal year. Our investigative analysts, 
budget analysts, management and program analysts, 
administrative officers, secretaries, and technical 
professionals are embedded in every facet of CI. Each 
professional staff role supports the goals and missions of 
the IRS and CI respectively.
Our investigative professional staff are critical to 
advancing the law enforcement efforts of CI. Profes-
sional staff can be found on the front lines of case work 
and behind the scenes of every CI activity. Tax fraud 
investigative assistants (TFIA) and investigative analysts 
(IA) work with special agents in field offices throughout 
the country and in our international posts of duty. They 
actively participate in all aspects of criminal investi-
gations from inception to prosecution. Additionally, our 
non-investigatory professional staff are critical at keeping 
CI’s wheels turning by ensuring available finances and 
functioning equipment. 
In FY 2021, CI provided innovative virtual training 
to TFIAs and IAs. This created an opportunity to be 
inclusive, as all CI employees were invited to attend the 
foundational sessions. Topics included: CI organizational 
structure, elements of a crime, badges of fraud, lifecycle 
of a criminal investigation, the role of a special agent, 
and the role of the investigative analyst. All employees 
learned about the mission of Criminal Investigation and 
how their position impacts the work we do. IAs and TFIAs 
received additional specialized training and participated 
in practical exercises encompassing research, case 
development, report writing, and case presentations. 
Beyond just supporting CI field offices, professional 
staff support CI’s essential and innovative work in the 
areas of cybercrime, data analytics, finance, technical 
operations, cybersecurity, national investigative priorities, 
refund fraud, and the crime lab. Data scientists, forensic 
scientists, technical specialists, and investigative analysts 
are experts in their fields and work across all areas of CI 
operations.
The Workforce Development section furthered CI’s 
commitment to its workforce by leading a series 
on self-development. Hundreds of employees took 
advantage of Zoom sessions facilitated by experts in 
career and personal development. Key topics included 
mental health and suicide awareness, knowledge 
retention and information sharing, job interviewing 
techniques, and identifying great leadership qualities. 
These sessions fostered an environment of inclusion and 
the sharing of best practices amongst CI’s administrative, 
technical, and investigative personnel. 
FY 2021’s continued investment in CI’s Professional Staff 
community positively impacted CI’s ability to accomplish 
its law enforcement mission and has set a standard for 
years to come. u
Professional staff members have a meeting.
PROFESSIONAL STAFF
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
18

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT 
(WD) was created to address 
the development and leadership 
needs of IRS:CI’s most important 
resource – its employees. WD is 
building on the early successes of the 
former Leadership, Education, and 
Development group by expanding 
its reach to all employees. WD now 
provides leadership development 
training to agents beginning at the 
training academy and continuing 
through their entire leadership 
progression. WD also addresses the 
development of investigative and 
administrative professional staff 
through leadership development and 
career pathing for those not aspiring 
to a formal leadership position. 
Finally, WD is responsible for the 
recruiting and retention of a diverse 
and highly qualified workforce, which 
will ensure CI continues to be the 
leader in financial investigations for 
the foreseeable future. 
THE MISSION OF THE CRIMINAL 
INVESTIGATION (CI) Equity, 
Diversity, and Inclusion Office (EDI) is 
to identify, examine, and address the 
organization’s employment practices, 
policies, guidelines, and procedures 
to ensure that all employees and 
applicants for employment achieve 
equal opportunity in every facet 
of CI’s programs, activities, and 
services. EDI works to ensure 
that employment practices and 
decisions are made with the highest 
level of integrity and fairness for 
every employee. CI EDI endeavors 
to provide excellent customer 
service, advice, and education to 
management, employees, and 
stakeholders to ensure compliance 
with appropriate federal Equal 
Employment Opportunity (EEO) 
laws and regulations that prohibit 
discrimination on the basis of age, color, disability, equal 
pay, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, retaliation, 
sex (gender), and sexual harassment. 
The EDI Director reports directly to the Chief and Deputy 
Chief and provides strategic advice and assistance 
on Management Directive 715 (MD-715), diversity 
strategies, policies, directives, and guidance to the Senior 
Staff and Senior Leadership Team. EDI staff members 
also advise managers on how to effectively capitalize 
on the strengths of all employees while embracing 
their differences and unique perspectives to create an 
environment that engages and supports all employees.
EDI is dedicated to providing diversity and inclusion 
training and education, recognizing that education 
is essential for bringing diversity awareness to the 
workforce. Our efforts for educating the CI workforce is 
an ongoing process of creating the awareness needed to 
manage an inclusive and diverse workforce. 
Presentations, products/reports, guidance, and seminars 
are customized and provided to the workforce to 
ensure that employees have the awareness, skills, and 
knowledge to carry the message of diversity into their 
personal work environments. The goal of our diversity 
training program is to convey the importance of a 
respectful work environment, thereby maximizing every 
individual’s potential. 
When field offices need to obtain EEO information, EDI 
can provide an in-depth demographic report of the field 
office as well as an overview of the data so the requestor 
understands the information they have received. EDI can 
also give advice, guidance, and recommendations on EDI 
diversity questions, as well as educating employees of 
where sources can be obtained and the impact it has on 
their job or role in CI. u
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
EQUITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION
Two special agents review a report as they discuss the  
recruiting and development needs necessary to support  
organizational changes across CI this year.
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
19

MIAMI FIELD OFFICE: Special agents work closely 
with the Puerto Rico Department of Treasury to 
improve investigation coordination.
ST. LOUIS FIELD OFFICE: A special agent 
talks to a student during a career fair at 
the University of Kansas.
MIAMI FIELD OFFICE: 
The Homeland Security 
Investigations (HSI) 
manager overseeing 
the Champlain Towers 
investigation recognized 
Miami FO Group 40 for 
its support in helping 
track missing people 
from the building 
collapse in Surfside, 
Florida. Group 40’s 
efforts resulted in them 
being able to quickly 
locate all 40 people and/
or their family members.
ATLANTA FIELD OFFICE: Special agents meet at 
a community event in Lake Charles, Louisiana. 
CHICAGO FIELD OFFICE: Special 
agents (left to right) Chris Klein, 
Robert Zehme, Mike D’Andrea, 
and Collin Thompson participate 
in the US Marshalls Honor Run.
CHARLOTTE FIELD OFFICE:  
A special agent wins Top Shot. 
IRS:CI’s Emergency Support Function (ESF) #13 
provides federal public safety and security assistance to 
local, state, tribal, territorial, and federal organizations 
overwhelmed by the results of an actual or anticipated 
natural/manmade disaster or act of terrorism. IRS:CI 
has been supporting the ESF #13 mission since 2018 
and currently has a cadre exceeding 100 agents. In 
September, IRS:CI deployed 22 ESF special agents to 
Louisiana to assist with the aftermath of Hurricane Ida. 
IRS-CI’s ESF team was assigned to protected and assist 
New York Task Force 1 and Massachusetts Task Force 
1 Urban Search and Rescue teams (USAR). The ESF 
agents accompanied USAR teams on foot, in the water, 
and in boats, providing security and assistance during 
the search and rescue efforts.
NEW YORK FIELD OFFICE: IRS:CI launched a digital 
billboard campaign in Buffalo, New York, asking 
for the public’s help in identifying individuals and 
organizations who commit financial crimes.
OUTREACH & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Emergency Support Function #13
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
20

WESTERN AREA
Guam
NORTHERN AREA
SOUTHERN AREA
Puerto Rico
U.S. Virgin Islands
* The Las Vegas field office merged into 
the Phoenix field office in July 2020.
Click on a location to go to that Field Office section.
FIELD OFFICE MAP
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
21
SEATTLE
DENVER
OAKLAND
LOS ANGELES
LAS VEGAS
PHOENIX
ST. LOUIS
CHICAGO
DETROIT
CINCINNATI
PHILADELPHIA
NEWARK
BOSTON
CHARLOTTE
ATLANTA
DALLAS
HOUSTON
TAMPA
MIAMI
WASHINGTON, D.C.
(HEADQUARTERS)
NEW YORK

NORTHERN AREA
Multiple Individuals Sentenced in Massive 
Contracting Fraud and Money Laundering Scheme 
December 7, 2020, John Williams was sentenced to 
9 years in prison and was ordered to pay $10 million 
in restitution. Williams was convicted of tax evasion, 
money laundering conspiracy, money laundering, and 
embezzlement by a bank employee. Williams embezzled 
over $8.4 million from his employer. 
Williams was employed as a construction project 
manager in the Indianapolis regional office of a bank. His 
responsibilities included overseeing the bank’s internal 
real estate projects. Williams used information available 
to him as a bank employee to identify construction and 
renovation projects that were projected to come in under 
budget. Williams then contacted co-conspirators, Ernie 
Perkins, Robert Finch, Walter Watson and Donald Landis, 
and instructed them to submit fraudulent invoices on 
those under-budget projects. The invoices listed work 
that was never performed and materials that were never 
supplied. Williams then approved the payments of the 
fraudulent invoices. Perkins, Finch, Watson, and Landis 
kicked back a large percentage of the payments to CB 
Consulting, a fictitious business entity controlled by 
Williams. Williams did not report his illegal income on his 
federal tax returns, which resulted in a tax loss of $1.9 
million. 
•	 Ernie Perkins, the owner of Remarkable Creative 
Enterprises (“RCE”), was sentenced to nearly 6 years 
in prison. 
•	 Robert Finch, the owner of Finch Constructors and 
Finch Management, was sentenced to 4 years in 
prison.
•	 Donald Landis, the owner of P&L Supply, was 
sentenced to 3 years in prison. 
•	 Walter Watson, the owner of 
W-3 construction company, 
was sentenced to 1½ years in 
prison. 
Another co-conspirator, Shalonda 
Coleman, was sentenced to 2 
years in prison and was ordered 
to pay $309,088 in restitution. 
Coleman embezzled $282,432 
from her employer, an insurance 
company, by approving fictitious 
invoices submitted by Ernie 
Perkins, for payment. Once Perkins 
received the fraud proceeds, 
he then wrote checks back to 
Coleman for her cut. Coleman did 
not report her illegal income on 
her tax returns.
ST. LOUIS FIELD OFFICE: Special Agent Liliana Nin 
assembles her gear for a National Night Out with 
her local community.
Eight Individuals Sentenced for Laundering $44 
Million in Drug Proceeds to Mexico Through Local Cell 
Phone Store Fronts
April 9, 2021, Rodrigo Esqueda-Vazquez was sentenced 
to 15 years in prison. Esqueda-Vazquez was the final 
of eight defendants sentenced in a $44 million money 
laundering case. Sentences imposed ranged from 5 to 18 
years in prison. From 2013 through September 2019, the 
defendants conspired to distribute heroin, fentanyl, and 
marijuana and to commit money 
laundering. The scheme relied on 
the use of small businesses that 
purported to be cell phone stores. 
The stores conducted little, if 
any, legitimate business; rather, 
the stores were merely front 
businesses for drug traffickers 
to send large amounts of drug 
trafficking proceeds to Mexico. 
Jose Luis Rosales-Ocampo, of 
Columbus, Ohio, and his family 
members ran the so-called 
cell phone stores. The investi-
gation and prosecution of these 
defendants removed approxi-
mately 34 kilograms of heroin, 516 grams of cocaine, 76 
grams of fentanyl, and 250 pounds of marijuana from 
Central Ohio streets. Additionally, investigators seized 
$458,500 in U.S. currency and a home valued at nearly 
$248,000.
CASE CLOSED: 
A SUMMARY OF 
SIGNIFICANT CASES 
FOR IRS:CI IN 2021
CINCINNATI FIELD OFFICE : Special agents 
conduct firearms training. 
CHICAGO FIELD OFFICE : Assistant Special Agent in 
Charge Donald Eakins (right) administers the oath of office 
for Special Agent Matthew Kron on his first day of duty.
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
22

FCA US LLC Pleads Guilty and Former 
UAW and FCA Officials Sentenced 
March 1, 2021, FCA US LLC (FCA, 
a/k/a Fiat Chrysler Automobiles), one 
of the big three American automobile 
manufacturers, pleaded guilty to 
conspiring to violate the Labor 
Management Relations Act, also known 
as the Taft-Hartley Act, by making illegal 
payments to officers of the United Auto 
Workers union. FCA is the American 
operating subsidiary of Stellantis, and 
it is headquartered in Auburn Hills, 
Michigan. As part of the plea agreement, 
FCA agreed to pay a fine of $30 million 
and be subject to federal oversight. 
The company conspired with other 
entities and individuals to violate the 
Taft-Hartley Act by making more than 
$3.5 million in illegal payments to 
officers of the International Union, 
United Automobile, Aerospace, and 
Agricultural Implement Workers of 
America (UAW) during the years 2009 
through 2016. During the conspiracy, 
executives of FCA, including Alphons 
Iacobelli and Jerome Durden, 
engineered the illegal payments 
to senior officials of the UAW. The 
payments violated federal labor 
laws and undermined the collective 
bargaining process. As part of the 
investigation, senior UAW officials 
were also found to have participated 
in a multi-year conspiracy to embezzle 
money from the UAW for their personal 
benefit. 
Several of the recent sentencings 
include: 
July 6, 2021, Vance Pearson, former 
Director of the United Auto Worker’s 
Region 5 and a former member of the 
UAW’s International Executive Board, 
was sentenced to one year in prison 
and was ordered to pay $250,000 in 
restitution to the UAW and to forfeit 
$122,258 for conspiring with other UAW 
officials to embezzle UAW dues money 
and for further racketeering crimes. 
June 10, 2021, Gary Jones, former 
President of the international United 
Auto Workers union, was sentenced to 
more than 2 years in prison and was 
ordered to pay $550,000 in restitution 
to the UAW, $42,000 in restitution to 
the IRS, forfeiture of $151,377, and a 
$10,000 fine, for conspiring with other 
UAW officials to embezzle UAW funds 
and to defraud the United States.
May 11, 2021, Dennis Williams, former 
President of the international United 
Auto Workers union, was sentenced to 
nearly 2 years in prison and was ordered 
to pay restitution of $132,000 and a 
$10,000 fine for conspiring with other 
UAW officials to embezzle UAW funds.
January 27, 2021, Edward “Nick” 
Robinson, former President of the 
United Auto Workers Midwest CAP and 
former Director of the UAW Labor and 
Employment Training Corporation, was 
sentenced to one year in prison and was 
directed to pay $342,000 in restitution.
The following other individuals have 
already been sentenced for their 
participation in the corruption within the 
UAW or illegal payments by FCA to UAW 
officials: former FCA Vice President for 
Employee Relations Alphons Iacobelli (5 
½ years in prison), former FCA Financial 
Analyst Jerome Durden (more than one 
year in prison), former Director of FCA’s 
Employee Relations Department Michael 
Brown (one year in prison), former 
senior UAW official Virdell King (60 days 
in prison), Keith Mickens (one year in 
prison), Nancy A. Johnson (one year in 
prison), Monica Morgan, the widow of 
UAW Vice President General Holiefield 
(1½ years in prison), former UAW Vice 
President Norwood Jewell (more than 
one year in prison), former senior UAW 
official Michael Grimes (more than 2 
years in prison) and former UAW Vice 
President Joseph Ashton (2½ years 
in prison). Former senior UAW official 
Jeffrey “Paycheck” Pietrzyk passed 
away before being sentenced.
WESTERN AREA	
Private Equity CEO Enters into 
Non-Prosecution Agreement on 
International Tax Fraud Scheme
October 15, 2020, Robert F. Smith, the 
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer 
of a San Francisco based private equity 
company, entered into a Non-Prose-
cution Agreement for his involvement 
from 2000 through 2015 in an illegal 
scheme to conceal income and evade 
millions in taxes by using an offshore 
trust structure and offshore bank 
accounts. In that agreement, Smith 
admitted his involvement in the illegal 
scheme, agreed to cooperate with the 
ongoing investigation, and agreed to pay 
back taxes and penalties in full. Smith, 
a resident of Austin, Texas, formed the 
Excelsior Trust in Belize, and a shell 
company, Flash Holdings, in Nevis in 
2000, in order to avoid the payment of 
U.S. taxes. Smith used third parties to 
conceal his beneficial ownership and 
control of the Excelsior Trust and Flash 
Holdings. In reality, Smith controlled 
both offshore structures. Additionally, 
over the years, Smith used millions of 
unreported income to acquire and make 
improvements to real estate used for his 
personal benefit. Under the terms of the 
agreement, Smith agreed to cooperate 
with the Department of Justice in other 
related investigations. Further, Smith 
agreed to pay approximately $56 million 
in taxes and penalties stemming from 
the unreported income and another 
$82 million in penalties stemming from 
his concealment of his offshore bank 
accounts. Altogether, Smith will pay 
more than $139 million in taxes and 
penalties. Additionally, Smith agreed 
to abandon his protective claims for 
a refund totaling approximately $182 
million that were filed with the IRS. The 
protective refund claims consisted, in 
part, of claims for charitable contri-
bution deductions filed with the IRS 
on September 21, 2018 and October 
11, 2019. As a result of the agreement, 
Smith shall take no further direct or 
indirect tax benefit from such claims.
Political Donor Sentenced to 12 Years 
in Prison for Lobbying and Campaign 
Contribution Crimes, Tax Evasion, 
and Obstruction of Justice
February 18, 2021, Imaad Shah Zuberi, 
of Arcadia, California, was sentenced 
to 12 years in prison and was ordered 
to pay $15 million in restitution and 
a criminal fine of $1.75 million. In 
November 2019, Zuberi pleaded 
guilty to violating the Foreign Agents 
Registration Act (FARA) by making false 
statements on a FARA filing, tax evasion, 
and making illegal campaign contri-
butions. In June 2020, Zuberi pleaded 
guilty in a separate case to obstruction 
of justice. His sentence pertains to both 
cases.
Zuberi, a venture capitalist and political 
fundraiser, falsified records to conceal 
his work as a foreign agent, while 
lobbying high-level U.S. government 
officials. Zuberi became wealthy, largely 
through his theft of client funds and 
unlawful lobbying on behalf of foreign 
interests. Zuberi also siphoned more 
than 90 percent of investments in U.S. 
Cares, a company set up to export 
humanitarian aid to Iran. In 2013 and 
2014, investors deposited approxi-
mately $7 million into U.S. Cares. In 
addition, the government of Sri Lanka 
contracted with Zuberi to rehabilitate 
the country’s image in the United States. 
Sri Lanka wired $6.5 million to Zuberi, 
and Zuberi used more than $5.65 
million of that money to the benefit of 
himself and his wife. Zuberi failed to 
report these funds on his tax return. 
Zuberi’s tax evasion over the course 
of four years – 2012 through 2015 – 
caused tax losses ranging from $3.5 
million to as much as $9.5 million.
DALLAS FIELD OFFICE: Special 
agents conduct building entry 
training drills at the Denton Public 
Safety Training Center in Denton, 
Texas.
DENVER FIELD OFFICE : A special 
agent conducts firearms training 
drills with a shotgun at an outdoor 
shooting range.
TAMPA FIELD OFFICE : Special 
agents conduct firearms training 
drills in an indoor training facility.
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
23

