IRS Criminal Investigation Annual Report — Fiscal Year 2022

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ANNUAL REPORT  
20
22 

TABLE OF CONTENTS  
Click on a section to go to that page. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
03 Message from the Chief
04 2022 Snapshot
05 Tax Crimes
06 Non-Tax Crimes
07 Cybercrimes
08 Sanctions Related Investigations
09 Narcotics and National Security
10 Specialized Units
11 Commissioner’s Protection Detail
12 International Operations
 13 Undercover Operations
14 Digital Forensics
15 Center for Science and Design
16 Advanced Analytics & Innovation
17 National Criminal Investigation 
Training Academy
18 Asset Recovery and  
Investigative Services
 20 Professional Staff and  
Workforce Development
21 Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
 22 Outreach and Community Engagement
19 Office of Communication
 23 Field Office Map
 24 Atlanta
 25 Boston
 26 Charlotte
 27 Chicago
 28 Cincinnati
 29 Dallas
 30 Denver
 31 Detroit
 32 Houston
 33 Los Angeles
 34 Miami
 35 Newark
 36 New York
 37 Oakland
 38 Philadelphia
 39 Phoenix
 40 Seattle
 41 St. Louis
 42 Tampa
 43 Washington D.C.
 44 Appendix 
Navigation Menu 
Table of Contents 
2022 Snapshot Data 
Field Office Map 
Appendix: Investigation Data 
IRS:CI Annual Report 2022 
02 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
MESSAGE FROM THE CHIEF  
IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) accomplished a list of successes in 
fiscal year (FY) 2022, which rivals any year that I can remember in my 
nearly 30 years with the agency. CI remains the sixth largest federal 
law enforcement agency, and we are the only federal law enforcement 
agency that spends 100% of its time on financial investigations. In 
FY 2022, we investigated some of the largest and most sophisticated 
tax crimes, and we identified more than $31 billion in tax fraud and 
other financial crimes. Our bread and butter remains tax, as no other 
agency has the authority to investigate criminal violations of the 
Internal Revenue Code. 
While navigating our way through the backend of a global pandemic, 
we seized record amounts of data and cryptocurrency, led some of the 
largest tax cases on record and spearheaded first-of-its-kind national 
and international initiatives aimed at developing and strengthening 
partnerships in the public and private sectors. 
Our work has a global impact. CI is a key player in international cyber 
investigations and sanctions-related enforcement efforts, including 
through Task Force KleptoCapture, which targets Russian oligarchs 
and other would-be sanctions evaders. Through our increasing use 
of social media, we reached millions of taxpayers around the world, 
educating them about the important role we play in the stability of 
the financial system by investigating tax and other financial crimes. 
Perhaps the statistic I continue to be most proud of is our conviction 
rate, which again tops 90%. We are thorough and good at what we 
do. As I tell crowds around the country, if a CI special agent has you 
in their crosshairs, there is a good chance you are going to jail. 
In FY 2022, CI operated with the agency’s guiding principles in mind. 
Our agents honor the badge every day by working with urgency, 
integrity, and professionalism, even when confronted with misguided 
media reports fueled by those who just do not know who we are or what 
we do. Our work protects the American public from cyber criminals, 
Ponzi schemes, and bad actors posing as legitimate tax preparers. 
There are real victims to the crimes we investigate, and we keep those 
victims in mind as we bring criminals to justice. 
We preserve CI’s legacy as the world’s finest financial investigators – 
not by calling ourselves the best, but by writing our own chapter each 
year in the storied history books of this great agency. This past year, 
we took down the world’s largest darknet marketplace and separately 
led the single largest financial seizure in the history of our government. 
We remain masters of our craft, and we continually provide trainings 
to foreign law enforcement agencies around the world. In FY 2022, 
we conducted in-person trainings in locations ranging from Germany 
to Palau, which covered financial investigative techniques and cyber 
topics like cryptocurrency. By sharing our expertise with countries 
across the globe and strengthening these partnerships, we made the 
world a smaller place for criminals to operate. 
We continue to inspire the future through recruiting and educational 
and outreach programs. We conducted dozens of CI Citizen Academies 
around the country to portray what it is like to be a special agent in 
our organization. 
It is easy to look back on a year like 2022 and be happy with our 
success, but we are already laying the groundwork to do more in 2023. 
I could not be prouder of our agency, and I look forward to continued 
success in the future. 
–Jim Lee, Chief 
03 

 
 
 
2022 SNAPSHOT 
DIRECT INVESTIGATIVE TIME SPENT 
STAFFING 
 
INVESTIGATION SOURCES 
CI’s staffing levels are by fiscal year and reflect an actual count of employees   
based on the Employee Master Database as of PP19.  
IRS:CI Annual Report 2022 
04 
1837 
REFERRED FOR PROSECUTION 
1210 
WARRANTS EXECUTED 
$5.7B 
TAX FRAUD IDENTIFIED 
90.6% 
CONVICTION RATE 
2.97 
PETABYTES OF DIGITAL DATA 
1564 
CONVICTIONS 
$26.9B 
OTHER IDENTIFIED 
FINANCIAL CRIMES 

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 our country’s 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 underreport or omit income from 
their tax returns will be held accountable for their actions.  
CI looks at high-income taxpayers who have a filing  
requirement, but deliberately choose not to file returns and  
pay taxes owed, and targets criminals who use two sets of 
financial records, make false entries in books and records,  
claim personal expenses as business expenses, claim false 
deductions or credits against taxes owed, and hide or transfer 
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 
cases to a successful conclusion. 
REFUND FRAUD PROGRAM 
The Refund Fraud Program consists of three parts:  
Questionable Refund Program (QRP), Stolen Identity Refund  
Fraud (SIRF) investigations, and the 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 
taxpayers 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 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 Social Security number 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, RPP investigations involve corrupt return preparers 
who orchestrate the preparation and filing of false income tax 
returns for taxpayers. 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 investigates promoters and clients, who willfully violate tax laws by 
participating in domestic and offshore tax schemes. The schemes 
are usually complex and involve multiple layers of transactions to 
conceal 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 that a trustee, nominee, 
non-resident alien, or other foreign entity is the owner of the 
assets and income, when in fact, a U.S. taxpayer maintains true 
ownership and control. 
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. 
IRS: Criminal Investigation (CI) is the criminal investigative arm of the IRS. As such, investigating 
tax crimes continues to be a primary focus for the agency. CI works closely on tax-related 
investigations with a host of federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, as well as 
foreign tax and law enforcement agencies, and Prosecution of these cases supports overall 
IRS compliance goals and enhances voluntary compliance with U.S. tax laws. 
TAX CRIMES
Click the links below to read Case Highlights: 
789
PROSECUTIONS RECOMMENDED
1388
INVESTIGATIONS INITIATED
699
SENTENCED
05 
Philadelphia 
Field Office
Tampa 
Field Office

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. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network 
(FinCEN) is tasked with administering the BSA, but FinCEN does not 
have criminal enforcement authority. The U.S. Treasury Secretary 
delegated all criminal enforcement of the BSA to 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. Through the analysis of BSA data, 
CI has identified significant, complex money laundering 
schemes and other financial crimes. 
CI’s BSA program has grown substantially since its start 
in early 2000. CI now uses various data analytics tools 
to actively analyze BSA data and identify leads for 
possible investigation. 
CI-led SAR Review Teams (SAR RTs) and Financial 
Crimes Task Forces (FCTFs) exist in all 94 judicial 
districts across the country, and CI currently has 
upwards of 200 special agents and investi-
gative analysts working on SAR RTs and FCTFs. 
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, and more. 
MONEY LAUNDERING 
Money laundering occurs when criminals or criminal organi-
zations try to disguise the illicit nature of their money by 
introducing it into the stream of legitimate commerce and 
finance. In today’s global economy, criminals can use a 
computer, tablet, or smart phone to quickly move large  
amounts of criminally derived funds into or through the  
United States and foreign financial institutions. Criminals  
launder money through a wide variety of enterprises like banks, 
money transmitters, stock brokerage houses, casinos, and 
virtual currency exchanges. The flow of illegal funds around the 
world is estimated to be in the hundreds of billions of dollars. 
CI special agents are experts at uncovering money trails through 
traditional and virtual financial banking systems. They take part 
in a variety of investigations, as well as financial and narcotics 
task forces like Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force 
(OCDETF) and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA). 
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 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 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. 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. 
CI also uses its financial expertise to investigate a multitude of non-tax-related crimes that range 
from public corruption to fraud. Special agents focus on complex 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 or Black-Market 
Pesos, or the international movement of funds. 
NON-TAX CRIMES 
Click the links below to read 
Case Highlights: 
699
SENTENCED
1388
INVESTIGATIONS INITIATED
789
PROSECUTIONS RECOMMENDED
792  
SENTENCED 
1048  
PROSECUTIONS RECOMMENDED 
1170  
INVESTIGATIONS INITIATED 
06 
792  
SENTENCED 
1048  
PROSECUTIONS RECOMMENDED 
1170  
INVESTIGATIONS INITIATED 
 