DETROIT FIELD OFFICE: 
A special agent climbs 
over barn rafters to 
locate records while 
conducting a search 
warrant.
Two Members of Racketeering Enterprise Sentenced 
October 13, 2020, Marcus Etienne, aka “Hitler,” and 
Mario Robinson were sentenced to 34 and 32 years in 
prison, respectively, for their roles in a wide-ranging 
criminal conspiracy. Etienne, of St. Martin Parish, 
Louisiana, and Robinson, of Opelousas, Louisiana, and 
Oakland, California, were involved in an enterprise 
based in St. Martin Parish consisting of more than seven 
members who conducted a continuing and extensive 
narcotics distribution conspiracy. Etienne was the leader 
of the enterprise, which began as early as 2009. The 
enterprise engaged in narcotics distribution, assault, 
robbery, extortion, extortionate collection of extensions 
of credit, murder for hire, murder, money laundering, 
illegal firearms possession, gambling on dogfighting, and 
obstruction of justice. Etienne and Robinson both had a 
role in the 2016 murder of another enterprise member, 
Trince Thibodeaux. Etienne and Robinson participated 
in additional activities to promote the enterprise. The 
enterprise purchased marijuana in California and shipped 
the drugs to Louisiana and Texas. Robinson received 
packages containing between one and 10 pounds of 
marijuana every one or two months. Robinson and 
Etienne used cash proceeds from the narcotics trafficking 
to purchase marijuana and other controlled substances 
in California. Robinson also purchased money orders in 
Louisiana to pay the enterprise’s marijuana suppliers in 
California. Both Etienne and Robinson conducted financial 
transactions with proceeds of narcotics trafficking 
to conceal the nature, source, and ownership of the 
enterprise’s profits. 
SOUTHERN AREA
Conspirators Sentenced in Connection with Consumer 
Fraud Schemes
July 15, 2021, Lori Owen, aka Lori Corrigan, was 
sentenced to more than 5 years in prison and was 
ordered to pay $620,103 in restitution to the identified 
victims and a $265,964 money judgment, which 
represented the proceeds of the fraud. Owen participated 
in a telemarketing scam—primarily tax impersonation 
fraud—that operated from approximately December 
2014 through the end of 2016, and which defrauded 
more than $1.38 million from victims around the United 
States. The conspirators, some of whom were located 
overseas, extorted money from victims by falsely 
representing to the victims that they had financial 
obligations to the IRS, Canadian tax authorities, or other 
entities. The conspirators then threatened the victims 
with arrest, prosecution, or other legal consequences 
for their purported debts and demanded that they pay 
the conspirators the “owed” money. Owen worked with 
others—including her ex-husband, David Owen, and her 
son, Andrew Corrigan—to collect the fraud proceeds on 
behalf of the overseas call centers. The conspirators 
monitored the victims’ payments to ensure that the 
payments were recovered quickly, before any victim or 
law enforcement officer could become aware of the fraud 
and attempt to stop the transaction. David Owen was 
sentenced to more than 10 years in prison, and Andrew 
Corrigan was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Key Drug Suppliers for the Irish Mob Sentenced
March 31, 2021, Jorge Antonio Medina Escarsiga was 
sentenced to 32 years in prison. Escarsiga was a leader 
of a drug trafficking and money laundering organization 
that operated out of the Oklahoma State Prison (OSP) 
system. The organization distributed significant quantities 
of methamphetamine throughout the country, much 
of which was destined for Oklahoma. The metham-
phetamine originated with Escarsiga and was shipped 
from California to Kansas for transport to, and distribution 
in, Oklahoma City and elsewhere. Co-conspirators, who 
were incarcerated at the OSP in McAlester, Oklahoma, 
directed the wire transfer of drug proceeds to Andrew 
Pranger, an OSP prison guard. The wire transfers were 
conducted by Edmundo Perez and Makenzie Harris. 
Pranger was paid for smuggling contraband into the 
prison and for providing unlawful services to inmates 
within the prison, including the transfer of contraband 
between cells. This type of illegal service allowed Irish 
Mob members to continue to run their illicit drug activities 
while incarcerated. 
The remaining Operation Irish Spring defendants were 
sentenced as follows:
•	 Johnny Ross, almost 27 years in prison
•	 Michael Sanders, 16 years in prison
•	 Edmundo Perez, 13 years in prison
•	 Richard Lee Potts, 13 years in prison
•	 Andrew Pranger, 1½ years in prison
•	 Alyxsis Claussen, one year in prison
•	 Makenzie Harris, one year in prison
•	 Kenesha Moaning, one year in prison
•	 Chelsea Rouse, 10 years in prison
•	 Joy Robison, 5 years of probation
LOS ANGELES FIELD OFFICE: Assistant Special Agent 
in Charge Darren Lian discusses recent tax scams 
with KAZN AM1300 radio, which serves Mandarin 
speakers in California.
OAKLAND FIELD OFFICE: Special agents and 
professional staff participate in building entry, 
active shooter, and weaponless tactics at the 
Tactical Village in Sacramento, Calif.
PHOENIX FIELD OFFICE: Special agents conduct 
entry training to safely clear rooms and buildings.
NEW YORK FIELD OFFICE: Special Agent Michele 
McCormick receives recognition for 20 years of 
service with the federal government. 
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
24

WASHINGTON D.C. FIELD OFFICE: Special agents seize a Tesla vehicle during 
a Paycheck Protection Program loan fraud investigation. 
October 20, 2020, Ben Wootton, of 
Savannah, Georgia, was sentenced to 
nearly 6 years in prison, and Race Miner, 
of Marco Island, Florida, was sentenced to 
5½ years in prison. Both men were ordered 
to pay restitution of more than $4 million 
to the IRS and more than $5 million to the 
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental 
Protection. Their company, Keystone Biofuels 
Inc., (originally located in Shiremanstown, 
Pennsylvania, and later in Camp Hill, 
Pennsylvania) was sentenced to five years 
of probation and ordered to pay restitution 
of more than $4 million to the IRS and 
more than $5 million to the Pennsylvania 
Department of Environment Protection. 
Miner was the founder and chief executive 
officer of Keystone. Wootton was president 
of Keystone and a former member of the 
National Biodiesel Board. Wootton, Miner, 
and Keystone falsely represented that they 
were able to produce a fuel meeting the 
requirements set by the American Society for 
Testing and Materials (ASTM) for biodiesel (a 
renewable fuel) and adopted by the EPA, and 
as such, were entitled to create renewable 
fuel credits, known as RINs, based on each 
gallon of renewable fuel produced. The fuel 
and the RINs have financial value and could 
be sold and purchased by participants within 
the federal renewable fuels commercial 
system. 
Wootton and Miner were also convicted of 
fraudulently claiming federal tax refunds 
based on IRS’s Biofuel Mixture Credit. 
The Biodiesel Mixture Credit is a type of 
“blender’s credit” for persons or businesses 
who mix biodiesel with diesel fuel and use 
or sell the mixture as a fuel. Wootton and 
Miner caused Keystone to fraudulently claim 
tax refunds based on non-qualifying fuel, 
and, in at least some instances, non-existent 
or non-mixed fuel. In an attempt to hide 
their fraud scheme, the men created false 
corporate books and records and sham 
financial transactions to account for the 
nonexistent and non-qualifying fuel and to 
create the appearance of legitimacy.
The prosecution of Wootton, Miner and 
Keystone is the first prosecution of a case 
under the federal renewable fuels program 
based on fuel that did not meet the program 
renewable fuel quality standards.
Pennsylvania Biofuel Company and 
Owners Sentenced on Environmental 
and Tax Crime Convictions Arising 
out of Renewable Fuels Fraud
HOUSTON FIELD OFFICE: Special Agent 
Sonia Hurtado (left) attends an outreach 
and recruiting event at The University of 
Texas Rio Grande Valley.
MIAMI FIELD OFFICE: Supervisory Special Agent John Siddons 
announces indictments against the Los 27 gang during a 
multiagency news conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
BOSTON FIELD OFFICE: Special Agent in Charge Joleen 
Simpson announces indictments for embezzlement and 
wire fraud during a press conference.
SEATTLE FIELD OFFICE: Special agents maintain and 
improve their skills at a firearms range.
ATLANTA FIELD OFFICE: Special agents clear fallen trees 
during cleanup operations following Hurricane Ida.
NEWARK FIELD OFFICE: Special agents conduct fire arms 
training. 
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
25

THE ATLANTA FIELD OFFICE covers the states of Georgia, Alabama, 
Mississippi, and Louisiana and consists of eleven judicial districts. We work a 
wide variety of criminal investigations across the four state region which includes 
legal and illegal source income tax fraud, payroll tax fraud, stolen identity theft 
/ tax refund fraud, public corruption, terrorism, general fraud, money laundering 
and narcotics cases. With the recent merger of two field offices (the Atlanta 
Field Office with the former New Orleans Field Office), the newly constituted 
and expanded Atlanta Field Office has a diverse mix of employees with different 
backgrounds who are finding creative ways to investigate our cases. The Atlanta 
Field Office is continually building and strengthening its relationships with our 
law enforcement partners, the United States Attorney’s Office and the public in 
an effort to identify, investigate and refer quality cases for prosecution that will 
encourage compliance with and confidence in the Internal Revenue laws.
Compounding Pharmacy Mogul Sentenced for 
Multimillion-Dollar Health Care Fraud Scheme
January 15, 2021, Wade Ashely Walters, of Hattiesburg, 
Mississippi, was sentenced to 18 years in prison and was 
ordered to pay more than $287 million in restitution and 
forfeit more than $56 million. Walters was a co-owner 
of numerous compounding pharmacies and pharma-
ceutical distributors. Between 2012 and 2016, Walters 
orchestrated a scheme to defraud TRICARE, the health 
care benefit program serving U.S. military, veterans, 
and their respective family members, as well as private 
health care benefit programs. As part of the scheme, 
Walters distributed compounded medications that were 
not medically necessary. Additionally, Walters conspired 
with others to launder the proceeds of his fraud scheme 
by engaging in monetary transactions in amounts over 
$10,000 in proceeds from the fraud scheme, including 
transactions relating to his participation in a sham 
intellectual property scheme.
Clinton Pharmacist Sentenced for Conspiracy to 
Commit Health Care Fraud 
February 2, 2021, Marco Bisa Hawkins Moran, of Clinton, 
Mississippi, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for 
conspiring to commit health care fraud. Moran was also 
ordered to pay a monetary judgment exceeding $12 
million, restitution exceeding $22 million, and a $20,000 
fine. Between 2014 and 2016, Moran, as co-owner of 
Medworx Compounding and Custom Care Pharmacy, 
participated in a scheme to defraud TRICARE and other 
health care benefit programs, including those that 
provided coverage to employees of the city of Jackson, 
Mississippi. In total, the pharmacies submitted more than 
$22 million in fraudulent claims to TRICARE and other 
health care benefit programs. 
Alabama Salesman Sentenced for Tax Evasion - Used 
Offshore Insurance Wrappers and Precious Metals to 
Hide Assets from the IRS 
October 27, 2020, Ivan Scott “Scott” Butler, of Hoover, 
Alabama, was sentenced to 2 years in prison for tax 
evasion. Butler was also ordered to pay more than $1 
million in restitution to the United States. Butler was an 
automobile industry consultant and sold automobile 
warranties as an independent salesman. In 1993, Butler 
stopped filing tax returns, attended tax defier meetings, 
and purchased tax defier materials. Starting in 1998, 
Butler used several Nevada nominee corporations to 
receive his income and to conceal the income from 
the IRS. In or around 1999, Butler moved hundreds of 
thousands of dollars to bank accounts in Switzerland and 
hid his assets in offshore insurance policies, which were 
held in the name of non-U.S. insurance providers, thus 
disguising his ownership of the funds. Such accounts, 
which generally are used as investment vehicles, are 
commonly known as “insurance wrappers.” In 2014, 
Butler converted some of his insurance wrappers into 
precious metals, which were shipped to Butler and 
another individual in the United States. In total, Butler 
caused a tax loss to the IRS exceeding $1 million. 
Drug-trafficking Pimp Sentenced in Commercial Sex 
Conspiracy 
May 28, 2021, Anthony Wilson Jackson, of Savannah, 
Georgia, was sentenced to more than 30 years in prison. 
Jackson previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to 
possess with intent to distribute marijuana, conspiracy 
to engage in interstate travel or transportation in aid of 
a racketeering business (prostitution), possession of a 
machine gun, possession of a machine gun in furtherance 
of a drug trafficking crime, possession of a firearm by 
a convicted felon, and money laundering conspiracy. 
Jackson was the leader of a conspiracy that operated a 
commercial sex trafficking business across the country, 
and he shipped and distributed large amounts of 
marijuana in the Savannah area. Authorities seized drugs 
and drug trafficking paraphernalia, multiple firearms and 
ammunition, and more than $7,000 in cash. Jackson 
threatened to murder women whom he trafficked for sex, 
he forced women to bow and pray to him, and he beat his 
child so severely with a belt that the child urinated and 
defecated on himself. Jackson previously served prison 
time for drug trafficking, and while incarcerated he was 
punished for engaging in multiple assaults, including one 
in which another inmate was seriously injured. 
Louisiana Man Sentenced for Embezzling Over $7 
Million and Filing False Tax Returns
February 9, 2021, Deepak “Jack” Jagtiani, was sentenced 
to more than 5 years in prison. Jagtiani was ordered to 
pay more than $7 million in restitution to Dan-Gulf and its 
business partner, Caytrans BBC, LLC. Jagtiani was also 
ordered to pay more than $1.2 million in restitution to the 
IRS for unpaid taxes. From 2007 through 2019, Jagtiani 
worked as the comptroller for Dan-Gulf Shipping, Inc. 
During that time, Jagtiani paid himself excessive salaries 
and benefits. To disguise his scheme, Jagtiani set up a 
fake catering business to write off bogus losses. In total, 
he claimed enough business losses to offset most of his 
income. In truth, neither Jagtiani nor his spouse operated 
any catering business. In total, Jagtiani avoided paying 
more than $1.2 million in federal income taxes. 
ATLANTA FIELD OFFICE
401 W. PEACHTREE STREET NW, ATLANTA, GA 30308 | (470) 639-2228 | AtlantaFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
AUGUSTA, GA
BATON ROUGE, LA
BIRMINGHAM, GA
COLUMBUS, GA
DECATUR, GA
GULFPORT, MS
HATTIESBURG, MS
HUNTSVILLE, AL
JACKSON, MS
LAFAYETTE, LA
MACON, GA
MOBILE, AL
MONTGOMERY, AL
NEW ORLEANS, LA  
OXFORD, MS
SAVANNAH, GA
SHREVEPORT, LA
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
26

THE BOSTON FIELD OFFICE covers six New England states, each with one 
judicial district: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, 
Vermont and Maine. The field office’s relationship with the U.S. Attorney’s Office 
and our law enforcement partners is one of the best in the country. IRS:CI 
special agents are vital members of several task forces including Organized 
Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), Joint Terrorism Task Force 
(JTTF), cybercrimes, securities fraud and health care fraud.
Massachusetts Man Sentenced for Aiding Romance 
and Lottery Schemes Targeting Elderly
April 13, 2021, Austin Nedved was sentenced to more 
than 8 years in prison and was ordered to pay restitution 
of $569,750. In December 2020, Nedved ran a business 
in which he bought and sold digital currencies, including 
bitcoin, for cash. From at least 2017 through 2019, 
Nedved aided and abetted romance and lottery schemes 
targeting elderly victims. In romance schemes, fraudsters 
convince victims to send money abroad to purported love 
interests, while in lottery schemes fraudsters convince 
victims that they can obtain lottery winnings or sizeable 
government grants by forwarding cash for administrative 
fees or expenses. Despite knowing or being willfully blind 
to the fact that his customers were fraud victims, Nedved 
sold bitcoin to them, so they could send money overseas 
to the fraudsters. In total, Nedved and his co-conspirators 
converted more than $630,000 of fraud and other 
criminal proceeds to bitcoin. They then either returned 
the bitcoin to the victims of the fraud or forwarded it to 
unidentified third parties. 
Former Owner of Seafood Processing Plant Sentenced 
for Tax Evasion; Sought to Obstruct IRS Collection 
Efforts for 10 Years
January 8, 2021, Billie R. Schofield was sentenced to 
3 years in prison. Schofield was also ordered to pay 
$364,200 in restitution to the IRS and a $5,000 fine. For 
more than 10 years, Schofield attempted to evade his 
federal income taxes. Schofield partly owned and worked 
for Northern Pelagic LLC, a seafood processing business 
located in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Despite earning 
hundreds of thousands of dollars in income, Schofield 
failed to pay taxes owed. Beginning in 2009, he stopped 
filing income tax returns. Between 2008 and 2018, 
Schofield obstructed IRS efforts to assess and collect 
his taxes by filing fraudulent forms, advancing frivolous 
tax arguments, creating and using a nominee entity and 
bank account, negotiating income checks to cash, and 
creating and submitting fraudulent checks to the IRS, 
in an attempt to extinguish his tax liabilities. Including 
penalties and interest, Schofield caused a tax loss of 
more than $350,000 to the United States.
Connecticut Nursing Home Operator Sentenced for 
Embezzlement and Tax Offenses
April 20, 2021, Chaim Stern was sentenced to 2½ years 
in prison. Stern was also ordered to pay approximately 
$2.4 million in restitution to the IRS. Stern was the 
principal operator of the Bridgeport Health Care Center 
(“BHCC”), Bridgeport Manor, and the Rosegarden 
Health and Rehabilitation Center LLC (“Rosegarden”) 
in Waterbury, Connecticut, which were privately owned 
nursing and rehabilitation facilities. Between approxi-
mately 2011 and 2018, Stern stole approximately $4.1 
million from the BHCC Pension Plan, over which he 
was the trustee. Also, in approximately February 2015, 
Stern misapplied $305,608 from BHCC Health Plan. 
Additionally, Stern failed to pay millions of dollars in other 
health insurance claims that he was obliged to pay on 
behalf of his employees, which resulted in debt collection 
action against employees by the health care providers. 
Finally, from at least January 2017 through March 2018, 
Stern failed to and caused BHCC and Rosegarden to fail to 
pay over withheld employment taxes. Stern also failed to 
pay the employers’ share of the employment taxes. The 
total tax loss resulting from Stern’s conduct exceeded $4 
million. 
Massachusetts Painting Business Owner Sentenced 
for $2 Million Income & Payroll Tax Fraud Scheme
May 12, 2021, Durvan C. Lewis, of Nantucket, 
Massachusetts, was sentenced to 2 years in prison. 
Lewis was also ordered to pay more than $2 million in 
restitution to the IRS and a fine of $10,000. Lewis owned 
and operated a commercial and residential painting 
business known as DCL Painting. From 2014 through 
2017, Lewis diverted over $1.5 million of DCL Painting’s 
gross receipts to his personal bank account and failed 
to report the diverted receipts to his tax preparer. In 
addition, from 2012 through September 2019, Lewis paid 
over $5 million in wages to DCL Painting’s employees in 
cash “under the table.” Lewis failed to report and pay 
over to the IRS the employment taxes owed on the cash 
wages. In total, Lewis caused a loss to the IRS exceeding 
$2 million. 
New Hampshire Man Sentenced for Facilitating 
Employment Tax Fraud
April 14, 2021, Walter Rodriguez, of Manchester, New 
Hampshire, was sentenced to 1½ years in prison. 
Rodriguez was also ordered to pay approximately 
$416,163 in restitution to the United States. From 2011 
to 2013, Rodriguez aided and abetted several drywall 
companies that were evading the payment of employment 
taxes. Rodriguez found workers for the companies for 
construction jobs. The companies then issued checks 
in the names of fictitious or fraudulent identities and 
provided those checks to Rodriguez. Rodriguez converted 
the checks to cash at local check-cashing businesses 
and paid the workers off-the-books. In total, Rodriguez 
enabled the payment of $1.7 million in unreported wages, 
which caused a tax loss of $416,000. 
BOSTON FIELD OFFICE
15 NEW SUDBURY STREET, BOSTON MA, 02203 | (617) 316-2080 | BostonFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
BRIDGEPORT, CT
BURLINGTON, VT
HARTFORD, CT
MANCHESTER, NH
NEW HAVEN, CT
NORWALK, CT
PORTSMOUTH, NH
SOUTH PORTLAND, ME
SPRINGFIELD, MA
STONEHAM, MA
WARWICK, RI
WORCESTER, MA
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
27

THE CHARLOTTE FIELD OFFICE covers the states of North Carolina, which has 
three judicial districts, South Carolina, which has a single judicial district, and 
Tennessee, which has three districts. We work a diverse mix of cases throughout 
the two states, including general tax fraud, refund fraud, terrorist financing, 
public corruption, Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and 
employment tax fraud. The field office has excellent partnerships both internally 
and externally. Charlotte is the second largest banking center in the United 
States after New York City. Our office works closely with the respective U.S. 
Attorney’s priority task forces, including the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), 
Financial Crimes Task Force, and OCEDTF.
South Carolina Man Sentenced for Narcotics 
Conspiracy
October 23, 2020, Jermaine Tyrone Southall, aka “Big 
Dog,” aka “Cuzzo,” aka “Big Man,” was sentenced to 27 
years in prison. Southall was a participant in a violent 
narcotics distribution organization that operated in and 
around Columbia, South Carolina. Southall conspired 
to possess and distribute heroin. This investigation was 
part of a collaborative federal and state effort, which 
culminated in several arrests and significant seizures. 
Tennessee Realtor Sentenced for Ponzi Scheme
April 23, 2021, Tammy Lynn Hawk, of Bristol, Tennessee, 
was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Hawk was also 
ordered to pay restitution of $658,838 to victims and 
$71,062 in unpaid taxes to the United States. Hawk 
was a well-established real estate agent. Despite the 
success she enjoyed as a realtor, she ultimately used her 
knowledge, skills, and clientele to devise and operate 
a Ponzi-type scheme. Under her scheme, she notified 
victim clients of large profits to be made with quick-flip 
properties, she took cash from the victims, and she 
repaid earlier victims with funds she swindled from 
subsequent victims. Hawk defrauded at least 24 people. 
By the time her scheme was discovered, 12 victims 
remained unpaid and had lost over $500,000. Hawk 
took extensive steps to hide and conceal her scheme, 
including making false statements, creating sham real 
estate contracts, using electronic signing services, and 
forgery. Hawk also failed to disclose these matters in 
connection with a filed bankruptcy case. Hawk used 
proceeds from her offenses to repay earlier victims and to 
fund her own lifestyle.
North Carolina Return Preparer Sentenced for 
Multi-Year Tax Fraud Scheme
February 8, 2021, Adrienne Williams, of Rocky Mount, 
North Carolina, was sentenced to more than 4 years in 
prison and was ordered to pay more than $4 million in 
restitution to the IRS. Between 2009 and 2017, Williams 
owned and operated the return preparation business 
Ultimate Tax Service. During that time period, Williams, 
and at least two of her employees, prepared false tax 
returns for clients. In all, Williams and her co-con-
spirators sought to defraud the IRS of more than $3.5 
million.
Owner of North Carolina Temporary Staffing Firms 
Sentenced for Employment Tax Fraud
October 6, 2020, Rebecca Adams was sentenced to 
3½ years in prison and was ordered to pay more than 
$2 million in restitution. Adams and her daughter, 
Elizabeth Wood, operated temporary staffing businesses 
in Greensboro, North Carolina, under the names A & R 
Staffing Solutions Inc., Wood Executive Services Inc., 
and Adams Staffing Enterprises Inc. Adams and Wood 
withheld federal and state taxes from employees’ 
paychecks, but they did not pay those taxes to the 
IRS. In 2015, Wood pleaded guilty to embezzling 
employee tax withholdings that were due to the state 
and was sentenced to prison. During Wood’s period 
of incarceration for the state payroll tax fraud, Adams 
continued to withhold taxes from employees’ paychecks, 
but she did not pay those taxes over to the IRS. Adams 
also did not file a required quarterly payroll tax return 
with the IRS. On June 25, 2020, Wood was sentenced 
to 1½ years in prison for failing to pay over federal 
employment taxes and was ordered to pay approximately 
$2,338,766 in restitution to the IRS.
North Carolina Woman Sentenced for Conspiring to 
Steal Millions From Medicaid 
October 20, 2020, Ameera Ali, of Columbus, Ohio, was 
sentenced to 7 years in prison for her role in a Medicaid 
fraud scheme. Ali filed fraudulent reimbursement claims 
with Medicaid on behalf of companies owned and 
operated by her co-conspirators. From June 2015 to 
December 2017, the leader of the scheme, Jerry Taylor, 
and his brother, Tony Taylor, orchestrated a scheme to 
defraud Medicaid of more than $9.4 million by submitting 
false and fraudulent reimbursement claims for patient 
services that were either non-existent or mischar-
acterized to Medicaid. The brothers submitted the 
fraudulent claims through several companies they owned 
and/or operated. These entities specialized in providing 
outpatient behavioral health services to at-risk youth 
throughout North Carolina. Jerry Taylor, of Wingate, North 
Carolina, was previously sentenced to 5 years in prison 
and was ordered to pay restitution of more than $6.1 
million to North Carolina Medicaid and $346,000 to the 
IRS. Tony Taylor, of Brooklyn, New York, was sentenced 
to 8 years in prison and was ordered to pay restitution 
of more than $6 million to North Carolina Medicaid and 
more than $1.1 million to the IRS. 
CHARLOTTE FIELD OFFICE
10715 DAVID TAYLOR DRIVE, CHARLOTTE NC, 28262 | (705) 548-4241 | CharlotteFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
CHARLESTON, SC
CHATTANOOGA, TN
COLUMBIA, SC
GREENSBORO, NC
GREENVILLE, SC
JACKSON, TN
JOHNSON CITY, TN
KNOXVILLE, TN
MEMPHIS, TN
MYRTLE BEACH, SC
NASHVILLE, TN
RALEIGH, NC
WILMINGTON, NC
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
28

THE CHICAGO FIELD OFFICE is one of the largest field offices in the country 
consisting of sixteen groups of agents and professional staff. We cover a large 
geographical area in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, and Wisconsin 
within seven judicial districts. We investigate a wide variety of cases and have 
excellent relationships with the U.S. Attorney’s Offices. Our agents participate 
in numerous task forces including HIDTA, OCDETF, JTTF, cybercrimes, and 
political corruption. Our financial investigations span industries and directly 
benefit the communities in our region. Tax fraud is our priority, but we also 
work closely with our partners to 
investigate major financial fraud such 
as money laundering from narcotics 
trafficking and Covid-19 fraud. The field 
office has exceptional partnerships, 
both internally working with our civil 
counterparts, and externally with 
other federal, state, and local law 
enforcement agencies.
Check Cashing Business Owner Sentenced for Role in 
Tax Fraud Scheme
October 1, 2020, Marcos Alvarez was sentenced to 2 
years in prison and was ordered to pay more than $54 
million in restitution to the IRS. Alvarez owned El Punto, 
a check cashing service. Alvarez cashed U.S. Treasury 
checks for others who participated in a tax fraud scheme. 
Alvarez admitted that the scheme entailed obtaining 
personal identifying documents from individuals in 
Mexico, fraudulently applying for individual tax identifi-
cation numbers (ITINs) in the names of those Mexican 
citizens, and then filing fraudulent tax returns using those 
ITINs . Alvarez maintained a record-keeping system 
that documented each fraudulently obtained check he 
cashed. In total, Alvarez cashed more than $54 million in 
fraudulently obtained U.S. Treasury refund checks. 
Chinese National Sentenced for Laundering Drug 
Proceeds on Behalf of Traffickers in Mexico
April 27, 2021, Xainbing Gan, a Chinese national, was 
sentenced to 14 years in prison for laundering illegal 
narcotics proceeds on behalf of drug traffickers in 
Mexico. Gan schemed to have approximately $534,206 in 
narcotics proceeds picked up in Chicago and transferred 
to various bank accounts in China. The money was 
ultimately intended for drug traffickers in Mexico. 
Gan facilitated the money transfers while residing in 
Guadalajara, Mexico. 
Lawyer Sentenced on Tax Evasion Charges
January 22, 2021, Raymond Gupta was sentenced to 
2 years in prison. Gupta was also ordered to pay $1.7 
million in restitution and a fine of $15,000. In July 2020, 
Gupta pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion and six 
counts of failure to file federal income tax returns. Gupta 
was an attorney in Schererville, Indiana, who specialized 
in personal injury law. Gupta practiced law through Ray 
Gupta and Associates LLC, a limited liability company 
that he owned and controlled. From 2007 through 2018, 
Raymond Gupta had a legal duty to timely file a federal 
tax return, but he failed to so for each year. By the end of 
tax year 2018, Gupta owed the IRS nearly $2 million in 
taxes, penalties, and interest. The IRS sent Gupta more 
than 40 forms, notices, and letters directing him to file 
tax returns and pay the balance of taxes, penalties, and 
interest owed. Gupta did not voluntarily pay any money to 
reduce his IRS debt. The IRS issued levies with financial 
institutions holding Raymond Gupta’s funds and seized 
some funds. To avoid paying his taxes, Gupta kept large 
sums of money outside the banking system and took 
other actions to evade the IRS. 
Illinois Man Sentenced for Illegal Sports Bookmaking 
and Tax Offenses
November 30, 2020, Dominic Poeta, of Highland Park, 
Illinois, was sentenced to one year in prison for operating 
an illegal sports bookmaking business and filing false 
income tax returns. Poeta unlawfully operated a business 
that provided sports betting and wagering services, both 
domestically and abroad. From 2012 to 2017, Poeta 
obtained more than $3.7 million from the operation of his 
bookmaking business. Poeta failed to report this income 
on the federal and state tax returns he filed for each of 
those years, which resulted in a federal and state tax loss 
of approximately $1.4 million. 
Multiple Individuals Sentenced in Massive 
Contracting Fraud and Money Laundering Scheme 
(see page 22)
CHICAGO FIELD OFFICE
230 S DEARBORN STREET, CHICAGO IL, 60604 | (312) 292-4500 | ChicagoFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
CARMEL, IN
DOWNERS GROVE, IL
DULUTH, MN
EAU CLAIRE, WI
EVANSVILLE, IN
FORT WAYNE, IN
GREEN BAY, WI
INDIANAPOLIS, IN
MADISON, WI
MATTESON, IL
MERRILLVILLE, IN
MILWAUKEE,WI
MINNEAPOLIS, MN
ORLAND PARK, IL
ROCHESTER, MN
ROCKFORD, IL
SCHILLER PARK, IL
SOUTH BEND, IN
SPRINGFIELD, IL
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
29

THE CINCINNATI FIELD OFFICE covers the states of Ohio and Kentucky, which 
includes two federal judicial districts in each state. We work closely with our 
federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute 
tax, money laundering, Bank Secrecy Act, and related financial crimes that affect 
the southern and northern judicial districts of the “Buckeye State” as well as 
the eastern and western judicial districts of the “Bluegrass State.” Our special 
agents and professional staff provide unparalleled financial expertise to lead 
investigations of the most egregious white-collar criminals. We work in concert 
with the United States Attorney’s office as well as our civil and law enforcement 
partners to significantly impact regional and national priorities that include: 
income tax evasion, questionable tax refund/return preparer fraud, ID theft, 
cybercrimes, counterterrorism and narcotics related crimes, including opioid-
related drug investigations.
Woman Sentenced for Embezzlement, Identity Theft, 
and Tax Fraud
October 26, 2020, Candi Fluhr was sentenced to 
nearly 8 years in prison. Fluhr was also ordered to pay 
$838,804 in restitution to four victims. Fluhr previously 
pleaded guilty to four counts of wire fraud, one count 
of aggravated identity theft, one count of theft from an 
employee benefit plan, and two counts of filing a false tax 
return. As an employee of Meyer Plumbing, Fluhr engaged 
in a nearly 2-year scheme to steal over $630,000 from 
the company and its employees’ 401(k) plan. After her 
embezzlement was discovered and she was fired from 
Meyer Plumbing, Fluhr was hired at JLM Services (“JLM”) 
in mid-2019. As office manager at JLM, Fluhr had access 
to the company’s financial information and she quickly 
began to steal again, in much the same manner as she 
did at Meyer Plumbing. In total, Fluhr stole $39,749 from 
JLM before her scheme was detected. During her time 
between work at Meyer Plumbing and JLM, Fluhr created 
and presented multiple fraudulent checks to PLS Check 
Cashing. One of those checks ultimately resulted in a 
loss in excess of $7,741.84 to PLS Check Cashing. Finally, 
Fluhr filed false tax returns in 2016 and 2017 by failing 
to report a total of $649,044 in embezzled funds, which 
caused a total criminal tax loss of $158,270.
Kentucky Woman Sentenced for Money Laundering 
and Filing False Tax Return
October 1, 2020, Lesley Wade was sentenced to 5 years 
in prison. Wade was a long-time employee of the Franklin 
County Board of Education (FCBOE), most recently 
serving as the FCBOE’s Financial Director. Starting in 
February 2011 through about June 2019, Wade wrote 
unauthorized checks of FCBOE money to herself, and 
then she falsified the necessary FCBOE records and 
invoices to cover up her crimes. Wade also served as 
Treasurer of Leestown Gospel Church in Frankfort, where 
she essentially had plenary control over its financial 
management, with little oversight or internal controls. 
Wade used her control over the church’s finances to 
launder money she had stolen from the FCBOE. She used 
the church’s account to deposit funds from the FCBOE 
and then wrote checks to herself, in an effort to avoid 
detection by making the checks appear legitimate. Her 
theft of funds resulted in the FCBOE losing more than 
$1.6 million. Wade also willfully filed false individual 
income tax returns for the years 2011 through 2018, 
by intentionally failing to report the income from her 
fraudulent scheme. The total tax loss was $315,677. 
Conspirators Sentenced for Operating Illegal 
Gambling Operation and Evading Taxes
December 18, 2020, Clinton Reider was sentenced to 2 
years in prison. Reider was also ordered to pay restitution 
of $230,714 to the IRS and to forfeit $550,000 to the 
U.S. Treasury. Reider was convicted of tax evasion 
and conspiracy related to an illegal gambling scheme. 
Between 2010 and 2019, Reider operated a bookmaking 
operation that used offshore websites in Costa Rica 
to control and track bets. Reider collected cash from 
customers to settle accounts. He also utilized a network 
of co-conspirator bookmakers, including former MLB 
Cleveland Indians player Trevor Crowe, to act as 
sub-agents to collect funds from customers and remit 
a portion of their losses to Reider. Reider funneled the 
proceeds from the bookmaking ring into the purchase 
and renovations of a lakefront property. On December 
22, 2020, Trevor Crowe was sentenced related to his 
role in the ring. He was sentenced to 3 years of probation 
for filing a fraudulent tax return and was ordered to pay 
$85,043 in restitution to the IRS.
Georgia Man Sentenced for Tax Fraud
June 7, 2021, Darryl Brown, of Atlanta, Georgia, was 
sentenced to nearly 5 years in prison. Brown was also 
ordered to pay restitution of $377,240 to the IRS. From 
at least 2011 to 2016, Darryl Brown earned at least 
$1 million from his business. However, to evade paying 
taxes on this income, Brown did not file tax returns and 
took steps to conceal his income. He created nominee 
businesses, opened bank accounts and lines of credit 
in the names of those businesses, and then used the 
accounts to pay for his luxury lifestyle. Brown used cash 
to purchase money orders in structured amounts to avoid 
triggering reporting requirements to the Department of 
Treasury and the IRS. Brown then used the money orders 
to pay off the balances on his nominee accounts. In total, 
Brown caused a tax loss of more than $250,000.
8 Individuals Sentenced for Laundering $44 Million 
in Drug Proceeds to Mexico Through Local Cell Phone 
Store Fronts
(see page 22)
CINCINNATI FIELD OFFICE
550 MAIN STREET, CINCINNATI OH, 45202 | (513) 975-6343 | CincinnatiFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
AKRON, OH
BOWLING GREEN, KY
CANTON, OH
CLEVELAND, OH
COLUMBUS, OH
DAYTON, OH
FLORENCE, KY
INDEPENDENCE, OH
LEXINGTON, KY
LOUISVILLE, KY
TOLEDO, OH
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
30