  
Oakland 
Field Office
Miami 
Field Office

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CYBERCRIMES 
Recognizing that many aspects of our lives are increasingly 
dependent on technology and the internet, CI continues to 
focus investigative efforts on holding accountable those who 
exploit technology for nefarious purposes. Digital assets 
provide opportunities for responsible financial innovation, 
expanding access to safe and affordable financial services, and 
reducing the cost of domestic and cross-border funds transfers 
and payments, including the continued modernization of public 
payments systems. Despite the many promising opportunities 
digital assets present, CI must mitigate the illicit finance and 
national security risks posed by the misuse of digital assets. 
Digital assets pose a significant risk of facilitating money 
laundering, cybercrime and ransomware, narcotics and human 
trafficking, terrorism, and proliferation financing. Digital assets 
may also be used as a mechanism to circumvent U.S. tax law 
and financial sanctions. 
In FY 2022, the CI cybercrimes program began to reap 
the benefits of a strategic realignment to mitigate many 
of these risks. The Office of Cyber and Forensic Services (CFS) 
was created in FY 2021 to bring together our digital asset 
investigation, cybercrime investigation, digital forensics, and 
physical forensics support efforts under the same roof. Among 
its priorities, CFS supports criminal investigations agency-wide 
regarding the illicit uses of digital assets and how they can be 
used to exploit the U.S. tax and financial system. 
Specifically, CFS supports the Eastern (Washington D.C.) 
and Western (Los Angeles) based Cyber Crimes Units (CCUs) 
CI’s flagship digital asset investigations units. The units are 
charged with investigating the highest impact cases of theft, 
fraud, facilitation, and tax crimes, where digital assets are 
used to facilitate a crime or are proceeds of a crime. From a 
 
traditional but massive scale pyramid scheme made possible 
by leveraging the speed and reach of the internet to the 
most cutting-edge and complex exploitation of decentralized 
finance protocols, the CCUs are always ready to lead or assist 
high-impact investigations with domestic and foreign partners. 
In FY 2023, CI will establish the Advanced Collaboration and 
Data Center (ACDC) to modernize its investigative practices. 
The ACDC will provide centralized access to data and resources 
to effectively support CI’s mission of deterring tax and financial 
crime. The concept is a support-focused, task force model 
approach, which combines skillsets of subject matter experts, 
cybercrime special agents, computer scientists, and analysts 
to tackle the most prolific and sophisticated crimes. The ACDC 
will also facilitate collaboration with law enforcement and 
partners in the government and private sector to ensure CI field 
offices have the necessary resources to pursue highly technical 
and digital payment-facilitated crimes. 
The ACDC will enhance CI and our partners’ abilities to 
access, investigate, and analyze information and evidence in 
challenging areas such as: 
► Dark web (research, monitoring, investigating illicit    
actors/marketplaces)  
► Cryptocurrency (tracing, monitoring, tax basis calculating) 
► Social media and other open-source intelligence 
As new and innovative digital technologies are developed, 
the CFS continues to evolve to meet the challenges of those 
attempting to exploit them for personal gain. In FY 2022, 
CI special agents were instrumental in bringing charges related 
to two individuals who developed a “rug pull” scheme to 
defraud Non-fungible Token (NFT) investors. The two subjects 
allegedly generated approximately $1.5 million in crypto­
currency from the sale of an NFT, then abruptly abandoned the 
project and retained the investors’ funds. It is also alleged that 
the subjects were preparing to launch another NFT investment 
opportunity and execute a similar scheme. 
The CFS’s investigative efforts and law enforcement actions 
helped mitigate risks presented by digital assets and held 
bad actors accountable for many years. The CFS is constantly 
taking additional steps to evolve, especially as threats evolve 
in areas such as decentralized finance, peer-to-peer payments, 
and anonymity-enhanced cryptocurrencies. Due to relatively 
limited resources, the CFS focuses on cases where they can 
have the most significant impact. 
CASE HIGHLIGHTS 
Founders of Crypto ICO Sentenced to Combined
8 Years in Prison 
In March 2022, Bitqyck founders Bruce Bise and Samuel 
Mendez were sentenced to federal prison for defrauding 
more than 13,000 investors through a cryptocurrency-related 
scheme raising approximately $24 million. Instead of fulfilling 
their promises to their investors, Bise and Mendez used the 
funds on personal expenses, including casino trips, cars, 
luxury home furnishings, art, and rent. In 2016, the pair 
promoted the company’s cryptocurrency, Bitqy, as a way for 
“those individuals who missed out on bitcoin” to get rich. 
In an effort to legitimize its operation, the company charac­
terized the cryptocurrency as an “earned gift” that rewarded 
consumers for certain internet purchases. The Bitqyck website 
also promised each Bitqy token was worth 1/10th of Bitqyck 
common stock; however, the only shares of common stock 
Bitqyck issued were to Bize and Mendez. Nine months after 
launching Bitqyck, Bise and Mendez began marketing another 
token claiming the token allowed investors to join “bitcoin 
mining operations” that never existed. 
Both defendants pleaded guilty to underreporting their 
income to the IRS and failing to file corporate tax returns, 
which resulted in a tax loss totaling more than $1.6 million. 
The defendants also agreed to pay an $8.3 million penalty 
related to a civil settlement with the U.S. Securities and 
Exchange Commission. 
Joint Federal Investigation Leads to Shutdown of 
Largest Online Darknet Marketplace 
In April 2022, a joint federal investigation led to the seizure 
of the world’s largest and longest running darknet market. 
Hydra accounted for an estimated 80 percent of all darknet 
market-related cryptocurrency transactions. Since 2015, 
Hydra received approximately $5.2 billion in cryptocurrency. 
Hydra was an online criminal marketplace that enabled users 
in mainly Russian-speaking countries to buy and sell illicit 
goods and services, including illegal drugs, stolen financial 
information, and fraudulent identification documents. Hydra 
users could search for vendors selling identification documen­
tation, such as U.S. passports or driver’s licenses, and filter 
or sort by the item’s price. Vendors of false identification 
documents also offered to customize the documents based on 
photographs or other information provided by the buyers. 
Transactions on Hydra were conducted using cryptocurrency, 
and Hydra’s operators charged a commission for every 
transaction on their platform. In addition to the shutdown of 
Hydra, the Justice Department filed criminal charges against 
Dmitry Olegovich Pavlov, a resident of Russia, for conspiracy 
to distribute narcotics and conspiracy to commit money 
laundering in connection with Hydra. As an administrator, 
Pavlov allegedly conspired to further the site’s success 
by providing the infrastructure to operate in the Dark 
web environment. 
Largest Single Financial Seizure 
In Government History 
In February 8, 2022, the Department of Justice announced the 
arrest of Ilya Lichtenstein and his wife, Heather Morgan, for an 
alleged conspiracy to launder cryptocurrency that was stolen 
during the 2016 hack of Bitfinex, a virtual currency exchange. 
Approximately 119,754 bitcoin (BTC) was stolen from the 
exchange and was valued at approximately $4.5 billion at the 
time of the arrest. The CI Cyber Crime Unit, with the assistance 
of other U.S. authorities traced the stolen funds on the BTC 
blockchain to various destinations, including accounts at the 
darknet market AlphaBay, seven interconnected accounts 
at U.S.-based virtual currency exchanges, various unhosted 
BTC wallets, accounts owned by the defendants at six virtual 
currency exchanges, and to an unhosted BTC wallet containing 
a majority of the stolen bitcoin. Law enforcement was able to 
access the wallet by decrypting a file saved to Lichtenstein’s 
cloud storage account (obtained pursuant to a search warrant) 
that contained a list of 2,000 virtual currency addresses, along 
with corresponding private keys. CI special agents lawfully 
seized and recovered more than 94,000 stolen bitcoin, valued 
at over $3.6 billion at the time of seizure, which was the largest 
of its kind. 
A cybercrime special agent uses specialized  
crypto tracing tools and software. 
IRS:CI Annual Report 2022 
07 