THE DALLAS FIELD OFFICE covers the Northern and Eastern Districts of 
Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Our agents work a diverse mix of criminal 
investigations, which include tax fraud, identity theft, public corruption, 
narcotics, and terrorism investigations. Our agents hold pivotal roles on the 
respective U.S. Attorney’s Office priority task forces, including the Organized 
Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), the High Intensity Drug 
Trafficking Area Task Force (HIDTA), the Financial Crimes Task Force and the 
Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF).
Arkansas Businessman Sentenced for Evading $1.3 
Million in Income Tax 
April 6, 2021, James Brassart, of Bentonville, Arkansas, 
was sentenced to 3 years in prison and was ordered 
to pay more than $1.3 million in restitution to the IRS. 
Brassart filed a 2006 individual income tax return that 
reported adjusted gross income exceeding $1.5 million 
and taxes due to the IRS of $486,438. Brassart failed 
to pay the taxes owed and was assessed penalties 
and interest. To evade his tax liabilities, Brassart took 
extensive steps to conceal his income and assets. He 
used three nominee corporations to conduct business 
and purchase assets. Moreover, between 2010 and 2016, 
Brassart filed four false bankruptcy petitions to discharge 
his tax debt. In those bankruptcies, Brassart made false 
statements and filed fraudulent documents. Through his 
actions, Brassart caused a total tax loss of approximately 
$1.3 million to the IRS.
Former Bank Employee Sentenced for $2.3 Million 
Embezzlement and False Federal Income Tax Return
August 3, 2021, Jordan Glen Young, of Oklahoma City, 
was sentenced to 2½ years in prison. Young was ordered 
to pay $2.3 million in restitution to his former employer, 
a trust bank, and $500,822 in restitution to the IRS. 
Young worked at an Oklahoma City trust bank as a trust 
administrative officer. Young oversaw trust accounts and 
distributed funds from those accounts to the benefi-
ciaries, as needed. From December 2015 through March 
2020, Young embezzled funds from his former employer 
causing a total loss to the trust bank of $2 million. Young 
also pleaded guilty to signing a false federal income tax 
return. Young failed to report the thousands of dollars of 
embezzled income from the trust bank.
14 Defendants Sentenced to 74+ Years in Forest Park 
Healthcare Fraud
By March 19, 2021, fourteen defendants had been 
sentenced for their participation in the Forest Park 
Medical Center bribery scam. Together, the defendants 
were sentenced to a combined 74+ years in prison 
and were ordered to pay a total of $82.9 million in 
restitution. The $200 million scheme was designed to 
induce doctors to steer lucrative patients – particularly 
those with high-reimbursing, out-of-network private 
insurance – to the now defunct hospital. Doctors were 
paid a kickback for sending patients to Forest Park. Most 
of the kickbacks, which totaled more than $40 million, 
were disguised as consulting fees or “marketing money” 
and were determined by the percentage of surgeries each 
doctor referred to Forest Park. Instead of billing patients 
for out-of-network co-payments, Forest Park assured 
patients they would pay in-network prices and wrote off 
the difference as uncollected “bad debt.” In addition 
to the $82.9 million restitution, the government plans 
to collect more than $25.5 million in money judgments 
against those convicted in the scheme.
Dallas Tax Preparer Sentenced, Ordered to Pay $11.9 
Million for Filing Fraudulent Tax Returns
February 26, 2021, Alma Jean Gilbert, was sentenced to 
3½ years in prison and was ordered to pay $11.9 million 
in restitution. Gilbert owned and operated a tax practice, 
In Touch Tax Solutions. Gilbert hired employees to 
prepare and file tax returns on behalf of clients. Between 
2012 and 2017, Gilbert knowingly prepared and caused 
to be filed hundreds of fraudulent tax returns for clients. 
The fraudulent returns contained materially false credits 
and deductions for the purpose of increasing the refunds 
to the clients.
Tax Preparer Sentenced for Preparing False Returns; 
Ordered to Pay $14 Million in Restitution
April 20, 2021, Steven Jalloul was sentenced to 6 years 
in prison and was ordered to pay $14 million in restitution 
for preparing false tax returns. Jalloul prepared and 
submitted false income tax returns to the IRS on behalf 
of the clients of his business, Royalty Tax and Financial 
Services LLC. Jalloul added false or inflated education 
expenses to client tax returns to make them eligible for 
larger American Opportunity education credits. He also 
added false or inflated business income or losses to client 
tax returns to maximize the Earned Income Credit. 
Key Drug Suppliers for the Irish Mob Sentenced
(see page 24)
DALLAS FIELD OFFICE
1100 COMMERCE, DALLAS TX, 75242 | (214) 413-5929 | DallasFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
AMARILLO, TX
BEAUMONT, TX
FARMERS BRANCH, TX
FAYETTEVILLE, AR
FORT SMITH, AR
FORT WORTH, TX
IRVING, TX
LITTLE ROCK, AR
LUBBOCK, TX
MUSKOGEE, OK
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK
TULSA, OK
TYLER, TX
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
31

THE DENVER FIELD OFFICE covers a large geographic area (approximately 
432,500 square miles) that includes the states of Colorado, Montana, Idaho 
and Wyoming.  Our Special Agents work a varied mix of criminal investigations 
including all manners of tax fraud, money laundering and other federal frauds 
with a financial nexus which impact regional and national priorities based on our 
diverse geographic region.
Former FBI Employee Sentenced for Receiving Bribes 
and Tax Fraud
April 7, 2021, former FBI official James Heslep, of 
Gainesville, Virginia, was sentenced to more than 
3 years in prison for receiving a bribe by a public 
official and filing a false federal income tax return. 
Heslep was also ordered to forfeit $128,128 and pay 
$15,353 in restitution to the IRS. As a management 
and program analyst, Heslep was responsible for 
managing construction and services contracts across 
the country. Heslep abused his FBI position by receiving 
illegal payments and other items from a construction 
management company overseeing the construction of an 
FBI data center in southeastern Idaho. Heslep received 
$120,000 in illegal payments, which he used to pay 
for personal expenses, vacations, and jewelry. He also 
received tickets for travel and sporting events, among 
other items of value. Heslep failed to report these items 
on his tax return. 
Idaho Falls Man Sentenced for Knowingly and 
Fraudulently Concealing Assets in a Bankruptcy 
Proceeding
December 22, 2020, Andrew Welch, of Idaho 
Falls, Idaho, was sentenced to 5 years in prison for 
concealment of assets. Welch was also ordered to pay 
a $25,000 fine and to forfeit $25,000. Welch, a former 
pharmacist in Ketchum, Idaho, filed a voluntary Chapter 7 
bankruptcy petition on April 3, 2014, after the Idaho State 
Board of Pharmacy revoked his pharmacist license. In 
the bankruptcy petition, signed under penalty of perjury, 
Welch fraudulently listed significant debts and almost 
no assets. However, Welch had an interest in significant 
unreported assets, which he had placed under the control 
of close confidants. Welch knowingly and fraudulently 
failed to disclose more than $250,000 in cash and 
securities held in an investment account in the name of 
another individual. Welch also knowingly and fraudulently 
failed to disclose his purchase of real property in Idaho 
Falls for $123,500 in January 2012. Welch fraudulently 
transferred the real property to a second individual, who 
did not provide Welch with any value for the real property. 
In addition to concealing assets, Welch falsely testified 
under oath during the bankruptcy proceedings.
Owner of Montana Construction Company Sentenced 
for $1.5 Million Tax Fraud
May 20, 2021, Trennis Baer, of Great Falls, Montana, was 
sentenced to more than a year in prison and was ordered 
to pay $935,251 in restitution. Baer owned and operated 
Baer Construction. From 2010 through 2018, Baer did 
not file quarterly employment tax returns, nor did he 
pay employment taxes withheld from his employees’ 
wages to the IRS. Baer did not comply with these legal 
requirements, even though, from at least 2013 onwards, 
the company’s outside accountant prepared employment 
tax returns to be filed and calculated the taxes due. Baer 
also willfully failed to file personal income tax returns for 
the years 2001 through 2006, 2008, and 2010 through 
2018. 
Rock Springs CPA Sentenced for Preparing a False 
Income Tax Return
June 11, 2021, Paul Edman, a Certified Public Accountant 
practicing in Rock Springs, Wyoming, was sentenced to 
120 days in prison. Edman willfully counseled several 
of his clients, who were local restaurant owners that 
suppressed their cash sales. Edman made significant 
adjustments to his clients’ personal and business 
expenses to reduce their tax bill. The false expenses 
totaled nearly $645,000. He also recommended ways 
they could deduct expenses that would not stand out 
in an audit. Edman willfully provided the advice, in an 
effort to defraud the IRS. Ultimately, Edman reduced 
the amount of a client’s tax bill by $72,000 and then he 
signed and filed the false tax return electronically.
Private Equity CEO Enters into Non-Prosecution 
Agreement on International Tax Fraud Scheme
(see page 23)
DENVER FIELD OFFICE
1999 BROADWAY, DENVER CO, 80202 | DenverFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
BILLINGS, MT
BOISE, ID
CHEYENNE, WY
COEUR D'ALENE, ID
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO
DURANGO, CO
FORT COLLINS, CO
GRAND JUNCTION, CO
HELENA, MT
MISSOULA, MT
WESTMINSTER, CO
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
32

THE DETROIT FIELD OFFICE area of responsibility encompasses the state 
of Michigan and its two judicial districts. With Michigan’s diverse cultures and 
proximity to the Canadian international border, Detroit CI special agents are 
involved in a variety of criminal investigations including traditional tax, corporate 
fraud and money laundering. To address the various priorities affecting Michigan, 
agents are embedded on a variety of task forces such as the Joint Terrorism 
Task Force (JTTF), Public Corruption, Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task 
Force (OCDETF), Border Enforcement Security Task Force, Third Party Money 
Laundering Task Force, Dark Web Task Force, and the Alliance Human Trafficking 
and Human Smuggling Task Force.
CEO Sentenced in $150 Million Health Care Fraud, 
Opioid Distribution, and Money Laundering Scheme
March 3, 2021, Mashiyat Rashid, of West Bloomfield, 
Michigan, was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Rashid 
was also ordered to pay over $51 million in restitution 
to Medicare, as well as to forfeit to the United States 
property traceable to proceeds of the health care fraud 
scheme, including over $11.5 million, commercial real 
estate, residential real estate, and a Detroit Pistons 
season ticket membership. From 2008 to 2016, Rashid 
was the CEO of the Tri-County Wellness Group. The 
clinics had a policy to offer patients, some of whom were 
suffering from legitimate pain and others who were drug 
dealers or opioid addicts, prescriptions of Oxycodone 30 
mg. The clinic forced patients to submit to unnecessary 
back injections, in exchange for their prescriptions. The 
clinics intentionally targeted the Medicare program 
and recruited patients from homeless shelters and 
soup kitchens. Rashid only hired physicians willing to 
disregard patient care in the pursuit of money. Rashid 
incentivized the physicians to follow the Tri-County 
protocol of offering opioid prescriptions and adminis-
tering unnecessary injections by offering to split the 
Medicare reimbursements for these lucrative procedures. 
The specific injections used had nothing to do with 
the medical needs of the patients but were instead 
selected, because they were the highest-paying injection 
procedures. Twenty-one other defendants, including 12 
physicians, have been convicted for their participation in 
this conspiracy.
Michigan Woman Sentenced for Fraud Scheme 
Targeting Kalamazoo Manufacturing Business
March 16, 2021, Kris Marie Fratzke, of St. Joseph, 
Michigan, was sentenced to 4½ years in prison. Fratzke 
was also ordered to pay restitution totaling $930,233, 
which included $772,953 to Flare Fittings and $157,280 
to the IRS. Between 2013 and 2019, Fratzke was the 
chief financial officer of Flare Fittings, a pipe manufac-
turing company, located in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Fratzke 
created a shell company she called Mid America Fittings, 
which had the appearance of a real supplier of materials 
to Flare Fittings. She then created phony invoices for 
the shell company and paid them using her authority 
over the finances of Flare Fittings. Additionally, Fratzke 
intentionally omitted the proceeds of her fraudulent 
conduct from her tax return. 
Imposter Nurse Sentenced for Fraud and Tax Evasion
October 28, 2020, Sonja Emery was sentenced to 
more than 5 years in prison and was ordered to pay 
approximately $2.2 million in restitution to the employer 
victims and $697,000 in restitution to the IRS. Emery 
used several aliases, including “Sonja Lee Robinson,” 
“Sonjalee Emery-Robinson,” and “Sonjalee Emery.” 
From 2011 through 2018, Emery falsely represented her 
professional status, educational background, and work 
experience to secure and maintain highly paid consulting 
positions in the health-care industry. She falsely claimed 
to be a registered nurse licensed in New York, Georgia, 
Connecticut, and California, and she provided employers 
with licensure numbers that belonged to other people. 
In fact, she never was a registered nurse. Emery also 
falsely told employers she had degrees from various 
universities, but Emery never attended those schools or 
received such degrees. Using these false representations, 
Emery secured high-level health-care positions. During 
these years, Emery either did not file or filed late tax 
returns, despite owing more than $400,000 in taxes. She 
sought to avoid detection by providing employers with 
different names and false social security numbers, by 
falsely instructing employers that she was “exempt” from 
taxes, and by supplying an employer with an identification 
number that did not belong to her.
Former Owner of Stamp Farms Sentenced for Bank 
Fraud Scheme and Conspiracy to Defraud Farm 
Benefit Programs
January 19, 2021, Michael David Stamp, of Decatur, 
Michigan, was sentenced to 8 years in prison and was 
ordered to pay more than $17 million in restitution to 
Wells Fargo Bank, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 
Risk Management Agency, and U.S.D.A.’s Farm Service 
Agency. Stamp, who at one point operated the largest 
agribusiness in the state of Michigan, engaged in a 
scheme to defraud his lender, Wells Fargo Bank, in order 
to obtain a $68 million line of credit for his business. 
Stamp also engaged in a conspiracy to defraud the 
Federal Crop Insurance Corporation. 
FCA US LLC Pleads Guilty and Former UAW and FCA 
Officials Sentenced 
(see page 23)
DETROIT FIELD OFFICE
985 MICHIGAN AVENUE, DETROIT MI, 48226 | DetroitFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
ANN ARBOR, MI
EAST LANSING, MI
FLINT, MI
GRAND RAPIDS, MI
PONTIAC, MI
TRAVERSE CITY, MI
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
33

THE HOUSTON FIELD OFFICE area of responsibility encompasses the Southern 
and Western judicial Districts of Texas. Due to the proximity to the Mexican 
international border and having some of the fastest-growing cities and counties 
in the United States within its jurisdiction, Houston special agents are able to 
work a variety of cases with emphasis in traditional tax-related crimes such as 
employment tax, corporate fraud, identity theft, unscrupulous return preparers 
and general fraud. The Houston Field Office also provides crucial support to their 
respective U.S. Attorney’s priority task forces involving counterterrorism, public 
corruption, human trafficking, drugs and complex money laundering violations.
Texas Bounty Hunter Sentenced for Running 
International Sex Trafficking Conspiracy
April 26, 2021, Luis de Jesus Rodriguez, aka “Htown 
Hunter,” was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Rodriguez 
will also be required to register as a sex offender. 
Rodriguez was previously convicted of sex trafficking, 
conspiracy to commit visa fraud, and international money 
laundering. In 2016, Rodriguez, and his international 
criminal network, targeted, recruited and exploited young 
women in Colombia and the United States by making 
false promises of a better life. He portrayed himself as a 
bounty hunter to assure the women he was affiliated with 
law enforcement and could be trusted. However, once 
here, the women had to work at a Houston strip club and 
sign debt bondage contracts, and they were ultimately 
forced into engaging in commercial sex acts. Rodriguez 
also engaged in widespread visa fraud to facilitate the 
international transportation of the victims. 
Executive Sentenced in $189M Health Care Fraud 
Scam
April 22, 2021, Bobby Rouse was sentenced to 10 
years in prison. Rouse was an executive at Continuum 
Healthcare LLC, which owned Westbury Community 
Hospital in Houston, as well as community mental health 
centers in the Houston area. Each location operated a 
partial hospitalization program (PHP) supposedly for 
treating individuals with mental illness. Rouse and other 
executives were responsible for day-to-day operations 
and together were involved in the implementation of 
the various kickback programs. Numerous people were 
referred for treatment in exchange for payment. However, 
the vast majority did not qualify for PHP services. In total, 
Continuum billed Medicare approximately $189 million 
for fraudulent PHP services, and Medicaid paid approxi-
mately $66 million of those claims.
Company CFO and Ex-Husband Sentenced and 
Ordered to Pay Over $20 Million in Restitution for 
Embezzlement Scheme 
April 28, 2021, Robert “Scott” Villarreal was sentenced 
to more than 7 years in prison for a scheme to embezzle 
millions of dollars from Richardson Enterprises, Ltd, a 
company where his ex-wife served as Chief Financial 
Officer. In December 2020, Villarreal’s ex-wife, Tamra 
Maurine Villarreal, aka “Tamra Creighton Villarreal,” 
was sentenced to more than 5 years in prison for her 
role in the same scheme. Both were ordered to share 
the responsibility of paying $15 million in restitution to 
Richardson Enterprises, Ltd. and $4 million in restitution 
to the IRS. In 2009, the couple began stealing money 
from Tamra’s employer, even though Tamra was paid an 
annual salary in excess of $400,000. The couple used 
the embezzled funds to support a lavish lifestyle. They 
also subscribed to a false federal income tax return for 
the year 2013, by claiming $433,747 in earnings, when 
in truth their income that year far exceeded that amount 
due to the proceeds from their fraud scheme.
Owner of Dog Training School Sentenced for 
Defrauding the V.A. of over $1.5 Million in GI Bill 
Benefits
April 30, 2021, Bradley Lane Croft was sentenced to 
nearly 10 years in prison and was ordered to pay more 
than $1.5 million in restitution. Croft, the owner of 
Universal K-9, Inc., was previously found guilty of eight 
counts of wire fraud, four counts of aggravated identity 
theft, two counts of money laundering, and two counts 
of making a false tax return. Croft schemed to defraud 
the federal government of more than $1.5 million in 
Veterans Affairs GI Bill benefits to train service canines 
and their handlers. Beginning in 2015, Croft provided 
false information in applications to the Texas Veterans 
Commission to receive GI Bill educational benefit 
payments. During the scheme, Universal K-9 filed approx-
imately 185 fraudulent claims relating to the education 
of about 132 veterans. The claims totaled over $1.5 
million. Additionally, Croft submitted fraudulent income 
tax returns reporting annual income of $2,000 during the 
years 2016 and 2017. During those years, Croft received 
substantially more income than what he reported to the 
IRS. Croft was also ordered to forfeit various property, 
vehicles, and funds and to pay a money judgment of $1.3 
million.
Texas Businessman Sentenced for Defrauding Family 
and Friends out of $18 Million
July 8, 2021, James Clinton Fletcher was sentenced to 
15 years in prison. Fletcher was also ordered to pay more 
than $18 million in restitution to his victims and nearly 
$1.2 million in restitution to the IRS. Fletcher previously 
pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and 
willful failure to pay employee tax withholdings to the IRS. 
Fletcher was the owner of the now-defunct San Jan, LLC. 
From March 2015 to January 2018, Fletcher schemed to 
defraud more than two dozen family members, friends, 
and business associates out of more than $18 million. 
Fletcher used those fraudulently obtained funds to 
purchase a home valued at over $1 million, a vacation 
home, and expensive vehicles. Fletcher also gambled 
extensively and went on extravagant hunting trips. For 
the third quarter of 2016, Fletcher failed to report and 
turn over to the IRS approximately $378,437 in employee 
withholdings.
HOUSTON FIELD OFFICE
8701 S. GESSNER, HOUSTON TX, 77074 | (281) 721-8390 | HoustonFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
AUSTIN, TX
BROWNSVILLE, TX
CORPUS CHRISTI, TX
EL PASO, TX
LAREDO, TX
MCALLEN, TX
SAN ANTONIO, TX
WACO, TX
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
34

THE LAS VEGAS FIELD OFFICE covers the District of Nevada, as well as the 
District of Utah, comprising two judicial districts. We work a diverse mix of cases 
across the geographic area to include: criminal tax fraud, money laundering and 
cyber crimes. We also hold pivotal roles on the respective U.S. Attorney’s priority 
task forces, including the Joint Terrorism Task Force, Organized Crime Drug 
Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), and the Financial Crimes Task Force.  
In addition, we cover a large part of the casino industry for the United States and 
an outstanding narcotics program in Utah.
CEO of Nationwide Drug Trafficking Organization 
Sentenced to Life in Prison 
October 15, 2020, Aaron Michael Shamo, of Cottonwood 
Heights, Utah, was sentenced to life in prison. Shamo was 
the CEO of a nationwide Dark net drug trafficking organi-
zation that distributed more than half a million counterfeit 
pills throughout the country. The organization imported 
fentanyl and alprazolam from China and used the drugs 
to manufacture fake oxycodone pills made with fentanyl 
and counterfeit Xanax tablets. Shamo distributed the 
controlled substances to other individuals for distribution 
in all 50 states. Shamo used a storefront, PHARMA-
MASTER, on the Dark net marketplace AlphaBay, and the 
U.S. mail. Shamo sold more than half a million fentan-
yl-laced pills on the Dark net. He also sold hundreds of 
thousands of fentanyl pills locally. Shamo established the 
Dark net storefront, hired employees, and took charge of 
marketing and product placement. He was a drug dealer 
to other drug dealers. Since Shamo sold the fentan-
yl-laced fake oxycodone pills in bulk to redistributors, 
the end users of the pills could not always be located. 
However, evidence shows that more than 90 individuals 
died from subsequent overdoses. 
Las Vegas Tax Preparer Sentenced for False Tax 
Returns, Causing Nearly $3 Million Tax Loss
June 21, 2021, Anita Edoria Santa Ana was sentenced 
to one year in prison for preparing fraudulent tax returns 
over a 7-year span and causing nearly $3 million in 
tax loss to the IRS. Santa Ana operated tax return 
preparation businesses in Las Vegas under the names 
Santana Tax Service and Silver Income Tax LLC. For tax 
years 2012 to 2018, she falsified clients’ tax returns by 
claiming deductions and exemptions to which clients 
were not entitled. In total, Santa Ana caused a tax loss of 
at least $2.9 million to the IRS.
Hawaii Man Sentenced on Drug Conspiracy and 
Money Laundering Conspiracy Charges
June 17, 2021, Justin K. Wilcox, aka “Justin Kaanoi,” 
aka “Ali’I,” of Kailua, Hawaii, was sentenced to nearly 
25 years in prison and was ordered to pay a forfeiture 
money judgment of $127,000. Wilcox was convicted for 
conspiracy to distribute and to possess 50 grams or more 
of cocaine with intent to distribute and conspiracy to 
commit money laundering. Wilcox was the Oahu leader 
and organizer of a drug conspiracy, which operated 
in Hawaii and involved more than five members with 
drugs supplied by a source in Las Vegas, Nevada. Wilcox 
was responsible for the possession and distribution of 
3,880 grams of pure methamphetamine, or “ice,” and 
1,393 grams of cocaine. Wilcox used his Kailua clothing 
company, Armed and Dangerous, as a front business to 
launder cash drug proceeds. In addition to the seizure of 
8.4 kilograms of methamphetamine and 1.39 kilograms 
of cocaine, federal law enforcement agents also seized 
over $160,000 in cash, two firearms, and ammunition. 
Eight individuals were convicted for their participation in 
the drug conspiracy, and a ninth man who was convicted 
on related drug charges. All nine received sentences 
of more than 3 years in prison. Five of them, including 
Wilcox, received sentences of over 10 years, and two of 
them exceeded 20 years.
Las Vegas Man Sentenced for Fraudulent Tax Return 
Scheme
October 7, 2020, Terry Williamson, of Las Vegas, 
Nevada, was sentenced to nearly 6 years in prison for 
conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. From January 
2009 through April 2011, Williamson played a leading 
role in a mail and wire fraud conspiracy. As part of the 
scheme, Williamson’s co-conspirators filed false tax 
returns with the IRS to fraudulently obtain tax refunds. 
They used the names and Social Security numbers 
of deceased taxpayers in order to facilitate the fraud. 
Williamson opened a bank account under a business 
name, Refund and Rebates Management Inc., to handle 
the fraudulently obtained refund checks. After Williamson 
or other co-conspirators deposited the refund checks 
into the Refund and Rebates bank account, Williamson 
transferred large amounts of cash to his personal 
account and to the accounts of his co-conspirators. He 
used the remaining funds in the account for his own 
personal enrichment, including a $60,000 fully loaded 
pick-up truck. More than 480 fraudulent tax refund 
checks, totaling almost $2 million, were deposited into 
Williamson’s account.
Utah Man Sentenced for Financial Fraud Scheme
December 3, 2020, Theodore Lamont Hansen, of 
Highland, Utah, was sentenced to 4 years in prison and 
was ordered to pay restitution of more than $1.4 million. 
Hansen devised a scheme to defraud an individual of 
$1 million using fraudulent promises and by omitting 
material facts. Hansen convinced the victim to give him 
the money by representing he would use the funds to 
purchase full ownership of Seven Peaks Water Park in 
Provo. The bank fraud conviction stems from a large 
check-kiting scheme, involving at least 10 different 
companies. The victim bank was left with a loss of more 
than $1.6 million.
* The Las Vegas field office merged into 
the Phoenix field office in July 2020.
LAS VEGAS FIELD OFFICE
110 N. CITY PARKWAY, LAS VEGAS NV, 89106 | (702) 868-5091 | LasVegasFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
OGDEN, UT
RENO, NV
SALT LAKE CITY, UT
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
35

AS THE NATION’S largest field office by population, the Los Angeles Field Office 
serves a population of approximately 22 million people, stretching over nine 
counties from San Luis Obispo to the United States-Mexico border. The LAFO 
covers two judicial districts in California--the Central and the Southern. The 
LAFO works a diverse mix of financial investigations across this large geographic 
area, including cybercrime, international tax fraud, identity theft, public 
corruption, and Bank Secrecy Act violations. We play crucial roles in the U.S. 
Attorney’s priority task forces, including the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) 
and the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).
O.C. Tax Preparer Sentenced for Filing False Tax 
Returns that Caused Almost $5 Million in Losses to 
IRS 
November 16, 2020, Michael Hung Lee, of Garden Grove, 
California, was sentenced to nearly 3 years in prison 
and was ordered to pay nearly $5 million in restitution. 
Lee previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to aid and 
assist in the preparation of false tax returns. From 2014 
to March 2018, Lee was a tax preparer, who owned and 
operated the Garden Grove-based business, 1040 U.S. 
Tax Center Inc. Lee conspired with others at the business 
to fraudulently prepare and file federal individual income 
tax returns on behalf of their clients. On these tax returns, 
Lee claimed capital losses that he knew his clients never 
approved and for which they were unqualified. The false 
declarations of capital losses reduced his clients’ taxable 
income. As a result, the federal government incurred a 
tax loss of at least $4,917,035. The tax refunds went to 
the customers, while Lee obtained more business as a 
result of the scheme.
California Man Sentenced to 212 Years in Prison 
for Scheming to Collect Insurance Proceeds by 
Intentionally Killing His Children 
March 11, 2021, Ali Elmezayen was sentenced to 212 
years in prison for intentionally driving his ex-wife and 
two disabled sons off a wharf at the Port of Los Angeles 
into the ocean – drowning the boys who were trapped 
in the car – to collect on accidental death insurance 
policies he had taken out on their lives. Elmezayen bought 
more than $3 million of insurance on their lives, waited 
for two years so the insurance companies would not 
contest his claims, and then drove them into the ocean, 
leaving them to drown. After purchasing the policies, 
Elmezayen repeatedly called the insurance companies – 
sometimes pretending to be his ex-wife, in whose name 
he had obtained some of the policies, to verify that the 
policies were active and that they would pay benefits 
if his ex-wife died in an accident. Following the crash, 
Elmezayen repeatedly lied to law enforcement officers 
and insurance companies. He also lied in subsequent 
civil litigation he filed concerning the crash. Specifically, 
Elmezayen lied about the extent of the insurance he had 
purchased on his family and whether he had insured his 
disabled children’s lives. He also attempted to persuade 
witnesses to lie to law enforcement and say he had given 
the insurance proceeds to charity.
San Diego Drug and Money Laundering Cell Leader 
Sentenced 
October 26, 2020, Javier Felix-Bayardo, a resident of 
Sinaloa, Mexico, who was living in the San Diego area, 
was sentenced to 17 years in prison for his role as the 
organizer of drug and money-laundering conspiracies 
and for possessing firearms, in furtherance of a drug 
trafficking crime. The court also imposed a $30,000 
fine. Felix-Bayardo coordinated the receipt of cocaine, 
methamphetamine, and marijuana smuggled to the San 
Diego area. He arranged to store the drugs and then 
deliver them to customers. He and others also opened 
dozens of bank accounts to receive cash deposits of drug 
proceeds from throughout the United States. The funds 
were then withdrawn for bulk transport to drug suppliers 
in Mexico. The conspiracy involved the laundering of 
at least $4.5 million in drug proceeds. At least 26.5 
kilograms of cocaine, 938 grams of methamphetamine, 
and 486 kilograms of marijuana were seized during the 
investigation. Felix-Bayardo possessed five firearms, 
which included a .223 caliber automatic rifle and a Glock 
semi-automatic pistol. In connection with this case, the 
court ordered the forfeiture of more than $27,500 in 
U.S. currency, Las Vegas real property, two Kawasaki Jet 
Skis, 25 wristwatches, 26 women’s handbags, 42 pairs of 
women’s shoes, three large screen televisions, a currency 
counter, and the five firearms.
Bank Julius Baer Agrees to Pay More than $79 Million 
for Laundering Money in FIFA Scandal
May 27, 2021, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd. (BJB or the 
Bank), a Swiss bank with international operations, 
admitted that it conspired to launder over $36 million in 
bribes through the United States to soccer officials with 
the Fédération Internationale de Football Association 
(FIFA) and other soccer federations, in furtherance of 
a scheme in which sports marketing companies bribed 
soccer officials in exchange for broadcasting rights to 
soccer matches. The Bank made these admissions and 
entered into a 3-year deferred prosecution agreement 
with the department in connection with a criminal 
information charging the Bank with conspiring to commit 
money laundering. As part of this agreement, the 
Bank agreed to pay more than $79 million in penalties 
(including a fine of more than $43 million and forfeiture of 
more than $36 million) to resolve the investigation. 
Political Donor Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for 
Lobbying and Campaign Contribution Crimes, Tax 
Evasion, and Obstruction of Justice
(see page 23)
LOS ANGELES FIELD OFFICE
300 N. LOS ANGELES ST, LOS ANGELES CA, 90012 | (213) 372-4129 | LosAngelesFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
CAMARILLO, CA
EL MONTE, CA
LAGUNA NIGUEL, CA
LONG BEACH, CA
SAN BERNARDINO, CA
SAN DIEGO, CA
SAN MARCOS, CA
SANTA ANA, CA
SANTA MARIA, CA
VAN NUYS, CA
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
36

Puerto Rico
U.S. Virgin Islands
THE MIAMI FIELD OFFICE covers the Southern Judicial District of Florida, 
and the judicial districts of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands. 
The Southern Judicial District of Florida includes the counties of Miami-Dade, 
Broward, Monroe, Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River, Okeechobee 
and Highlands. The field office works a diverse mix of criminal investigations 
including violations of tax law, identity theft, return preparer fraud, money 
laundering, Bank Secrecy Act, cybercrime, political and public corruption, and 
healthcare fraud. We participate on the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task 
Force (OCDETF) and on other priority task forces at the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in 
our areas of responsibility targeting identity theft, financial crimes, health care 
fraud and disaster fraud. 
Florida Tire Importer Sentenced in Tax Conspiracy
February 18, 2021, Marco Parra was sentenced to time 
served and was ordered to pay restitution of $249,464. 
Parra operated Road Tire Plus Corp., a tire importer 
business, located in Miami, Florida. From 2013 through 
2016, Parra conspired with others in the tire industry to 
evade paying federal excise taxes on truck tires marked 
for highway use. Tire importers are responsible for excise 
taxes when their truck tires are sold to tire retailers. The 
retailers then resell the tires domestically. Tire importers 
typically pass on the cost of the excise tax to tire retailers 
and collect the excise taxes from them. However, if the 
tires are later exported rather than sold domestically, the 
law provides for a credit for the excise taxes paid. For 
some retailers, Parra sold truck tires subject to excise 
taxes. He collected the excise taxes that were due, but 
he did not remit those taxes to the IRS and did not file 
tax returns reporting the tire sales as he was required. 
For others, Parra never collected the federal excise taxes 
due on the tire sales. Instead, Parra obtained false bills 
of lading claiming that the tires were exported, so Parra 
could obtain an excise tax credit, even though he knew 
the tires were not exported. 
Six Family Members Sentenced in Short Sale 
Mortgage Fraud Scheme
March 22, 2021, Ana Cummings, of Davie, Florida, 
was sentenced to more than 2 years in prison and was 
ordered to pay more than $1.3 million in restitution. 
Cummings previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to 
commit bank fraud. Cummings was the last of six South 
Florida family members to be sentenced. Cummings 
and her family members participated in a series of ten 
fraudulent real estate short sale transactions in South 
Florida between May 2012 and June 2015. Some 
family members participated in some, but not all of the 
transactions. In each short sale transaction, they made 
materially false statements to a financial institution, 
which caused the institution approve the short sale. 
As a result, the financial institutions incurred losses by 
authorizing property sales for amounts less than the 
outstanding principal balances due on mortgages they 
held on the properties. During prior hearings, Cummings’s 
sons, Valentin Pazmino and Rene A. Pazmino, were 
sentenced to more than 2 years and 1 ½ months in 
prison, respectively. Her daughter, Grace Pazmino, was 
sentenced to more than 2 years in prison, and daughter, 
Diana Pazmino, was sentenced to nearly 2 years in 
prison. Her son-in-law, Jared Marble, was sentenced 
to more than one year in prison. The defendants made 
a full payment of the restitution judgment prior to their 
sentencings.
Former Chief Operating Officer Sentenced for Role in 
Massive Capital Investment Scheme
July 9, 2021, Steven Allen Schwartz, of Delray Beach, 
Florida, was sentenced to 2 years in prison and was 
ordered to pay over $36 million in restitution to the 
victims of the scheme. Schwartz previously pleaded 
guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities 
fraud. Schwartz, and others, participated in a sprawling 
fraud scheme that affected more than 3,600 investors 
in 42 states. Schwartz was a director and consultant at 
1 Global, and also held out as a Chief Operating Officer 
in the company’s marketing materials. 1 Global was a 
commercial lending business based in Hallandale Beach, 
Florida. The business made the equivalent of “pay day” 
loans to small businesses at high interest rates, termed 
merchant cash advance loans (“MCAs”). In order to 
attract investments, Schwartz, and others, made false 
and misleading representations to investors and potential 
investors as to the profitability of 1 Global’s business in 
marketing materials and periodic account statements.
South Florida Escort Sentenced for Tax Fraud
March 5, 2021, Jami Kopacz was sentenced to nearly 
2 years in prison and was ordered to pay $278,325 in 
restitution to the IRS. Kopacz, who worked as a male 
escort, lied to the IRS about his income. Kopacz worked 
as a paid escort directly with individual clients and as 
an independent contractor for a private escort company. 
Kopacz accepted payment for his work through cash, 
check, wire transfer, and electronic money transfer to 
JK Trading LLC, a Florida “Subchapter S” corporation 
that he established in 2015. Kopacz, the sole owner 
of JK Trading, elected to report the company’s income 
and losses on his personal tax returns. As a result, JK 
Trading’s income, losses, deductions, and credits passed 
through to Kopacz’s individual tax returns, and Kopacz 
was responsible for paying tax on the company’s earnings 
at the individual, and not the corporate, tax rate. From 
2015 to 2018, Kopacz filed false corporate tax returns 
and personal tax returns by underreporting his total 
income. 
MIAMI FIELD OFFICE
51 SW 1ST AVENUE, MIAMI, FLORIDA 33130 | (954) 991-4322 | MiamiFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
GUAYNABO, PR
PLANTATION, FL
PORT ST. LUCIE, FL
ST. THOMAS, VI
WEST PALM BEACH, FL
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
37