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
SANCTIONS-RELATED INVESTIGATIONS 
CI collaborated with the U.S. law enforcement community 
to track down Russian financial criminals through a 
multi-agency task force, Task Force KleptoCapture. On 
March 2, 2022, the task force was established to locate 
sanctioned Russians and their assets and to bring them to 
justice. Between March and May, CI identified and tracked 
19 sanctions-related individuals, targets, and entities. 
This number grew to nearly 50 by September 2022. 
CI works with the Treasury Office of Foreign Asset Control 
and the Financial Crime Enforcement Network to identify, 
develop, and add new individuals and entities to the 
Special Designated Nationals list as part of the Treasury 
Department’s Russian Elites, Proxies, and Oligarchs Task 
Force efforts. 
Much of the international success of CI special agents 
stems from a robust and aggressive international program 
that includes 11 foreign posts and memberships in 
multiple international taskforces. CI special agents are 
assigned within the Drug Enforcement Administration 
Special Operations Division, International Organized Crime 
Intelligence and Operations Center, the Organized Crime 
Drug Enforcement Task Force’s (OCDETF) Fusion Center, and 
the Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement taskforce. 
CI also spearheads the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax 
Enforcement (J5), an alliance between the criminal tax 
authorities of Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, the 
United States, and the United Kingdom. J5 efforts focus on 
combatting international tax and financial crimes through 
proactive collaboration using each country’s collective 
resources. The J5 is working to identify potential sanctions-
evaders or sanctioned assets, and to develop a global 
strategy to deter Russia’s aggression. 
In addition to the Russian sanctions, CI remains committed 
to stopping international organized crime syndicates, as well 
as other foreign nationals violating U.S. sanctions. 
CI prioritized training and the deployment of cryptocurrency, 
blockchain, and open-source intelligence technologies to 
unravel complex cyber-financial criminal schemes. When 
a foreign corrupt government official receives bribes, they 
often use a third-party to move or launder those illegal 
proceeds to buy properties, cryptocurrencies, and many 
other assets. If any of the funds move into or through U.S. 
financial system, CI can trace the money. 
Recent examples of CI’s global efforts involving sanctions 
enforcement and other international crimes include: 
Alleged Leader of Eastern European Organized 
Crime Syndicate Extradited 
On September 9, 2022, Viktor Zelinger, the alleged leader 
of an Eastern European organized crime syndicate that 
operated in the Brighton Beach, Sheepshead Bay, and 
Coney Island neighborhoods of Brooklyn was extradited 
from Switzerland on a nine-count superseding indictment. 
Zelinger was linked to high-level Russian mafia members 
known as “Thieves in Law” or “Thieves.” Zelinger is 
charged with racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, 
arson, arson conspiracy, illegal gambling, illegal gambling 
conspiracy, extortionate collection of credit, and two counts 
of extortionate collection of credit conspiracy. Zelinger is a 
naturalized U.S. citizen with dual Ukrainian citizenship. 
CI investigated this case as part of an OCDETF Strike 
Force Initiative. 
Alleged Russian $4 Billion Cryptocurrency 
Money Launderer Extradited 
On August 4, 2022, Alexander Vinnik, a Russian citizen and 
an alleged operator of the illicit cryptocurrency exchange 
BTC-e, was extradited from Greece to face charges in the 
Northern District of California. Vinnik was charged in a 
21-count superseding indictment in January 2017, based 
on evidence obtained in a joint investigation between CI 
and other federal law enforcement. Vinnik was taken into 
custody in Greece at the request of the United States. 
According to the indictment, Vinnik and his co-conspirators 
allegedly owned, operated, and administrated BTC-e, a 
significant cybercrime and online money laundering entity 
that allowed its users to trade in bitcoin with high levels 
of anonymity. They developed a customer base heavily 
reliant on criminal activity. The exchange is alleged to have 
laundered more than $4 billion of criminal proceeds. 
Special Agents Train German, Swiss Officials 
on Human Trafficking Investigative Techniques 
On July 28, 2022, CI special agents teamed up with 
other agencies in Frankfurt, Germany, to train German 
law enforcement counterparts on the latest investigative 
techniques to combat human trafficking. U.S. Mission 
Germany hosted approximately 20 prosecutors and law 
enforcement officials from the State Criminal Police Offices 
of Berlin, Saxony, and Hesse; the German Federal Police; 
the German Federal Criminal Police, and the Financial 
Intelligence Unit. Traffickers continue to exploit domestic 
and foreign victims in Germany, and global crises place 
already vulnerable persons at increased risk. Of note, 
Ukrainian refugees, predominantly women and children, 
fleeing Russia’s war on Ukraine have become vulnerable 
to trafficking. 
Special agents train German and Swiss officials on human 
trafficking investigative techniques. 
Special agents in Frankfurt, Germany. 
IRS:CI Annual Report 2022 
08 

  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
  
  
  
  
  
 
  
  
 
NARCOTICS AND NATIONAL SECURITY 
CI contributes to the success of U.S. national security 
programs by investigating the finances of transnational 
criminal organizations involved in narcotics trafficking, 
human trafficking, terrorism financing, economic espionage, 
and money laundering. CI special agents are known for their 
expertise in following the money trail, and they use this 
expertise to investigate criminal violations of the Internal 
Revenue Code, Bank Secrecy Act, federal money laundering 
statutes, and the International Emergency Economic Powers 
Act. They trace financial transactions between individuals, 
businesses, and criminal organizations to identify sophisticated 
schemes designed to disguise illegal transactions. 
The Narcotics and National Security Section (N2S2) 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. 
CI focuses heavily on narcotics and financial investigations 
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 
transnational criminal organizations. 
Beginning in FY 2021, N2S2 established the Cyber-OCDETF 
initiative. This pilot program was created to work with field 
offices, contractors, and law enforcement partners on 
cyber-related narcotics investigations. During FY 2022, 
N2S2 finalized the initiative and expanded the investigative 
resources available to all field offices. This resulted in better 
use of available resources, and correspondingly, a greater 
number of cyber-related narcotics investigations. N2S2 
continues partnering with the FBI-led Joint Criminal Opioid 
and Darknet Enforcement (JCODE) task force, where the 
CI liaison officer aids in deconfliction, coordination, and 
development of investigations. 
CI continues its successful counterintelligence program 
by serving as an integral member of the National 
Counterintelligence Task Force (NCITF). The NCITF aims 
to protect the U.S. government research through education 
and awareness. The threat of foreign government infiltration 
and diversion or theft of sensitive and critical infrastructure 
materials remains extremely high. All threats against U.S. 
interests and critical infrastructure have a real cost to our 
nation, and, in almost all cases, involve financial crimes. 
During FY 2022, CI increased investigative resources at the 
NCITF, resulting in public indictments and prosecutions. 
Criminal tax charges and Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts 
(FBAR) violations for underreported or unreported income have 
been critical tools in the effort to address egregious violators. 
 Global Operations Director with N2S2 special agents.  
Case Example 
In December 2021, Charles Lieber, the former chair of Harvard 
University’s Chemistry and Chemical Biology Department, 
was convicted by a federal jury for lying to federal authorities 
about his affiliation with People’s Republic of China’s Thousand 
Talents Program and the Wuhan University of Technology (WUT) 
in Wuhan, China. He also failed to report income he received 
from WUT. 
China’s Thousand Talents Plan is one of the most prominent 
Chinese talent recruitment plans designed to attract, recruit, 
and cultivate high-level scientific talent in furtherance of 
China’s scientific development, economic prosperity, and 
national security. Unbeknownst to his employer, Harvard 
University, Lieber became a “Strategic Scientist” at WUT and, 
later, a contractual participant in China’s Thousand Talents 
Plan from 2012 through 2015. 
Under the terms of Lieber’s Thousand Talents contract, 
WUT paid Lieber a salary of up to $50,000 per month and 
living expenses of up to $150,000 and awarded him more 
than $1.5 million to establish a research lab at WUT. Lieber 
lied to federal authorities about his involvement in the 
Thousand Talents Plan and his affiliation with WUT. 
Furthermore, Lieber failed to report the income earned 
from the Thousand Talents contract and failed to file FBARs 
for the foreign accounts used to receive his payments. 
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) 
IRS:CI Annual Report 2022 
09 