THE NEWARK FIELD OFFICE is exposed to a wide array of investigations, as the 
investigative inventory in the field office represents each major program area for 
IRS-Criminal Investigation. The dedicated agents and professional staff in New 
Jersey have an excellent working relationship with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and 
all our law enforcement partners that result in many high profile, challenging and 
diverse investigations.
New Jersey Man Sentenced to Prison for $2.5 Million 
Tax Fraud Conspiracy
November 2, 2020, Kenneth Crawford Jr. was sentenced 
to 6½ years in prison and was ordered to pay more 
than $1.3 million in restitution for conspiring to defraud 
the United States, filing false claims, and obstructing 
the Internal Revenue laws. Between 2015 and 2016, 
Crawford and his co-conspirators promoted and sold 
a “mortgage recovery” tax fraud scheme in which they 
obtained fraudulent refunds from the IRS for their clients. 
Crawford promoted the scheme to individuals, who were 
facing foreclosure or behind on their mortgage payments. 
He represented to them that they could extinguish their 
outstanding mortgage debts by filing tax forms with the 
IRS. As a result of Crawford’s scheme, more than $2.5 
million in fraudulent refunds were sought from the IRS, 
of which the IRS paid out more than $1.3 million. When 
the IRS discovered the fraud and attempted to recover 
the previously issued refunds, Crawford provided clients 
with false documents to send to the IRS, directed clients 
to conceal his role in filing the false returns from the IRS, 
and advised clients to remove funds from bank accounts 
in their names, in order to thwart IRS collection efforts.
Tax Preparer Sentenced for Conspiracy to Defraud 
IRS and Preparing False Tax Returns 
February 4, 2021, Joseph Kenny Batts, of Elkridge, 
Maryland, was sentenced to 5 years in prison and was 
ordered to pay $1.2 million in restitution to the IRS. 
Batts was working as a tax preparer in New Jersey. 
Batts participated in a conspiracy to defraud the IRS 
by preparing false income tax returns for clients to 
boost business at tax preparation companies that he 
and others ran. From at least 2009 to April 2015, Batts 
was co-owner of Tax Pro’s, a tax return preparation and 
payroll business in Essex County, New Jersey. In order to 
increase their business, Batts, and others, conspired to 
falsify their clients’ income tax returns for the purpose of 
generating refunds in amounts that their clients were not 
entitled to receive. Batts and his conspirators caused a 
total tax loss to the United States in excess of $1.6 million. 
New Jersey Man Sentenced for $1.6 Million Tax 
Evasion Scheme
June 22, 2021, Olger Fallas, of Union, New Jersey, was 
sentenced to 2½ years in prison and was ordered to pay 
$1.68 million in restitution. Fallas owned and operated 
contracting businesses in Essex County, New Jersey. 
Fallas filed false tax returns that failed to report all his 
personal and corporate income. He attempted to hide 
income from the IRS by using a check cashing business 
to cash customer payments, which he did not report to 
the IRS. Fallas also deposited hundreds of thousands of 
dollars in customer payments into bank accounts that 
were not associated with his companies. Fallas evaded 
paying approximately $1.7 million in personal and 
corporate income taxes during the scheme. 
New Jersey Man Sentenced for Role in $7 Million Fraud 
Scheme and Cross-Country Drug Distribution Scheme
November 6, 2020, Melvin Feliz, of Englewood Cliffs, 
New Jersey, was sentenced to 14 years in prison and 
was ordered to pay a forfeiture of $7.9 million. Feliz used 
bogus litigation support companies to obtain millions 
from two law firms, where his wife was a partner. Feliz 
also participated in a scheme to transport more than 
20 kilograms of cocaine from California to New Jersey. 
Feliz’s wife, Keila Ravelo, worked as a partner at a law 
firm from 2005 through October 2010, at which time, 
she joined a different law firm. She worked at the second 
firm through November 2014. During that time, Feliz and 
Ravelo formed two limited liability companies, Vendor 1 
and Vendor 2, that purported to provide litigation support 
for both firms but provided no actual services. From 2008 
through July 2014, Feliz and Ravelo controlled the Vendor 
1 and Vendor 2 bank accounts and submitted invoices to 
both law firms and a client of both firms for work that was 
never performed. Ravelo, in her capacity as a partner at 
the law firms, approved the payments. Over the course of 
the conspiracy, the law firms paid Vendor 1 and Vendor 
2 approximately $7.8 million. Feliz failed to report the 
income on his tax returns. Ravelo was sentenced to 5 
years in prison for her part in the fraud scheme. 
Former Financial Advisor Sentenced for Role in $2 
Million Ponzi Scheme Targeting Elderly Investors
April 30, 2021, Daniel Rivera, of Hillsborough, New 
Jersey, was sentenced to 6½ years in prison and was 
ordered to pay restitution of $1.47 million to his victims 
and $284,863 to the IRS. Rivera, a former financial 
advisor, solicited primarily elderly investors to invest their 
money in a company called Robbins Lane Properties 
Inc. Rivera represented to investors that Robbins Lane 
was staffed by experienced real estate professionals 
who invested in real estate ventures. Rivera promised 
investors a guaranteed monthly income and claimed 
the company’s rate of return was based on secure real 
estate investments in the company’s portfolio. In reality, 
Robbins Lane had no employees or real estate portfolio, 
and the monies used to pay investors as a purported 
return on their investments were from funds he received 
from other investors. Rivera also used funds from 
investors to pay his personal and unrelated business 
expenses, including paying his child’s college tuition and 
sorority fees. 
NEWARK FIELD OFFICE
955 S. SPRINGFIELD AVE, SPRINGFIELD NJ, 07081 | (973) 921-4130 | NewarkFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
CHERRY HILL, NJ
EDISON, NJ
FREEHOLD, NJ
MAYS LANDING, NJ
PATERSON, NJ
SPRINGFIELD, NJ
TRENTON, NJ
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
38

SPECIAL AGENTS AND professional staff in the New York Field Office conduct 
complex financial investigations in partnership with the most dynamic U.S. 
Attorney’s Offices in the country. This is the largest field office of IRS-Criminal 
Investigation, with its members serving on virtually every multi-agency task 
force in a fast-paced environment. This collaboration strengthens our ability to 
identify emerging threats to taxpayers and the U.S. Treasury, with a laser focus 
on domestic and international tax evasion. We take action daily to serve our 
primary mission to maintain integrity and public trust in the federal tax system.
Jamaican Native Sentenced for Fraud 
December 3, 2020, Daciann Brown, a Jamaican native 
residing in Rochester, New York, was sentenced to nearly 
4 years in prison and was ordered to pay restitution 
totaling $182,139. Brown was previously convicted of 
failing to appear for sentencing, and, in May 2018, Brown 
pleaded guilty to wire fraud, false claims, and fraud 
related to identification documents. Brown purported 
to be a tax preparer and filed 66 false tax returns on 
behalf of 44 taxpayers with the IRS. Thirteen of those 
taxpayers did not know that Brown was filing returns 
using their personal information. Brown was scheduled to 
be sentenced on August 28, 2018. However, Brown failed 
to appear on that date, and an arrest warrant was issued. 
On June 3, 2020, Brown was arrested by the U.S. Marshal 
Service.
New York Man Sentenced on Marijuana and Money 
Laundering Convictions
May 11, 2021, Masood Sharifipour, of Guilderland, 
New York, was sentenced to 2½ years in prison for his 
role in a marijuana trafficking and money laundering 
conspiracy. From December 2013 through June 2017, 
Sharifipour worked with others to transport at least 100 
kilograms of marijuana from California to the Capital 
Region of New York through various means, including 
couriers, the U.S. Mail, and private shippers,. Sharifipour 
sent at least 50 packages containing drug proceeds to 
co-conspirators in California via the U.S. Mail and private 
shippers. Sharifipour used postal boxes and residences 
occupied by himself, or people he knew, for the purpose 
of receiving shipments of marijuana from his co-con-
spirators in California. In 2017, law enforcement searches 
of two of his residences, recovered approximately 46 
pounds of marijuana and $315,000. 
Tax Fraud Conspirator Sentenced
December 14, 2020, Joseph E. Carbonara, III, was 
sentenced to 2 years in prison and was ordered to pay 
restitution of $27,813. Carbonara previously pleaded 
guilty to conspiracy to commit theft of government 
property, theft of government property, and aggravated 
identity theft. Carbonara participated in a conspiracy 
to file fraudulent tax returns. Conspirators mailed U.S. 
Treasury checks to Carbonara from Guyana. The refund 
checks were based on fraudulent IRS tax returns filed 
using the identities of deceased individuals. Carbonara 
recruited others to assist him in cashing the checks. 
Carbonara paid a fee to those who helped him deposit the 
checks. He sent most of the fraud proceeds to his co-con-
spirators in Montreal, Canada, and he kept approximately 
5% of the proceeds for his participation. 
Co-conspirators Sentenced in Multi-Million 
Dollar Investment Fraud Scheme that Victimized 
Professional Hockey Players and Long Island 
Investors
November 10, 2020, Tommy Constantine, of Scottsdale, 
Arizona, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 
was ordered to pay restitution of $5.2 million and a 
forfeiture money judgment of approximately $8.5 million. 
Constantine was also ordered to forfeit all his right, title, 
and interest in specific assets, including an oceanfront 
resort in Mexico, real property in Hawaii, and a Falcon 10 
jet airplane. 
October 5, 2020, co-conspirator Phillip A. Kenner, also of 
Scottsdale, Arizona, was sentenced to 17 years in prison 
and was ordered to pay a money judgment of approxi-
mately $17 million. Kenner was also ordered to forfeit 
all his right, title, and interest in an oceanfront resort 
in Mexico, real property in Hawaii, and a Falcon 10 jet 
airplane, among other assets. 
The pair conspired to steal millions of dollars in funds 
raised from Long Island residents and professional 
athletes intended for investment in land developments in 
Hawaii and a start-up business in Arizona, among other 
purposes. Constantine and Kenner siphoned millions of 
investor dollars into a labyrinth of holding companies, 
and diverted those dollars from their approved uses 
into companies, real estate and other ventures – such 
as Constantine’s car racing endeavors – that solely 
benefited the defendants. Constantine gained access 
to these investor funds via his relationship with Kenner. 
Kenner was a collegiate hockey player in upstate New 
York, and his teammate, Joe Juneau, a future Olympian 
and National Hockey League star, introduced Kenner to a 
number of other NHL players as Kenner began his career 
as a Boston-based financial advisor. Through those early 
contacts, Kenner developed a roster of clients, including 
NHL players whose careers and playing earnings 
blossomed just as they placed more and more trust in 
Kenner to invest and manage their finances and wealth. 
Instead, Kenner and Constantine diverted these earnings 
for their own uses.
NEW YORK FIELD OFFICE
290 BROADWAY, 4TH FLOOR, MANHATTAN NY, 10007 | (212) 436-1761 | NewYorkFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
ALBANY, NY
BETHPAGE,NY
BRONX, NY
BROOKLYN, NY
BUFFALO, NY
HAUPPAUGE, NY
MANHATTAN, NY
NEW WINDSOR, NY
ROCHESTER, NY
STATEN ISLAND, NY
SYRACUSE, NY
WHITE PLAINS, NY
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
39

THE OAKLAND FIELD OFFICE is responsible for covering the Northern and 
Eastern Judicial Districts of California, which is more than half of the state of 
California. The judicial districts run from the Sierra’s to the west coastline and 
from Bakersfield to the Oregon border. The field office’s top law enforcement 
priorities are designed to promote tax compliance, address emerging areas of 
fraud (for example, cybercrimes), and meet the needs of the law enforcement 
community by supporting national crime initiatives. Criminal Investigation 
assists in the prosecution of significant financial investigations to generate the 
maximum deterrent effect, enhance voluntary compliance, and promote public 
confidence in the tax system.
California Woman Sentenced for International Money 
Laundering Conspiracy and Tax Fraud
January 28, 2021, Ronda Boone, of Vallejo, California, 
was sentenced to 5 years in prison and was ordered 
to pay nearly $2 million in restitution for a multi-mil-
lion-dollar tax fraud and money laundering conspiracy. 
Boone and her husband and co-defendant, Marty 
Marciano Boone, filed separate false tax returns claiming 
that they were owed millions of dollars in refunds from 
the IRS. While the IRS flagged Ronda Boone’s tax return 
as fraudulent and denied her claim, Marty Boone’s 
false return resulted in the IRS paying him over $1.9 
million in a refund check. Marty and Ronda Boone then 
laundered those funds through domestic and foreign 
accounts, including by establishing a shell corporation in 
Cyprus and a church in the state of Washington through 
which they moved the fraudulently obtained money. On 
November 14, 2019, Marty Boone was sentenced to more 
than 7 years in prison for his part in the conspiracy.
California Man Sentenced for Falsely Claiming to Be 
an Attorney and Defrauding Couple of over $500,000
April 15, 2021, Derek Bluford, of Sacramento, California, 
was sentenced to 7 years in prison for wire fraud, money 
laundering, obstruction of a federal investigation, and 
making false statements. Bluford told a couple that he 
was an attorney and could represent them in a dispute 
they were having with their tenant. After the couple 
agreed, Bluford then told them that they had incurred 
numerous fines and court costs, as well as costs to repair 
their rental unit. He also told them he had negotiated a 
settlement agreement with the couple’s former tenant. 
Based on these representations, the couple paid Bluford 
over $500,000. Bluford, in fact, was not an attorney, 
and there were no fines or court costs imposed. Bluford 
laundered the proceeds from his scheme, obstructed a 
federal investigation, and made false statements to the 
FBI regarding the investigation.
Former IRS Employee Sentenced for Wire Fraud, 
Aggravated Identity Theft, and Tax Fraud
December 3, 2020, Marcela Heredia, of Riverside, 
California, was sentenced to 6 years in prison for a 
scheme to use stolen identities of at-risk youth to file 
false tax returns and receive tax refunds. Heredia worked 
at the Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission’s 
Transitional Living Center. Heredia also worked at the 
IRS as a Tax Examiner between 2008 and 2014. While 
working at the Transitional Living Center, Heredia stole 
residents’ personal identifying information and filed 
numerous fraudulent tax returns. Heredia directed the 
refunds for those returns to her personal bank account 
and spent the refund money on various personal 
expenses. Heredia failed to report any of the refund 
money she directed into her account on her 2011 tax 
return. Many of the residents at the Transitional Living 
Center, whose personal identifying information Heredia 
stole in order to file false tax returns, were young, at-risk 
adults. Many were former foster children, who had aged 
out of foster care, and many were homeless with nowhere 
else to go.
Former California State Assemblyman Sentenced for 
Money Laundering in Fraud Scheme Involving Bart 
Coffee Shops
February 10, 2021, Terrence Patrick Goggin, of 
Dunsmuir, California, was sentenced to one year in 
prison and was ordered to pay $685,000 in restitution 
for money laundering. Goggin is a former California State 
Assemblyman as well as a California-licensed attorney. 
Goggin was the founder and CEO of Metropolitan Coffee 
and Concession Company, LLC (MC2). From July 2007 
to February 26, 2014, Goggin solicited investor money 
for MC2 to build Peet’s Coffee retail centers, including 
two centers to be built at the Civic Center and Balboa 
Park BART stations. Among other investors in the MC2 
projects, a group of four private equity investors invested 
$585,000 in the Civic Center project in September 
2013, and an individual invested $100,000 in the Balboa 
Park project, also in September 2013. Goggin falsely 
represented to these investors that their money would 
be used to build out those specific future Peet’s Coffee 
retail centers, when, in truth, he planned to use the funds 
otherwise. He also failed to provide the investors with 
accurate information about the strained relationship 
between MC2 and BART and about the state of MC2’s 
finances. Goggin diverted and directed his employees 
to divert nearly all of the $685,000 in investment funds 
to other bank accounts associated with other business 
ventures, which the investors had neither agreed nor 
intended to invest. 
Two Members of Racketeering Enterprise Sentenced 
(see page 24)
OAKLAND FIELD OFFICE
1301 CLAY ST, OAKLAND CA, 94612 | (510) 907-5249 | OaklandFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
FRESNO, CA
MODESTO, CA
REDDING, CA
SACRAMENTO, CA
SAN FRANCISCO, CA
SAN JOSE, CA
SAN RAFAEL, CA
SANTA ROSA, CA
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
40