 
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
SPECIALIZED UNITS 
INTERNATIONAL TAX AND 
FINANCIAL CRIMES 
The International Tax and Financial Crimes group (ITFC) was 
created in late 2017 and is the nation’s foremost investigative 
authority on offshore tax evasion. Since its inception, the 
ITFC increased compliance and reduced the tax gap through 
several well-publicized programs and investigations, including 
the Swiss Bank Program and the UBS, Credit Suisse, and 
HSBC investigations. 
As a specialty group within the Washington, D.C. Field Office, 
the ITFC is made up of special agents from across the United 
States who are experts in international tax investigations and 
use their skills to identify and pursue international evasion 
schemes. Internally, ITFC works with CI’s investigative analysts, 
foreign-based attachés, personnel from Special Investigative 
Techniques and International Operations, while creating a 
network of resources that assist in identifying leads, analyzing 
data, and performing investigative tasks. 
The ITFC leverages strategic partnerships with external 
agencies, including the U.S. Attorney’s offices throughout the 
country, the Department of Justice Tax Division, and other law 
enforcement agencies. 
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 Netherlands) 
to further CI’s international mission to combat offshore tax 
evasion. The ITFC identifies and investigates enablers, financial 
institutions, third-party asset managers, promotors, referral 
agents, and expatriated U.S. citizens who use international 
jurisdictions for tax fraud. The group also ensures compliance 
with the Bank Secrecy Act by identifying and investigating U.S. 
taxpayers who fail to report their foreign accounts. 
SIGNIFICANT CASE 
Founder of Russian Bank Sentenced for Felony Tax
Conviction Arising from Scheme to Evade Exit Tax 
while Renouncing his U.S. Citizenship 
Oleg Tinkov, the founder of a Russian Bank, was sentenced 
October 2021 for tax fraud after he renounced his U.S. 
citizenship to avoid paying his share of taxes. Tinkov also paid 
more than half a billion dollars in the largest personal tax 
judgment known. Tinkov was a naturalized U.S. citizen when 
he founded Tinkoff Credit Services (TCS) in late 2005 or 2006. 
TCS is a Russian-based branchless bank that provides its 
customers with online financial and banking services. Through a 
foreign entity, Tinkov indirectly held the majority of TCS shares. 
In October 2013, TCS held an initial public offering (IPO) on 
the London Stock Exchange and became a multi-billion dollar, 
publicly traded company. As part of going public, Tinkov sold a 
small portion of his majority shareholder stake for more than 
$192 million, and his assets following the IPO had a fair market 
value of more than $1.1 billion. Three days after the successful 
IPO, Tinkov went to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia to 
relinquish his U.S. citizenship. As part of his expatriation, 
Tinkov was required to file a U.S. Initial and Annual Expatriation 
Statement. The form requires anyone with a net worth of 
$2 million or more to report the constructive sale of their assets 
worldwide to the IRS as if those assets were sold on the day 
before expatriation. Tinkov filled out the expatriation form 
himself falsely reporting that his net worth was only $300,000, 
and he filed a 2013 tax return that falsely reported his income as 
only $205,317. In addition, Tinkov did not report any of the gain 
from the constructive sale of his property worth more than 
$1.1 billion, nor did he pay the applicable taxes as required by 
law. In total, Tinkov caused a tax loss of $248,525,339, which he 
paid in full, along with substantial penalties and interest, as part 
of his plea. Together with tax liabilities for other years, Tinkov 
paid $508,936,184, which is the largest individual payment 
tracked by the IRS. 
GLOBAL ILLICIT FINANCIAL TEAM 
Global Illicit Financial Team (GIFT) is a national task force 
led by CI with the focus of investigating organizations illicitly 
moving money, which is used to support international crime 
organizations. As a major conduit of CI’s money laundering 
strategy and a focal point for the CI Money Laundering Cadre, 
GIFT’s talented special agents are hand-picked from field offices 
for their extensive experiences in investigating complex cases 
and for their abilities to lead multi-agency teams. Under the 
leadership of a supervisory special agent in the Washington, D.C. 
Field Office, GIFT brings a powerhouse of international money 
laundering expertise to partnerships with other federal law 
enforcement agencies. 
GIFT investigations are inherently complex and are cases 
that will make the most impact on international third-party 
money laundering. The cases 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, terror financing, and sanctions violations.  
With previous large-scale sanctions case experience involving financial institutions,  
GIFT became a key partner in the Department of Justice KleptoCapture Task Force.  
Since its inception in 2010, GIFT investigations resulted in seizures  
and forfeitures of $5.2 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,” CI continues its 
partnership with the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) to 
combat illicit alcohol, tobacco, and ammunition 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. The 
act realigned ATF to the Department of Justice but called for their 
tax collection functions to remain with the Department of the 
Treasury, thereby creating TTB. In 2009, TTB entered into an 
inter-agency agreement with CI to provide special agents to 
enforce TTB’s criminal provisions. 
Moonshine, counterfeit cigarettes, and export only goods 
diverted back into U.S. commerce are all in a day’s work 
for this group whose sole focus is combating illicit trade 
of tobacco, ammunition, and alcohol. TTB’s special 
agents are strategically dispersed across the country. 
The group is supervised by a supervisory special 
agent, who reports to the Special Agent in Charge 
of the Washington D.C. Field Office. 
10 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
COMMISSIONER’S PROTECTION DETAIL 
The Commissioner’s Protection Detail (CPD) is a specially trained 
cadre of CI special agents, who provide personal security and 
protection to the IRS Commissioner. Since 1999, this dedicated 
team is charged with protecting the Commissioner during 
official business operations. CPD provides protection of the 
Commissioner within the National Capital Region and while in 
travel status, foreign and domestic. 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 two to 
three international visits. 
CPD special 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. 
Commissioner Charles Rettig escorted by CPD. 
The Commissioner’s Protection Detail provides a secure 
escort into the Pentagon. 
Commissioner Charles Rettig and CPD boarding a plane. 
IRS:CI Annual Report 2022 
11 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
ACHÉ 
ACHÉ (J5) 
ATT
ATT
INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS  
CI has 12 attaché posts strategically stationed in 11 foreign 
countries, including Mexico, Canada, Colombia, Panama, 
Barbados, China, Germany, the Netherlands, England, 
Australia, and the United Arab Emirates. Attachés work 
with foreign governments to build partnerships, train law 
enforcement counterparts, and investigate financial crimes. 
These partnerships give 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, foreign witnesses, 
foreign evidence, or execution of sensitive investigative 
activities in collaboration with our international partners. 
Attachés also help 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. 
Training is a key part of CI’s presence abroad and helps 
provide the foreign governments in developing nations with 
necessary tools to combat financial crimes. Training foreign 
counterparts also serves as a way to build strong relationships 
abroad, which results in successful international investigations. 
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, Global 
For more information and stay updated on J5. 
Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement 
J5 Website 
Operations conducts training at the International Academy for 
Tax Crime Investigation at the Guardia di Finanza Economic 
and Financial Police School in Ostia, Italy. In some cases, host 
nations fund the training, but the majority of the time, funding 
is sponsored by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and 
Development and the U.S. Department of State. 
Attachés also partner with CI’s International Training Team 
(ITT) to deliver trainings to representatives from multiple 
countries across the globe. After delivering mostly virtual 
trainings in FY 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the team 
was back in action in FY 2022, delivering 20 in-person trainings 
in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, South America, Central 
America, and the Indo-Pacific. In addition to the in-person 
events, the team also delivered 10 trainings virtually. These 
trainings generated more than 900 international contacts 
to leverage support for investigations, and they serve as 
a powerful means to amplify the reach of CI attachés and 
promote the IRS mission. 
CI developed public-private partnerships with 
domestic and international organizations in 
the financial compliance industry, financial 
institutions, and the Fintech industry to facilitate 
cooperation, deterrence, identification, and 
enforcement of international tax evasion and 
related financial crimes. 
SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS 
Mexico City locates 70 fugitives 
During FY 2022, CI’s Mexico City post located 79 fugitives 
wanted for financial crimes in the United States. For example, 
in January 2022, Thomas Johnson was located in Belize and 
extradited to the United States to face court proceedings for 
aiding in the preparation and filing of false tax returns. Johnson 
prepared and filed false tax returns on behalf of his clients, and 
they, in turn, split the large refunds they were not entitled to 
with Johnson. 
Frankfurt Helps Take Down Dark 
Web Marketplace 
CI’s Frankfurt post coordinated with the Bundeskriminalamt 
(BKA) and CI’s Cyber Crimes Unit special agents to seize 
Hydra Market (Hydra), the world’s largest and longest running 
darknet marketplace. In April 2022, the attaché helped obtain 
a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty with German authorities to 
obtain information on internet protocol (IP) addresses linked 
to the marketplace. This resulted in a supplemental request 
for assistance to gather information about two additional 
IP addresses, and the attaché also ensured that U.S. law 
enforcement received a copy of the imaged Hydra server 
once the site was seized. The information CI obtained 
helped build the criminal case against the main defendant 
in this investigation. 
Global Operations Establishes International
Liasion and Strategy Unit 
Global Operations also established the International Liaison 
and Strategy Unit in FY 2022 to ensure a strategic approach to 
training and international initiatives. 
IRS:CI Annual Report 2022 
12 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
UNDERCOVER OPERATIONS 
CI has a long history of using undercover techniques to 
investigate crimes. 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 2022, 
agents conducted approximately 401 undercover operations. 
SIGINIFICANT CASES 
12 Individuals Sentenced for Tax Fraud, 
Other Crimes 
In May 2022, 12 individuals were sentenced in South 
Carolina for employment tax fraud and other crimes related 
to hiring unauthorized aliens at seven construction-related 
companies. The construction companies used unlicensed 
check cashers to facilitate under-the-table payments to 
employees, many of whom were unauthorized aliens. The 
check cashers also provided certificates of insurance falsely 
stating that the employees were covered under workers’ 
compensation insurance. The defendants cashed at least 
$15 million in checks resulting in millions of dollars in losses 
to the U.S. government. During the investigation, multiple 
CI undercover agents posed as individuals that provided 
unlicensed check cashing services for a fee. The defendants 
provided the undercover agents with contractor business 
checks, and in return, the agents gave the defendants cash, 
minus a transaction fee. Various undercover agents embedded 
themselves in the Myrtle Beach area and recorded multiple 
transactions with the defendants. 
Pizza Restaurant Owners Plead Guilty to Evading 
Payroll Taxes 
In June and July 2022, Ernesto and Giuseppe Cannuscio, 
brothers and owners of Mario’s Pizza in Ocean City, New 
Jersey, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to evade more than 
$200,000 in payroll, personal, and corporate income tax. 
They face up to 5 years in prison and/or a fine up to 
$250,000 for their crimes. 
From 2013 to 2018, the Cannuscio brothers failed to deposit 
cash receipts into the business bank accounts and paid 
employees cash wages off the books to avoid payroll taxes. 
They then failed to tell their accountant about the undeposited 
cash receipts they did not deposit into their bank account, 
which resulted in the underreporting of gross receipts on their 
tax returns. In addition, they failed to tell the accountant about 
the cash payroll, which resulted in the Cannuscio brothers 
evading employment taxes. 
 
During the investigation, CI undercover agents posed as 
potential buyers interested in purchasing Mario’s Pizza. During 
the undercover operation, the agents determined that the 
Cannuscio brothers kept a second set of books and were 
significantly underreporting sales. The books also showed that 
the unreported cash was being split between the brothers. The 
information obtained during the operation resulted in search 
warrants at Mario’s Pizza and both of the brothers’ residences. 
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 operations. 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 investigations of 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. 
401 
Undercover Operations 
IRS:CI Annual Report 2022 
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DIGITAL FORENSICS 
Digital Forensics is a function of CI’s Cyber and Forensic 
Services section and is the premier digital forensics unit in 
federal law enforcement. The Digital Forensics mission is to 
support special agents in the collection and analysis of digital 
evidence. Since computer, mobile, and digital devices are 
found on nearly every enforcement action, the reliance on 
Digital Forensics personnel to secure and analyze digital 
data has grown. During the last year, CI Special Agent-
Computer Investigative Specialists (CISs) assisted with over 
619 operations, seized 2.97 petabytes of data, and imaged 
3,901 computers and other devices. CISs and Forensic 
Specialists are certified in forensic examinations and the use of 
top-level forensic software, thus establishing proficiency. They 
provide valuable testimony in criminal proceedings and are the 
voice of the digital evidence. 
With the increased use of digital currency in illegal transactions, 
the need for seizing digital currencies in investigations has also 
increased, and Digital Forensics has risen to the challenge. 
During FY 2022 Digital Forensic lab and field staff took 
possession of approximately $4 billion of digital currency 
pursuant to seizure orders. 
Today’s sophisticated schemes to defraud the American 
taxpayers demand the analytical ability of financial investigators 
to decipher complex financial records. Records of transactions 
have moved from paper ledgers to computers to off-site, online 
storage. As a result, CI is developing tools and techniques to 
follow and find those transactions, wherever they may lead. 
Digital Forensics possesses the expertise in computer and 
network forensics to forensically seize digital evidence, using 
specialized equipment and techniques to preserve digital 
evidence and to recover relevant evidence, including data that 
may have been encrypted, password protected, or hidden by 
other electronic means. 
Digital Forensics is beginning the transition to a regional lab 
model with 18 sites selected as major hubs for forensic work. 
The lab layout will provide a large workspace, storage rooms, 
a manager’s office, and a conference room, all with the latest 
technology to provide a superior work experience. The first 
regional lab opened in the Boston area this year, and the 
opening of several more of these regional labs is anticipated 
in the coming year. 
Digital Forensics current staffing includes seven groups of CISs 
who sit in labs located throughout the country. Digital Forensics 
also maintains an 11,000-square foot lab and training center in 
Northern Virginia. The lab 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 advanced training 
needed to keep the CISs highly skilled and current on technology 
and processes. 
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. 
SIGNIFICANT CASES 
Florida Man Convicted for Wire, Mail Fraud 
In May 2022, Michael DaCorta of Sarasota, Florida was 
convicted at trial for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and 
mail fraud, money laundering, and filing a false income tax 
return. DaCorta faces a penalty of 33 years in prison. DaCorta 
worked as the CEO of multiple domestic and international 
businesses, where he enticed investors into a foreign exchange 
trading opportunity and then used the proceeds to fund his 
lavish personal lifestyle. CI and the FBI worked jointly on the 
investigation. In April 2019, the FBI executed federal search 
warrants at five locations and seized 42 TB of data from 
39 images of phones and computers. When preparing for trial, 
CI did not receive any digital evidence from the seized data. 
Two months before trial, a CIS was assigned to search for 
email and files documenting the subject’s extravagant lifestyle. 
In approximately one month, the CIS processed 11 images, 
consisting of approximately 8 TB of data and triaged the 
files into a manageable dataset for the case agent. The most 
incriminating files were then used by the prosecution team 
during the multi-week trial. 
Digital Forensics Key to Lawyer’s Guilty Plea 
In June 2022, Mykhaylo Chugay was convicted of conspiracy 
to harbor non-resident aliens and induce them to remain in 
the country, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and 
conspiracy to defraud the IRS. Chugay operated labor-staffing 
companies in southern Florida between 2007 and 2021. 
Chugay hired illegal employees to provide workforce to the 
hospitality industry in the Florida Keys. Chugay did not withhold 
employment taxes, did not issue Forms W-2 to the employees, 
and did not file quarterly employment tax returns. CI and 
HSI worked jointly in the investigation. Digital Forensics 
participated in a search warrant and a consent search, and a 
CIS was assigned to review the QuickBooks files obtained from 
the searches. The CIS used software to crack the passcode for 
the files, and the files were ultimately presented at trial to prove 
the existence of the employment tax violations. A retired CIS 
testified about the records at trial. 
Woman Sentenced for PPP Fraud 
In December 2021, Jericca Rosado was sentenced for her 
scheme to fraudulently obtain Paycheck Protection Program 
(PPP) Small Business Association loans in exchange for a 
kickback payment from the PPP loan proceeds. A search 
warrant for a cell phone was conducted during the investi­
gation. The CIS coordinated the cell phone/computer 
extraction with the prosecution team, which consisted of 
Assistant United States Attorneys in the Southern District of 
Florida, trial attorneys at the Department of Justice, and the 
special agents. The CIS also worked directly with Rosado to 
obtain Telegram, Whatsapp, and Gmail extracts to assist the 
prosecution team in identifying an additional target related 
to the scheme. The CIS was praised by the prosecution team 
for his involvement in the case. 
Attorney Plead Guilty to Obstruction and Wire
Fraud 
In June 2022, Michael Avenatti pleaded guilty to wire fraud 
and endeavoring to obstruct the administration of the 
Internal Revenue Code. During the investigation, multiple 
CISs worked with the investigative team to image digital 
devices and extract data from cell phones provided by 
witnesses. The CISs also assisted with the execution of 
search warrants at two residences, a law firm, and a data 
center that housed the servers for Avenatti’s law firm. 
Multiple digital devices were imaged, including computers, 
servers, and mobile phones. A CIS assisted DOJ’s Cyber Lab 
to process the forensic images and to load them to Relativity 
E-Discovery software for special agents and attorneys to 
conduct a privilege review of the digital evidence. The CIS 
then rebuilt Avenatti’s law firm’s server network in a virtual 
environment to access the specialized database software 
containing the client data. The CIS used the program TABS, 
which is a software specialized to attorneys’ offices. 
Avenatti’s case originally went to trial in July 2021. The 
CIS testified for the prosecution and was later called to 
testify for the defense. During and after the trial, the CIS 
assisted with locating additional digital evidence to address 
discovery concerns raised by Avenatti. The trial was 
declared a mistrial, and the case was scheduled for a new 
trial in July 2022. Avenatti claimed that files on his computer 
would prove his innocence. The CIS obtained a copy of a 
special billing software to be able to review Avenatti’s billing 
records. After teaching himself how to use the program, 
the CIS accessed Avenatti’s records in a meeting with the 
prosecution and defense attorneys. The CIS showed the 
defense team that Avenatti’s defense would not hold up at 
trial. Avenatti subsequently entered a guilty plea before the 
new trial date. 
A CIS special agent 
prepares to pull a hard 
drive for imaging. 
A CIS special agent 
prepares to image  
a server. 
A CIS special agent prepares to document steps 
included in imaging. 
CIS special agents adapt and use what is available 
as a work space. 
IRS:CI Annual Report 2022 
14 
Key Figures from FY2022
Map of Digital Forensics 
Regional Lab Locations