THE PHILADELPHIA FIELD OFFICE serves a broad geographic area that 
includes the entire states of Pennsylvania and Delaware. Within this area of 
responsibility, the field office also serves four judicial districts, each with its own 
U. S. attorney and leadership structure. We work in partnership with all major 
federal law enforcement agencies throughout Pennsylvania and Delaware. These 
include FBI, DEA, HSI, ATF, US Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), US Secret 
Service (USSS), Department of Labor-Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG), 
as well as numerous state and local law enforcement departments. We work 
a diverse mix of criminal investigations that includes income tax evasion, 
employment tax, corporate fraud, international tax fraud, return preparer 
fraud, ID theft, cybercrimes, public corruption, counterterrorism and narcotics 
related financial crimes. The field office holds pivotal roles on the respective 
U.S. Attorney’s priority task forces, including Suspicious Activity Report review 
teams, health care fraud, cybercrimes, Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTF) and 
Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF).
Trio Sentenced for Defrauding the Government and 
Conspiracy to Commit Aggravated Identity Theft
December 9, 2020, Francisco Rodriguez-Polanco, of the 
Bronx, New York, was sentenced to 4½ years in prison 
and was ordered to pay $857,729 in restitution. 
March 9, 2021, Marien Torres-Acevedo, of Allentown, 
Pennsylvania, was sentenced to more than 6 years in 
prison and was ordered to pay $857,729 in restitution. 
April 1, 2021, Julio Polanco Suarez, of Allentown, 
Pennsylvania, was sentenced to nearly 6 years in prison 
and was ordered to pay $1.1 million in restitution.
Each of the co-conspirators obtained fraudulent U.S. 
Treasury checks. They stole victims’ identities and 
used those stolen identities to file false tax returns that 
generated significant refunds. Once they secured the 
fraudulent U.S. Treasury checks, they cashed the checks 
at various check cashing businesses. All three are citizens 
of the Dominican Republic and face deportation at the 
conclusion of their prison sentences.
Pennsylvania Man Sentenced on Drug and Money 
Laundering Charges
June 16, 2021, Wesley Cox, also known as “Michael 
Deshawn Carter,” formerly of New Castle, Pennsylvania, 
was sentenced to more than 15½ years in prison for 
violating federal narcotics and money laundering laws. 
Cox participated in a conspiracy to distribute 5 kilograms 
or more of cocaine and 280 grams or more of a cocaine 
base, commonly known as crack. Cox also participated in 
conspiracy to commit money laundering. 
Dawara Brothers Sentenced for Arson and Tax Fraud 
Conspiracy Stemming from February 2018 Old City 
Fire
June 24, 2021, Imad Dawara, of Swarthmore, 
Pennsylvania, and Bahaa Dawara, of Woodlyn, 
Pennsylvania, were both sentenced to 9 years in prison. 
Both were also ordered to pay more than $22 million in 
restitution for conspiracy to commit arson and conspiracy 
to defraud the United States. The brothers previously 
pleaded guilty and admitted to planning and causing 
the arson of their business, RCL Management LLC, in 
Philadelphia on February 18, 2018, and for evading the 
assessment of their income tax liabilities from 2015 
through 2017. Imad Dawara also admitted to fraud in 
connection with his receipt of health care and other 
government benefits. The brothers owned and operated 
various restaurants and entertainment establishments 
in Philadelphia, including a restaurant and hookah 
lounge. The brothers were struggling in their business 
on Chestnut Street and had a years-long history of 
fighting with their landlord. After purchasing a $750,000 
insurance policy providing accidental fire coverage, a fire 
was intentionally started with gasoline in the basement. 
The fire destroyed the entire building, displaced approx-
imately 160 people, closed the 200 block of Chestnut 
Street for months, and closed numerous businesses.
Philadelphia Woman Who Stole Over $2 Million in Tax 
Refunds and Committed Real Estate Fraud Sentenced 
October 30, 2020, Vontia Jones, of Philadelphia, was 
sentenced to 8½ years in prison and was ordered to 
pay $2.3 million in restitution. Jones designed flyers to 
solicit customers for her tax services. However, once she 
obtained their personal identifying information, Jones 
used the information to file fraudulent tax returns with 
the IRS. Jones and her co-conspirators filed more than 
900 fraudulent returns netting her over $2.3 million in 
fraudulent refunds. Jones also engaged in real estate 
fraud by purporting to sell properties to buyers using 
fraudulent documents. Jones pleaded guilty in August 
2019 to more than 30 fraud charges, including conspiracy 
to make false claims to the IRS, making, and aiding and 
abetting the making of false claims to the IRS, wire fraud, 
and aggravated identity theft. 
Pennsylvania Couple Sentenced on Fraud and Tax 
Charges
June 10, 2021, Stephanie J. Roskovski and Scott A. 
Roskovski, a married couple, both of Butler, Pennsylvania, 
were sentenced. Scott Roskovski was sentenced to 2½ 
years in prison and Stephanie Roskovski was sentenced 
to more than 4 years in prison. Stephanie Roskovski, while 
serving as the Chief Operating Officer for Butler Health 
System (BHS), embezzled more than $1.3 million from 
her employer. During that time, Stephanie’s husband, 
Scott Roskovski, was employed as a detective with the 
Butler County District Attorney’s Office. Ironically, he 
investigated financial crimes including theft and fraud. 
The couple spent most of the stolen funds on lavish 
vacations, renovations to their home, and the purchase 
and operation of a motocross track. The couple failed 
to report the fraud proceeds as income on their annual 
income tax returns, which were jointly filed with the IRS. 
Additionally, after the couple lost their respective jobs, 
they submitted a materially false bank loan application. 
The total tax loss to the IRS is approximately $397,342.
PHILADELPHIA FIELD OFFICE
600 ARCH ST, PHILADELPHIA PA, 19106 | (267) 941-6187 | PhiladelphiaFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
BETHLEHEM, PA
CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, PA
ERIE, PA
HARRISBURG, PA
JOHNSTOWN, PA
KING OF PRUSSIA, PA
NEWARK, DE
PITTSBURGH, PA
SCRANTON, PA
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
41

THE PHOENIX FIELD OFFICE covers the southwestern states of Arizona and 
New Mexico. The office’s special agents investigate both legal and illegal source 
tax crimes, including cases with an international nexus. The office operates a 
financial crimes task force named DeTECT that identifies and investigates a wide 
variety of complex financial crimes. Located on the U.S. / Mexico border, the 
office provides significant participation in the high level Organized Crime Drug 
Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).
Tax Fugitive Sentenced and Fined
March 31, 2021, Kevin Scott Wynn, of Scottsdale, 
Arizona, was sentenced to nearly 4 years prison and was 
ordered to pay restitution of more than $700,000 to the 
IRS and a fine of $7,500. In December 2019, Wynn was 
found guilty by a jury of tax evasion and failure to file tax 
returns. The sentence included an upward adjustment 
for obstruction of justice. Wynn withdrew $1.5 million in 
cash from his business bank account in thirteen separate 
transactions in the first several months of 2020. He then 
cut his ankle monitor and fled Arizona before a scheduled 
sentencing hearing. Wynn was apprehended by Mexican 
law enforcement authorities in Mexico City and deported 
back to the United States. 
Tax Preparer Sentenced for Tax Scheme Involving 
Fake Entities
January 25, 2021, Jana Leigh Meincke, of Maricopa 
County, Arizona, was sentenced to nearly 2 years in 
prison and was ordered to pay restitution of more than 
$2 million to the IRS. Between 2013 and 2017, Meincke 
worked as a tax return preparer, doing business at various 
times under different company names. Meincke was 
involved in a scheme with others to create fake entities 
for clients. The scheme included the fabrication of 
expenses, deductions, and losses for the fake entities to 
understate or eliminate a client’s taxable income. Clients 
ended up paying far less than their legal share of taxes, 
and many received large, fraudulent refunds. Meincke 
earned commissions and fees based on how much she 
and others fraudulently reduced a client’s tax liability. 
New Mexico Couple Sentenced in Ayudando 
Guardians Case
July 15, 2021, Susan K. Harris was sentenced to 47 
years in prison. On the same day, her husband, William 
S. Harris, was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Both 
will be required to pay back the entire amount of funds 
stolen as restitution to their victims. The couple, both of 
Albuquerque, New Mexico, participated in a conspiracy 
in connection with the operation of Ayudando Guardians, 
Inc., a non-profit corporation that previously provided 
guardianship, conservatorship, and financial management 
to hundreds of people with special needs. Susan Harris 
acted as president and was the 95-percent owner of 
Ayudando and William Harris worked as a guardian. They 
engaged in a pattern of criminal conduct that included 
unlawfully transferring money from client accounts for 
their own personal use. The stolen funds were used to 
pay for their extravagant lifestyle and expenses incurred 
by themselves and their families. 
Both Susan Harris and William Harris were originally 
scheduled to be sentenced on March 2, 2020, but they 
failed to appear for their sentencing hearing. The U.S. 
Marshals Service arrested them in Shawnee, Oklahoma, 
on April 15, 2020, after they fled New Mexico.
Arizona Man Sentenced for Drug and Money 
Laundering Conspiracies
April 19, 2021, in Tucson, Arizona, Juan Randolfo 
Parrado-Herrera was sentenced to 15 years in prison. 
For a several year period, Parrado-Herrera entered into 
an agreement with other co-conspirators to possess 
with intent to distribute methamphetamine, heroin, and 
cocaine. Parrado-Herrera and others were involved in 
mailing numerous packages containing the narcotics 
from Tucson, Arizona, to locations outside Arizona. 
Parrado-Herrera also conspired with others to launder 
the proceeds of the narcotic sales by depositing the 
funds into accounts he controlled. During the conspiracy, 
Parrado-Herrera laundered over $250,000 in narcotics 
proceeds.
Man Sentenced for Laundering Funds from Lottery 
Fraud Scheme Targeting the Elderly
April 26, 2021, Omar Stephenson, a Jamaican-born man 
living in Snellville, Georgia, was sentenced to nearly 5 
years in prison. Stephenson was also ordered to pay 
restitution of $546,637 and to forfeit any property 
traceable to the fraud. Stephenson is one of four 
co-defendants, who have been charged in connection 
with a lottery fraud scheme. Starting in 2015 through 
mid-2019, Stephenson participated in a scheme where 
Jamaican-based scammers called elderly victims in the 
United States, claiming the victims had won a lottery. To 
receive their winnings, the victims were told they must 
first pay money for taxes and fees. Stephenson’s role in 
this scheme was to launder the fraudulent proceeds for 
fellow co-conspirators in Jamaica. The loss suffered by 
the victims exceeded $900,000. 
* The Las Vegas field office merged into 
the Phoenix field office in July 2020.
PHOENIX FIELD OFFICE
4041 N. CENTRAL AVE, PHOENIX AZ, 85012 | (602) 636-9721 | PhoenixFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
ALBUQUERQUE, NM
GLENDALE, AZ
LAS CRUCES, NM
MESA, AZ
SANTA FE, NM
TUCSON, AZ
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
42

Guam
THE SEATTLE FIELD OFFICE covers the states of Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon, and 
Washington, the U.S. Territory of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern 
Marianas Islands. Planning and collaboration take on added importance when 
faced with the geographic challenges of seven judicial districts and four time 
zones. Specific regions within the field office provide opportunities for a diverse 
case load. Our investigations include domestic and international tax crimes, 
public corruption, identity theft fraud, cybercrime and drug related financial 
crimes. The Seattle Field Office (with our respective U.S. Attorney’s Offices) 
plays a pivotal role in combating financial crime in the Western states.
Disgraced Soccer Team Owner Sentenced to 
Additional Prison Time for Massive Federal and State 
Tax Fraud
April 9, 2021, Dion L. Earl was sentenced to one year 
in prison for making false statements on a tax return. 
Earl was also ordered to pay more than $1 million in 
restitution to the U.S., and more than $600,000 in 
restitution to the state of Arizona, as a result of fraudulent 
tax returns. Earl was also ordered to pay Key Bank 
approximately $100,000 in restitution for submitting 
false information for a home equity line of credit. Earl, a 
former Seattle college soccer star, was serving a nearly 
15-year prison sentence for sexual assault in Arizona and 
a second sexual assault case in King County, Washington, 
at the time of this sentencing. Earl used his association 
with car dealers and his businesses to commit tax fraud. 
He obtained a federal tax refund of $414,160, due to the 
false claims he made on his 2012 Form 1040 tax return.. 
Even after the IRS began a civil audit of his taxes in 2013, 
Earl continued to make false claims and provide false 
information to the IRS. In total, Earl sought $1.6 million in 
fraudulent tax refunds and was paid more than $1 million 
by the IRS. 
Hawaiian Man Sentenced for Conspiracy to Commit 
Tax Fraud
May 27, 2021, Aden Stay was sentenced to more than 
one year in prison and was ordered to pay more than $4 
million in restitution to the IRS. Aden Stay, along with his 
father, Robert Stay, operated a construction company 
in Hawaii. The business was known under various 
names, including Stay and Sons, Inc., NSC Construction, 
North Shore Cartel, Stay and Sons Equipment Rental 
and Service, and North Shore Construction Equipment 
Services. The father and son pair conspired to commit 
income tax evasion by concealing funds and income from 
the IRS. Aden Stay structured cash withdrawals from 
bank accounts to avoid reporting the cash to the IRS, he 
submitted false information to the IRS related to an audit, 
and he submitted a false W-4 form. The pair caused the 
IRS to fail to collect at least $3 million in income tax 
payments. Robert Stay was sentenced in January 2020 to 
1½ years in prison and was ordered to pay more than $4 
million in restitution for his part in the conspiracy. 
Eastern Oregon Medical Practice Employee Sentenced 
for Tax Crimes, Bank Fraud
January 5, 2021, Anndrea D. Jacobs was sentenced 
to 4 years in prison and was ordered to pay more than 
$1.2 million in restitution to two former employers, 
Wells Fargo Bank, and the IRS. Jacobs, the former office 
manager and bookkeeper for a medical practice in La 
Grande, Oregon, defrauded two separate employers 
and filed false tax returns. Jacobs used her position and 
access to the medical practice’s finances to steal money 
from the practice and attempted to hide her illicit actions. 
Without the knowledge or consent of the medical practice 
owner, she opened a business bank account in his name, 
deposited a business check payable to the Oregon 
Department of Revenue into her own personal account, 
gave the practice owner falsified property tax statements 
with total due balances of zero, and convinced the 
practice owner to grant her limited power of attorney to 
handle the practice’s pending IRS tax-collection action. 
In perhaps her most brazen attempt to conceal her 
embezzlement activity, Jacobs created a fictitious identity 
as an IRS Taxpayer Advocate and used this identity 
to assist the medical practice owner with his IRS tax 
collection issues. 
Former Weyerhaeuser Employee Sentenced for 
Multi-Million Dollar Fraud Scheme
April 14, 2021, Susan Tranberg, of Eugene, Oregon, was 
sentenced to nearly 6 years in prison and was ordered 
to pay more than $5.3 million in restitution, to include 
$775,984 to Weyerhaeuser, $3,805,223 to the Crime 
Victims Fund, and $807,033 to the IRS. Tranberg worked 
for Weyerhaeuser in Springfield, Oregon, in various 
positions for more than 40 years. At some point in 
2004, Tranberg created a fake timber contract between 
Weyerhaeuser and a fictitious vendor she named after 
her mother, who was unaware of the scheme. From 2004 
through 2019, Tranberg submitted fraudulent invoices 
for payment to the fake vendor she created. The vast 
majority of the money was used to fund a lavish lifestyle 
of expensive dinners, vacations, six-figure wedding 
expenses, and shopping sprees. In total, Tranberg 
defrauded the Weyerhaeuser Company out of more than 
$4.5 million.
Anchorage Woman Sentenced for Filing False Income 
Tax Returns on Behalf of Others
January 21, 2021, Sanh Sunni Thampithak, aka “Allysia” 
or “Ally,” of Anchorage, Alaska, was sentenced to one 
year in prison and was ordered to pay restitution of 
$348,759. Thampithak filed fraudulent tax returns for 
the tax years 2015 through 2017. Thampithak routinely 
misrepresented herself to her clients as a legitimate 
tax preparer. Thampithak prepared tax returns for the 
Lao community and others in Anchorage, charging 
them between $100 and $300 per return. She obtained 
unwarranted refunds for her clients by inflating certain 
deductions and expenses. Thampithak filed at least 89 
fraudulent tax returns.
SEATTLE FIELD OFFICE
915 SECOND AVE, SEATTLE WA, 98174 | SeattleFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
AGANA, GU
ANCHORAGE, AK
BEND, OR
EUGENE, OR
HONOLULU, HI
MEDFORD, OR
PORTLAND, OR
SPOKANE, WA
TACOMA, WA
VANCOUVER, WA
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
43

THE ST. LOUIS FIELD OFFICE covers the states of Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, 
Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Southern Illinois which comprises 
nine judicial districts. We work a diverse mix of criminal investigations across 
this large geographic area that includes tax evasion, failure to pay employment 
taxes, return preparer fraud and narcotics. We also hold pivotal roles on the 
respective U.S Attorney’s priority task forces, including cybercrime, financial 
fraud, Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), and joint 
terrorism task forces.
Florida Man Sentenced for Conspiracy to Commit Wire 
Fraud and Money Laundering
February 22, 2021, Kent Duane Anderson, of Bradenton, 
Florida, was sentenced to more than 4 years in prison and 
was ordered to pay more than $15 million in restitution. 
Anderson owned and operated a business enterprise that 
exploited the organic grain market. Anderson purchased 
thousands of tons of small grain and seed products from 
non-organic suppliers and then re-sold those products 
as “organic” to wholesale distributors, brokers, and other 
buyers at marked-up prices. The buyers, who believed 
the grain they purchased was organic, were defrauded. 
Anderson carried out his fraud through a group of 
inter-related business entities formed in South Dakota, 
which he directed and controlled. 
Kansas Man Sentenced for $7.3 Million Dollar Payday 
Loan Fraud, $8 Million Tax Evasion
July 13, 2021, Joel Jerome Tucker, of Prairie Village, 
Kansas, was sentenced to 12½ years in prison and was 
ordered to pay more than $8 million in restitution to 
the IRS. Tucker was also ordered to forfeit $5,000 to 
the government. Tucker engaged in two separate fraud 
schemes related to millions of dollars in false payday 
loan debt and for tax evasion totaling more than $8 
million. Tucker previously pleaded guilty to transporting 
stolen money across state lines as part of the debt fraud 
scheme, bankruptcy fraud, and tax evasion.
For the tax years 2014 through 2016, Tucker did not file 
tax returns for himself or any of his business entities. 
Tucker told IRS agents that he had no income and was 
living on borrowed money, including a lot of borrowed 
money from his mother. In reality, the bank accounts 
showed that Tucker sent money to his mother rather 
than borrowing money from her. Tucker used nominee 
bank accounts to conceal income and assets and spent 
hundreds of thousands of dollars in personal living 
expenses, such as vehicles, chartered jets, travel and 
entertainment, and a personal residence.
Missouri Man Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute 
More Than 2,000 Kilos of Cocaine
April 20, 2021, Howard Christopher Walters, of Lee’s 
Summit, Missouri, was sentenced to 25 years in prison 
and was ordered to forfeit $976,862 to the government, 
which represents the profit he made from the sale of 
illegal drugs. Walters had a leadership role in a multi-mil-
lion-dollar conspiracy that distributed more than 2,000 
kilograms of cocaine in the metropolitan area. 
Walters previously pleaded guilty to participating in a 
drug-trafficking conspiracy and a money laundering 
conspiracy from October 2013 to November 2018. 
Walters directly distributed approximately 25 kilograms 
of cocaine during his involvement in the conspiracy and 
he sold more than 1,421 kilograms of marijuana. His 
wife, Nina Walters, was previously sentenced to a year in 
prison for her role in the money-laundering conspiracy. 
Illinois Business Owner Sentenced for Payroll Tax 
Fraud
August 18, 2021, Gary Hunsche, of Troy, Illinois, was 
sentenced to 4 years in prison for willfully failing to 
pay millions of dollars in employment taxes to the IRS. 
Hunsche owned and operated the staffing companies 
Unique Risk Management and Unique Personal 
Consultants, which were based in Troy, Illinois. The 
businesses employed thousands of employees, who were 
then leased to clients as temporary workers. Between 
2011 and 2016, Hunsche withheld federal income 
taxes, Social Security taxes, and Medicare taxes from his 
employees’ paychecks but never paid them over to the 
IRS, resulting in a loss to the United States of more than 
$9.4 million. Hunsche used approximately $4 million in 
unpaid payroll taxes for improvements to his personal 
residence, located on 41 acres in Troy. The improvements 
included an indoor basketball court, a barn, a lake, and 
partial construction of a home with a swimming pool.
Unregistered St. Louis Tax Preparer Sentenced for Tax 
Fraud
June 17, 2021, Lakisha Smith was sentenced to nearly 
3 years in prison and was ordered to pay $10,416 in 
restitution to the IRS. Smith previously pleaded guilty 
to two counts of tax fraud. From 2013 to 2016, Smith 
prepared approximately 28 fraudulent tax returns for her 
clients. She prepared the false returns to generate larger 
tax refunds for her clients. Smith typically received cash 
payments of up to $2,500 from the false refunds paid to 
her customers. Smith was not registered with the IRS as 
a return preparer.
ST. LOUIS FIELD OFFICE
1222 SPRUCE ST, ST. LOUIS MO, 63103 | (314) 339-1400 | StLouisFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
CEDAR RAPIDS, IA
CHESTERFIELD, MO
DAVENPORT, IA
DES MOINES, IA
FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS, IL 
FARGO, ND
JEFFERSON CITY, MO
LEE'S SUMMIT, MO
OMAHA, NE
OVERLAND PARK, KS
RAPID CITY, SD
SIOUX FALLS, SD
SPRINGFIELD, MO
WICHITA, KS
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
44