 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND DESIGN 
Since the early 1970s, scientists and technical experts at the 
Center for Science and Design (CSD), formerly known as the 
National Forensic Laboratory, have reported the results of 
forensic testing and technical services to investigators exploring 
potential criminal violations and for adjudication of the Internal 
Revenue Code and related financial crimes. Results of the 
CSD’s work are used by CI special agents or other customers 
of the laboratory to analyze elements to provide pivotal 
direction in their investigations. The CSD’s work remains 
essential to ensuring the efficient processing of crucial evidence 
in CI investigations. Often support provided by the CSD does 
not end with the delivery of a scientific report or product. This 
important work continues with support in judicial proceedings 
when required. 
The CSD consists of three sections, each offering specific 
scientific or technical services. The Trial and Design Services 
(TDS) section simplifies complicated cases into succinct, 
effective visuals that help show, rather than tell, all the 
elements of extremely complex investigations. Although the 
services are primarily for special agents preparing for trial, TDS 
also creates high-level presentations, investigation summaries, 
 
and other special projects, such as CI branding and marketing 
outreach. In 2022, TDS assisted in the creation and launch of 
the new CI logo. 
The Scientific Services section offers forensic disciplines that 
include latent prints (finger and palm print development and 
comparison), questioned documents, ink chemistry, and DNA 
collection. Due to advances in technology, the CSD has also 
offered services for DNA. This section can collect samples 
from evidence to be used in identifying subjects related to 
the investigation. The CSD has a working relationship with 
the FBI’s DNA Unit to assist the lab in extracting a profile 
from the samples. 
Meanwhile, the newly formed Multimedia and Deception 
Detection section provides services such as electronic (audio, 
video, and image enhancement), polygraph examination, 
and soon-to-be established facial recognition. The Facial 
Recognition Unit is in development and when established will 
be able to assist special agents with facial images collected 
from ATMs, pole-cams, and undercover operations. 
When the experts at the CSD are not working on evidence, they 
are providing tours and virtual presentations to special agents 
and various CI stakeholders at their building in downtown 
Chicago. One of the most effective ways to educate others 
about the CSD’s capabilities is by demonstrating their state-of­
the-art equipment and sharing stories. Thanks to the talented 
men and women of the CSD and their dedication to science 
and their technical services, as well as the mission of 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 CSD than 
seeing the cases get fully adjudicated. However, it is equally 
important to help investigators know when to consider closing 
a case. Regardless of the outcome, the CSD scientists and 
technical experts continue to strive in their role as servants of 
the criminal justice system. 
65 
Scientific Services 
191 
Trial & Design Services 
37 
Multimedia &  
Deception Detection 
A scientist identifies similarities and identification markers on various fingerprints. 
IRS:CI Annual Report 2022 
15 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ADVANCED ANALYTICS & INNOVATION 
Our newest HQ Division, Advanced Analytics & Innovation 
(AAI), is moving CI into the future of case selection through 
the utilization of data analytics, creation of investigative 
data management and governance, and solving employee 
challenges through innovative solutions. AAI, through strategic 
partnerships with internal IRS business units, such as Large 
Business & International, Small Business/Self Employed, 
Research Applied Analytics & Statistics, and the Office of Fraud 
Enforcement, is streamlining processes and implementing 
automation to protect revenue. AAI collaborates with a diverse 
group of internal and external professionals, including experts 
in academia, government, and industry to improve functions 
and processes. 
AAI’s dedicated team is united in the goal of “One IRS” and 
is comprised of special agents and professional staff with 
dynamic skills, including data scientists, mathematicians, 
program analysts, investigative analysts, systems experts, 
and leaders in process change management. AAI  is comprised 
of six sections: Applied Analytics (AA), Data Management 
and Governance (DMG), Innovation, National Coordinated 
Investigations Unit (NCIU), Refund Fraud and Investigative 
Support (RFIS), and Systems and Operational Support (SOS). 
AAI identifies egregious promoters of criminal activity, 
including refund fraud, identity theft, and other abusive 
schemes, and isolates significant cases of federal tax evasion, 
including employment tax, COVID fraud, and international and 
domestic tax evasion. During FY 2022, RFIS provided field 
office support in the Questionable Refund Program (QRP), the 
Return Preparer Program (RPP), and the Identity Theft (IDT) 
Program. RFIS also supported other national programs, such 
as the Court Witness Program, Controls and Unpostables 
Program, and Electronic Filing (ELF) Suitability Program. 
AAI also digitizes records through the Data Processing Center 
and supports CI investigations utilizing data analytics. To 
improve efficiencies and ensure impartiality, AAI’s talented 
staff leverages technology and develops algorithms to filter 
large data sets. Using analytics increases CI’s ability to identify 
fraud and dedicate resources to the most impactful investi­
gations that result in criminal prosecution. 
AAI has experts who analyze business statistics to support 
data-driven decisions made by CI leaders. The experts 
validate data to ensure integrity and proper system 
functionality. AAI partners with Return Integrity and 
Compliance Services to improve IRS filters that detect and stop 
refund and identity theft early in the filing process. AAI further 
supports the tax enforcement effort by sharing knowledge of 
increased data analytic capabilities through training sessions 
and collaboration across CI. 
AAI is guiding CI into the future of investigative data 
management and governance which will ensure tax information 
is both usable and safeguarded. This is essential to reduce the 
tax gap as criminals continue to evolve in sophistication, and 
the criminals’ use of social media allows for rapid advertising of 
fraud schemes and criminal collaboration. 
CI assures the American public that criminals are held 
accountable, citizens are paying their fair share of taxes, and 
resources are dedicated to the most impactful criminal investi­
gations. This serves the public interest and deters would-be 
criminals. AAI strives to make CI the most innovative law 
enforcement agency in the world while fulfilling our mission to 
foster compliance and confidence in the tax system. 
 A special agent presents the organizational structure and function of Advanced Analytics and Innovation.  
2022 AAI HIGHLIGHTS 
► In FY 2022, the Data Processing 
Center processed approximately 
2,101,762 documents despite 
challenges related to COVID. 
► AAI’s Innovation section supported 
at least 105 support requests for 
efficiency challenges in FY 2022. 
For example, in one case, the use 
of automation reduced an expected 
6-month process to 2 weeks. 
► In FY 2022, NCIU made  
172 investigative referrals to  
CI field offices. 
► In FY 2022, RFIS supported  
525 QRP and 862 RPP schemes, 
with 254 of the schemes having  
an IDT element. 
► RFIS also provided support to  
138 trials, placed 96,744 controls, 
addressed 33,471 unpostables 
on individual and business tax 
modules, and received and 
researched 3,913 Electronic Filing 
Identification Number applications 
to assist IRS in determining the 
suitability of an individual into  
the program. 
IRS:CI Annual Report 2022 
16 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NATIONAL CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION TRAINING ACADEMY 
CI special agents are sworn federal law enforcement 
officers throughout all 50 states and U.S. territories, 
including special agent attachés located in 11 countries. 
Special agents begin their training at the National Criminal 
Investigation Training Academy (NCITA), which is located 
at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in 
Brunswick, Georgia. 
New special agents first attend and complete FLETC’s 
Criminal Investigator Training Program (CITP), which 
provides, on an interagency basis, a program of instruction 
that fulfills all the basic criminal investigative training 
requirements necessary for responsible and competent 
job performance. Rather than being agency-specific, the 
program addresses common knowledge, skills, and 
abilities that are expected of all investigators. In today’s 
changing world, criminal investigators are faced with a 
variety of situations that, in addition to traditional law 
enforcement skills, require an awareness of and expertise 
in human behavior, modern technology, cultural sensitivity, 
law, and other interdisciplinary approaches to effective 
law enforcement. 
Special Agent Investigative Techniques (SAIT) is CI specific 
training, which begins immediately after students graduate 
from CITP. During SAIT, the students work together to 
investigate three cases and to complete investigative 
steps just as they would in the field. These steps include 
interviewing, gathering evidence, writing of interviews and 
reports, applying various methods of proof, and making 
recommendations for prosecution. 
NCITA also plays a vital role in assisting and providing 
advanced training to special agents in areas such as use of 
force, firearms instruction, defensive tactics, and building 
entry. NCITA assists in developing continuing professional 
education courses for special agents and professional 
staff, which focus on emerging trends and issues within 
the law enforcement environment. A comprehensive and 
progressive formal training program is essential to effective 
performance as a criminal investigator and provides 
assurance that new practitioners are fully equipped to 
meet the rigorous demands of the environment in which 
they will operate. 
NCITA is committed to continual improvement of new agent 
training through modernization and building a student 
curriculum that is updated on a real time basis. CI continues 
to revamp its case study videos, to automate its case activity 
documents, and to create tax lessons that assure new 
special agents will meet and exceed all the complex and 
challenging tasks of contemporary law enforcement. 
Commissioner Charles Rettig was the keynote speaker at 
the graduation for SABT 2204 on April 25, 2022. Commis­
sioner Rettig had the opportunity to tour FLETC Glynco’s 
facilities, including the driving range, Danis City, the Physical 
Techniques Division, and the firearms training facilities. 
During his visit, Commissioner Rettig addressed the CI 
special agents currently in training and attended a social 
with the students after the training day concluded. 
A day in class 
Firearms training 
Matroom 
17 
NCITA Training Cycle

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ASSET RECOVERY AND INVESTIGATIVE SERVICES 
Asset Recovery and Investigative Services uses forfeiture 
authority as an investigative tool to disrupt and dismantle 
criminal enterprises. The program deprives criminals of 
property used in, or acquired through, illegal activities. Seized 
assets are routed 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 and are also used to reimburse law enforcement 
agencies for expenses like enhanced training, equipment, 
and costs associated with 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, 2022, CI seized assets valued at approximately 
$7.1 billion and forfeited approximately $1.1 billion in 
ill-gotten proceeds. In addition, approximately $32.5 million 
were refunded as part of CI’s asset recovery efforts. 
$7.1B 
Seized Assets
$1.1B 
Ill-Gotten Proceeds 
Forfeited 
$32.5M 
Refunded 
SIGNIFICANT FORFEITURES 
► Three San Diego money managers – Richard M. Owen, 
Jeffrey Morrow and James Warren – laundered money from 
a number of illicit sources, including a Mexican cartel, and 
fraudulently documented the activity as gold transactions 
through their business, Global Gold Exchange LLC. Owen, 
Morrow, and Warren admitted that the company operated 
as an informal money transmitter that facilitated money 
transfers both domestically and internationally and outside 
conventional financial institutions. They directed their 
clients to lie to law enforcement and tax officials and asked 
their clients to mail packages filled with heavy substances 
to mirror the weight of gold. The trio agreed to forfeit 
approximately $2 million in assets, including currency 
and financial accounts, as well as various gold bars, 
nuggets, and coins they acquired by laundering money 
and conducting unlicensed money transmitting services 
through Global Gold Exchange LLC. 
► The March 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic  
Security (CARES) Act was designed to provide emergency  
financial assistance to businesses suffering as a result of  
the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, fraudsters like  
Don Cisternino tried to capitalize on CARES Act funds for  
personal gain. In May 2020, Cisternino obtained a  
$7.2 million loan for a non-existent movie production  
company he claimed had 441 employees and a payroll of  
more than $2.8 million. Instead, he used approximately  
$3.5 million to purchase a luxury home with seven  
bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, a four-car garage, a theater  
room, a resort-style pool and spa, tennis courts, and a  
horse barn. The home was located on more than  
12 acres of land. In FY 2022, the lavish residence  
was civilly forfeited and sold for $4 million.  
 Seizure and forfeitures figures are based on values 
at date of asset seizure. 
► The Black Market Bolivar Exchange (BMBE), with its genesis 
in Venezuela, is a money laundering system that parallels 
the Black Market Peso Exchange (BMPE). Operation 
Seaducks exposed a BMBE in southern Florida and 
throughout the United States, whereby many Venezuelan 
nationals with ties to the Venezuelan government and 
drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) were able to access 
an unlimited supply of U.S. dollars (USD) at favorable, 
albeit grossly inflated, currency exchange rates. One of the 
primary “clients” of these currency speculators benefiting 
from the BMBE were DTOs based in Colombia, Venezuela, 
and elsewhere. 
Mohannad Ilbih Ilbih, who had numerous companies 
registered with CADIVI, the Venezuelan government entity 
delegated with the administration of the country’s legal 
currency exchange, was a leader in a south Florida 
DTO. Ilbih Ilbih directed co-conspirators’ to use nominee 
accounts and entities to arrange multiple cash 
pick-ups throughout the U.S. and to send approximately 
$6 million in wire transfers of illegal, narcotics-derived cash 
proceeds throughout the world. Significant proceeds from 
Ilbih Ilbih money laundering fraud scheme were utilized 
to purchase two homes, one in Davie, Florida and one in 
Sunrise, Florida. Both homes were forfeited and sold for 
$2,365,000 and $500,500, respectively. 
18 