THE TAMPA FIELD OFFICE covers the middle and northern judicial districts of 
Florida. The field office has nine posts-of-duty with agents working a diverse mix 
of criminal investigations across a large geographic area. Our agents embrace 
traditional tax cases as well as money laundering involving narcotics, terrorist 
financing and other local compliance issues. The Tampa Field Office benefits 
from well-established partnerships with other law enforcement agencies and 
has excellent working relationships with both United States Attorney’s Offices.
Lawyer Sentenced for Role in Fraud Scheme
November 19, 2020, Joseph S. Anile, II was sentenced 
to 10 years in prison for conspiracy to commit wire 
fraud and mail fraud, money laundering, and filing a 
false income tax return. Anile was also ordered to pay 
a money judgment of more than $3.2 million, which 
represents the proceeds of the fraud. Additionally, Anile 
was ordered to forfeit his interest in multiple pieces of 
real property, including a luxury residence in Sarasota, 
high-end vehicles, currency, gold coins, and silver 
bars, which are traceable to proceeds of the fraud.
From November 2011 through April 18, 2019, Anile 
conspired with others to commit wire fraud and mail 
fraud. Through false and fraudulent representations 
and material omissions, the conspirators persuaded at 
least 700 victims to invest more than $72 million in a 
foreign exchange market (“FOREX”) fraud known as Oasis 
International Group. Anile, a licensed attorney, created 
offshore entities, secured broker-dealer licenses, drafted 
promissory notes and disclosures, monitored incoming 
wire transactions, directed outgoing wire transactions, 
and interacted with victim-investors to help carry out 
the scheme. The conspirators also developed and 
administered a “back office” operation—a secure website 
that falsely and fraudulently depicted account balances 
and earnings—to convince victim-investors that their 
principal balances were safe and that their investments 
were performing. In fact, the conspirators used only a 
portion of the victim-investors’ funds for FOREX trading, 
which resulted in catastrophic losses that were concealed 
from the victim-investors. They used the balance of 
the victim-investors’ funds to make payments toward 
expenses associated with perpetuating the scheme, as 
well as for their personal enrichment. The conspirators 
purchased million-dollar residential properties, high-end 
vehicles, gold, silver and other liquid assets, funded their 
lavish lifestyles, and used the funds for the personal 
enrichment of their family members and friends. Anile 
used fraud proceeds to purchase other assets, including 
a Ferrari California T convertible. Anile did not report the 
victim-investors’ funds he received on his federal income 
tax returns.
Florida Man Sentenced for Payroll Tax Scheme and 
Evading Workers’ Compensation Requirements 
May 10, 2021, Gregorio Jose Fuentes-Zelaya, of Orlando, 
Florida, was sentenced to nearly 3 years in prison for 
conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to 
commit tax fraud. Fuentes-Zelaya was also ordered 
to pay more than $5.7 million in restitution to the IRS 
and $68,073 to an insurance company. Additionally, 
Fuentes-Zelaya was ordered to forfeit his interest in 
$230,764 that was seized from two bank accounts, and 
he was ordered to pay a money judgment of more than 
$1.3 million, which represented the proceeds of the wire 
fraud. Fuentes-Zelaya established shell companies that 
purported to be involved in the construction industry. He 
or his co-conspirators obtained workers’ compensation 
insurance policies in the name of the shell companies to 
cover a minimal payroll for a few purported employees. 
The conspirators then “rented” the workers’ compen-
sation insurance to work crews that had obtained 
subcontracts with construction contractors on projects in 
various Florida counties. During the period of the scheme, 
the conspirators cashed payroll checks totaling more 
than $22 million, with their fees totaling more than $1.3 
million. Neither the shell companies nor the contractors 
reported the wages that were paid to the workers, nor did 
they pay either the employees’ or the employers’ portion 
of payroll taxes – including Social Security, Medicare, 
and withheld federal income tax. The amount of payroll 
taxes due on wages of $22 million was $5.7 million. The 
scheme also facilitated the avoidance of the higher cost 
of obtaining adequate workers’ compensation insurance. 
Florida Man Sentenced for Tax Fraud
February 18, 2021, Douglas V. Oakes, of Lake County, 
Florida, was sentenced to 2½ years in prison for tax 
evasion. Oakes tried to evade and defeat the payment of 
federal income taxes that he owed for the tax years 2002 
through 2005. In August 2015, after the IRS initiated 
collection actions, Oakes submitted a signed statement to 
the IRS in which he made false representations. In fact, at 
that time, Oakes was working for Dealerindustry.com, LLC 
(“DI”) d/b/a Automotive Capital Corporation, a company 
in which he had a significant financial interest and from 
which he was earning approximately $400,000 per year. 
To conceal from the IRS his financial interest in DI, Oakes 
registered his daughters as DI’s managing members with 
the Florida Department of State, removed his name from 
DI’s website and bank account, and removed his profile 
from the website LinkedIn. In addition, Oakes submitted 
a sham rent agreement to the IRS regarding his lakefront 
home, and, when he purchased a new beachfront home, 
he did so in the name of a nominee. In July 2017, Oakes 
caused posthumous tax returns to be prepared for his 
deceased daughter, in which DI’s income from 2010 
through 2015 was falsely claimed to be entirely his 
deceased daughter’s income. In fact, between 2010 and 
2015, Oakes earned approximately $2.2 million in income 
from DI. The total tax loss to the United States in this 
case was $1,112,651.
Conspirators Sentenced in Connection with Consumer 
Fraud Schemes
(see page 24)
TAMPA FIELD OFFICE
9450 KOGER BLVD, ST. PETERSBURG FL, 33702 | (727) 318-6131 | TampaFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
FORT MYERS, FL
GAINESVILLE, FL
JACKSONVILLE, FL
MAITLAND, FL
PENSACOLA, FL
SARASOTA, FL
ST. PETERSBURG, FL
TALLAHASSEE, FL
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
45

THE WASHINGTON D.C. FIELD OFFICE is home to groups located in 
Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. Serving six judicial 
districts, the field office is comprised of a dedicated group of professional staff 
and CI special agents who work a wide array of significant investigations. The 
diverse geographical location allows the field office the opportunity to work 
the entire spectrum of financial investigations, including legal source tax cases, 
public corruption, corporate fraud, narcotics, and health care fraud, among many 
others. The field office also includes the Global Illicit Financial Crimes Group, the 
Cybercrimes Unit, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau Group, and the 
International Tax and Financial Crimes Group. The field office enjoys outstanding 
relationships with the U.S. Attorney’s Offices it serves, as well as other law 
enforcement agencies throughout the region.
Cryptocurrency Fraudster Sentenced for Money 
Laundering and Securities Fraud in Multi-Million 
Dollar Investment Scheme
July 8, 2021, Roger Nils-Jonas Karlsson was sentenced 
to 15 years in prison for securities fraud, wire fraud, and 
money laundering. Karlsson was ordered to forfeit a Thai 
resort and various other properties and accounts, and 
he was issued a money judgment exceeding $16 million. 
Additionally, the United States is seeking restitution on 
behalf of Karlsson’s victims. Karlsson ran an investment 
fraud scheme from 2011 until his arrest in Thailand in 
June 2019. Karlsson induced victims to purchase shares 
in the scheme called “Eastern Metal Securities” using 
cryptocurrency, such as bitcoin and other online payment 
platforms. Karlsson promised victims astronomical 
returns tied to the price of gold. Instead, the funds 
provided by victims were transferred to Karlsson’s 
personal bank accounts and then used to purchase 
expensive homes, a racehorse, and a resort in Thailand.
Former Maryland Tax Preparer Sentenced for Tax 
Fraud Conspiracy
June 4, 2021, Anita Fortune, of Alexandria, Virginia, was 
sentenced to 2½ years in prison and was ordered to pay 
$189,748 in restitution. Fortune, who was ineligible to 
e-file tax returns to the IRS due to a 2007 wire fraud 
conviction, continued to prepare and file returns using 
IRS e-filing credentials belonging to co-conspirators. 
The co-conspirators allowed Fortune to use their e-filing 
credentials in exchange for fees and office space. Fortune 
and her co-conspirators falsified tax returns for their 
clients, which artificially lowered the taxes the clients 
owed to the IRS and inflated their refunds.
Business Owner Sentenced for Evading Taxes on 
Millions in Secret Offshore Bank Accounts
May 14, 2021, Dusko Bruer, of Palm Beach County, 
Florida, was sentenced to 2 years in prison and was 
ordered to pay more than $2.7 million in restitution 
to the United States. Bruer was convicted of failing to 
report his foreign financial accounts from 2006 through 
2015 and willfully evading the assessment of millions 
in taxes from 2007 through 2014. From 2003 through 
2009, Bruer owned and operated a company that bought 
U.S.-made agricultural machinery and parts and sold 
them throughout the world. Despite success, Bruer’s 
company did not file employment or corporate tax 
returns, nor did the company pay employment or income 
taxes. Furthermore, from 2003 forward, the company 
never paid Bruer a salary. Instead, Bruer directed millions 
of dollars from the company’s bank accounts to pay his 
personal expenses, to make foreign investments, and to 
transfer funds to family members. From 2006 through at 
least 2015, Bruer owned and controlled bank accounts 
held at financial institutions in Croatia, Germany, Serbia, 
and Switzerland, which he did not report. Bruer used 
these accounts to conceal his income. In total, between 
2007 and 2014, Bruer did not report more than $7.7 
million in income, nor did he pay the $2.7 million in taxes 
due. He used his unreported offshore accounts to fund 
his lifestyle, including the purchase of foreign property, a 
$1.3 million yacht, and $1.6 million home in Lake Worth, 
Florida.
West Virginia Woman Sentenced for Embezzling 
Nearly $350,000
February 2, 2021, Cindy Shearer, of Wheeling, West 
Virginia, was sentenced to nearly 2 years in prison 
for embezzling nearly $350,000 from her previous 
employers. From April 2013 until the end of 2019, 
Shearer was employed as the office manager by Cane 
Business Forms & Systems and later reorganized as 
Precision Printed Products, a printing company in 
Triadelphia, West Virginia. Shearer wrote checks totaling 
$276,892 from Cane Business Forms & Systems and 
$67,672 from Precision Printed Products to herself, but 
she listed the checks as paid to a legitimate vendor in 
the companies’ books and records. She then cashed or 
deposited the checks into her own bank account. Shearer 
failed to report the embezzled money on her personal 
taxes, defrauding the IRS of approximately $54,509. 
Shearer was ordered to pay restitution to both business 
owners and restitution to the IRS that totals $399,074.
Virginia Woman Sentenced in $499,000 
Unemployment Fraud Scheme 
June 11, 2021, Leelynn Danielle Chytka, of Russell 
County, Virginia, was sentenced to 9 years in prison 
and was ordered to pay $455,930 in restitution. Chytka 
led a conspiracy to commit fraud against the United 
States in connection with a scheme involving the filing of 
fraudulent claims for pandemic-related unemployment 
benefits. Chytka and others conspired to collect personal 
identification information of more than 35 co-con-
spirators, including 15 inmates in the custody of the 
Virginia Department of Corrections, and to file fraudulent 
claims. Over the course of nine months, Chytka filed 
fraudulent claims for at least 37 individuals, with a total 
loss to the United States of at least $499,000.
Pennsylvania Biofuel Company and Owners 
Sentenced on Environmental and Tax Crime 
Convictions Arising out of Renewable Fuels Fraud
(see page 25)
WASHINGTON D.C. 
FIELD OFFICE
1200 FIRST ST. NE, WASHINGTON DC, 20002 | WashingtonDCFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
BALTIMORE, MD
BRIDGEPORT, WV
CHARLESTON, WV
FREDERICK, MD
HAMPTON, VA
LANDOVER, MD
NORFOLK, VA
PARKERSBURG, WV
RICHMOND, VA
ROANOKE, VA 
ROCKVILLE, MD
SALISBURY, MD
VIENNA, VA
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
46

APPENDIX
 FY 2021 Combined Results
2021
2020
2019
Investigations 
Initiated
2581
2596
2485
Prosecution 
Recommendations
1982
1859
1893
Informations/
Indictments
1856
1512
1800
Sentenced
1268
1226
1726
Incarceration Rate
78%
80%
79%
Average Months to 
Serve
43
44
43
Abusive Return Preparer Program
2021
2020
2019
Investigations 
Initiated
145
140
163
Prosecution 
Recommendations
90
145
203
Informations/
Indictments
110
128
138
Sentenced
111
112
154
Incarceration Rate
77%
80%
78%
Average Months to 
Serve
16
21
24
Abusive Tax Schemes
2021
2020
2019
Investigations 
Initiated
65
109
69
Prosecution 
Recommendations
38
45
45
Informations/
Indictments
41
26
25
Sentenced
23
26
34
Incarceration Rate
48%
85%
71%
Average Months to 
Serve
13
32
31
Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) 
2021
2020
2019
Investigations 
Initiated
473
489
424
Prosecution 
Recommendations
389
345
285
Informations/
Indictments
346
253
268
Sentenced
248
226
287
Incarceration Rate
76%
75%
76%
Average Months to 
Serve
41
34
34
Corporate Fraud
2021
2020
2019
Investigations 
Initiated
40
55
57
Prosecution 
Recommendations
22
48
32
Informations/
Indictments
27
38
32
Sentenced
31
21
57
Incarceration Rate
84%
76%
72%
Average Months to 
Serve
32
23
25
Employment Tax
2021
2020
2019
Investigations 
Initiated
215
298
250
Prosecution 
Recommendations
170
151
104
Informations/
Indictments
111
67
73
Sentenced
67
52
50
Incarceration Rate
81%
83%
84%
Average Months to 
Serve
22
18
23
Financial Institution Fraud
2021
2020
2019
Investigations 
Initiated
61
50
37
Prosecution 
Recommendations
50
33
26
Informations/
Indictments
49
22
24
Sentenced
21
21
33
Incarceration Rate
71%
86%
79%
Average Months to 
Serve
43
44
35
Healthcare Fraud
2021
2020
2019
Investigations 
Initiated
61
69
67
Prosecution 
Recommendations
55
63
71
Informations/
Indictments
57
63
70
Sentenced
52
46
48
Incarceration Rate
79%
89%
83%
Average Months to 
Serve
42
58
54
Appendix
This appendix includes investigation data appearing in the annual report 
as well as extended information regarding incarceration rates.
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
47

Money Laundering
2021
2020
2019
Investigations 
Initiated
1050
838
856
Prosecution 
Recommendations
934
745
780
Informations/
Indictments
800
650
706
Sentenced
383
379
508
Incarceration Rate
84%
83%
87%
Average Months  
to Serve
75
66
74
Narcotics
2021
2020
2019
Investigations 
Initiated
661
587
636
Prosecution 
Recommendations
646
513
558
Informations/
Indictments
578
463
511
Sentenced
322
336
472
Incarceration Rate
82%
82%
85%
Average Months  
to Serve
84
78
79
Identity Theft
2021
2020
2019
Investigations 
Initiated
145
124
93
Prosecution 
Recommendations
111
100
137
Informations/
Indictments
146
106
177
Sentenced
112
108
226
Incarceration Rate
82%
82%
81%
Average Months  
to Serve
34
37
39
International Operations
2021
2020
2019
Investigations 
Initiated
172
242
214
Prosecution 
Recommendations
181
213
185
Informations/
Indictments
180
180
190
Sentenced
111
138
149
Incarceration Rate
79%
77%
85%
Average Months  
to Serve
46
47
57
Non-Filer
2021
2020
2019
Investigations 
Initiated
243
279
271
Prosecution 
Recommendations
137
146
128
Informations/
Indictments
128
96
114
Sentenced
88
80
111
Incarceration Rate
80%
83%
78%
Average Months  
to Serve
35
36
26
Public Corruption
2021
2020
2019
Investigations 
Initiated
51
73
73
Prosecution 
Recommendations
38
63
58
Informations/
Indictments
52
51
67
Sentenced
27
40
59
Incarceration Rate
78%
68%
81%
Average Months  
to Serve
24
21
36
Questionable Refund Program
2021
2020
2019
Investigations 
Initiated
69
70
65
Prosecution 
Recommendations
49
81
94
Informations/
Indictments
56
75
151
Sentenced
95
107
204
Incarceration Rate
80%
80%
76%
Average Months  
to Serve
27
30
31
Terrorism
2021
2020
2019
Investigations 
Initiated
26
41
30
Prosecution 
Recommendations
9
41
18
Informations/
Indictments
13
22
20
Sentenced
10
15
14
Incarceration Rate
70%
53%
86%
Average Months  
to Serve
7
51
52
Appendix
This appendix includes investigation data appearing in the annual report 
as well as extended information regarding incarceration rates.
IRS:CI Annual Report 2021
48
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