  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
OFFICE OF COMMUNICATION 
The Office of Communication is charged with building 
awareness about CI and the work the agency does. The 
office uses a variety of tools to communicate to both internal 
and external audiences and oversees the agency’s participation 
in outreach events. The office strives to weave deterrence 
messaging into its products and events, signaling to criminals 
that they will be held accountable for their actions. Doing so 
builds confidence in our nation’s tax system and helps foster 
compliance with the Internal Revenue Code and related 
financial laws. 
In FY 2022, the Office of Communication continued growing its 
social media accounts on Twitter and LinkedIn, nearly tripling 
its number of followers from the previous fiscal year. More than 
16,000 accounts follow CI on social media, resulting in more 
than one million views per quarter. Hot topics from FY 2022 
included special agent hiring, cryptocurrency, and national 
security. Additionally, CI also manages the LinkedIn account 
for the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement (J5) who work 
together to combat global financial crimes. 
In FY 2023, the agency plans to add additional social media 
accounts for field offices. This will enable field offices to 
highlight significant cases and communicate key information 
directly to the communities they serve. 
The Office of Communication houses two legislative liaisons 
who serve as conduits for communicating information to 
and from Capitol Hill. These special agents assist with 
hearing preparation for senior-level officials and provide 
Congressional briefings. Congressional liaisons provide 
data and trend information on criminal investigations 
and formulate official responses to requests from 
House and Senate members and their staff, as well 
as oversight committees. 
The office has implemented a powerful communi­
cations strategy that includes outreach to the 
public, federal and legislative communities, 
the financial sector, IRS employees, and CI’s 
global partners. Education and awareness 
serve as foundations to many organizations, 
and the Office of Communication’s efforts 
serve as a central part of CI. 
19 
Follow us for more information and to stay updated on IRS: Criminal Investigation. 
@IRS_CI 
IRS Criminal Investigation 
Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement  
IRS:CI  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
  
  
PROFESSIONAL STAFF AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT 
During FY 2022, CI continued its commitment to the growing 
numbers of its professional staff with the creation and instal­
lation of Professional Staff Advocates (PSAs). Located within 
Strategy and part of its Workforce Development arm, the PSAs 
were hired to bring advocacy and voice to all professional staff 
across CI. This effort was integral to promote unity, opportunity, 
and cohesiveness to the professional staff during the ongoing 
COVID-19 pandemic. 
CI currently employs a robust workforce that works alongside 
the special agents. With more than 900 professional staff 
employees, nearly one-third of CI’s workforce exists to provide 
support, guidance, and aid in accomplishing CI’s mission of 
deterrence and compliance. Generally, these roles fall into three 
separate categories: investigative, administrative, and technical 
staff. Professional Staff are on the front lines of case work and 
behind the scenes of every CI activity. 
These dedicated employees continued to provide excellent 
case, administrative, and technical support in uncertain times 
and less than ideal situations. CI employed innovative remote 
hiring techniques, which involved bringing people onboard 
in a completely virtual environment. The newly hired profes­
sional staff did not have the opportunity for immediate face 
to face training. CI addressed the remote training obstacle by 
successfully developing virtual and peer-led training initiatives. 
The PSAs and the professional staff community have provided 
interactive on-line instruction related to specific investi­
gative, technical, and administrative job functions. Workforce 
Development (WD) seeks to develop employees over the 
long term to providing them with the skills necessary to meet 
the challenges of the future. WD continues to support skills 
development at all stages of an employee’s career lifecycle to 
enhance engagement and opportunity for special agents and 
professional staff. WD partners with HR and EDI to recruit and 
retain a talented and diverse workforce. During FY 2022, WD 
created and published a Retention Plan so that employees can 
easily access resources meant to keep them balanced, engaged, 
and satisfied in their careers. Career pathing helps employees 
consider future opportunities within the agency. CI furthered 
its commitments to its workforce by having professional staff 
participate in Frontline Leadership Training Programs and 
Frontline Leadership Readiness Programs. 
CI created, developed, and deployed innovative techniques 
to provide resources for professional staff to identify career 
opportunities and tools necessary to help them thrive as they 
advance in their careers. WD facilitates an ongoing series on 
leadership, management, and self-development. Hundreds 
of employees utilized Zoom sessions facilitated by experts 
in career and personal development. Leadership aims to 
keep these programs running well into the future as they are 
key to ensuring mental health, professional growth, and 
job satisfaction. Furthermore, these sessions foster an 
environment of inclusion and the sharing of best practices 
amongst all personnel. 
Major investments in professional staff have positively 
impacted CI’s ability to accomplish its law enforcement 
mission and will continue to do so for many years to come. 
Investigative Support 
Technical Support 
Administrative Support 
20 
938 
Professional Staff 
support Investigative, 
Administrative, and 
Technical roles 

 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EQUITY, DIVERSITY,AND INCLUSION OFFICE 
The mission of the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Office (EDI) is to identify, examine, and 
address the organization’s employment practices, policies, and procedures to ensure that all 
employees achieve equal opportunity. Equity is the main element that is needed to ensure that 
processes and programs are impartial, fair and provide equal possible outcomes for every 
individual. EDI’s goal is to create and sustain a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment 
that respects and accommodates every employees’ background including race/ethnicity, 
sexual orientation, gender identity, and other protected statuses that make us all unique. 
Achieving an inclusive environment creates an equitable workplace and promotes a positive 
employee experience. Therefore, in FY 2022, EDI reinstated EEO’s Special Emphasis 
Program that raised more awareness of national observances and other significant programs 
that encouraged broad awareness and engagement of underrepresented populations. 
Information sessions designed to address and promote diversity and work-life balance included 
Understanding Depression; LGBTQ Awareness for Managers; Coping with Unexpected Grief; 
Managing Stress. Multiple mental and physical health awareness sessions were conducted 
through EAP. 
This year, EDI facilitated the development of a new course, entitled Inclusive 
Leadership. The training was designed for the Senior Leadership Training 
Program participants and senior managers within field offices. The 
curriculum focuses on the areas of cultural competency, emotional 
intelligence, diversity, inclusion, and engagement throughout all 
management levels. EDI is collaborating with the newly formed 
Mental Health Awareness Program team. The goal is to increase 
awareness around mental health wellness and to provide options 
for support throughout the CI community. EDI also delivered 
multiple training and work-life sessions, covering topics such 
as managing workplace conflict, disability awareness and 
reasonable accommodation, emotional intelligence, prevention 
of harassment; mental health awareness,managing stress 
during the pandemic, and provided agency guidance 
pertaining to religious accommodation procedures for 
vaccination exemptions. 
21 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
OUTREACH AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT 
CI offices throughout the country participate in community 
events such as National Night Out and the Law Enforcement 
Torch Run for Special Olympics. National Night Out is 
an annual community-building event that promotes law 
enforcement-community partnerships and neighborhood 
camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer and more 
caring places to live. National Night Out also enhances 
the relationship between neighbors and law enforcement, 
while bringing back a true sense of community. The Law 
Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics is a campaign 
to benefit the Special Olympics. It began in 1981, in 
Wichita, Kansas, and is the largest grass-roots fundraising 
movement for the Special Olympics. Since inception, the 
Law Enforcement Torch Run has raised more than half a 
billion dollars and changed millions of attitudes by engaging 
law enforcement officers worldwide to be champions of 
acceptance and inclusion. 
Special agents from 
the Newark Field Office 
participated in an 
elementary school 2022 
career day. The agents 
shared their personal 
journeys, which led them 
on the path to choosing a career as a special agent with 
CI. The agents’ enthusiasm and passion for their careers 
encouraged the students to strive and thrive as future leaders 
of their community and inspired them to keep working on their 
education through the pandemic. 
Special agents from the 
Oakland Field Office 
spent their evening at San 
Francisco State Univer­
sity’s Meet the Firms 
hosted by Beta Alpha Psi 
(Beta Chi Chapter). It was 
an astonishing turnout and a refreshing experience to attend 
an in-person career fair again. Agents were able to engage in 
more personable conversations with students about CI and 
their own our career paths. 
Through the help 
of Native American 
Community Services 
of Erie and Niagara 
Counties, Inc. (NACS), 
special agents and 
support staff of the 
Buffalo, New York POD adopted and provided gifts for  
five deserving families in the Western New York  
community, in an effort to spread holiday cheer. The group 
participated in gift-wrapping festivities prior to attending  
their holiday luncheon. 
Special agents of the 
Miami Field Office 
engaged more than  
250 middle school 
students at a middle 
school in Davie, Florida. 
The focus of their  
presentation was on what it is like to be a special agent 
 in CI. The students were very engaged with the presentation 
and asked lots of questions. Perhaps around 2030, we will 
see some new special agents joining our ranks. The daughter 
of one of CI’s special agents attended the presentation and is 
pictured with her classmates. 
CI SPECIAL AGENTS DEPLOY TO ASSIST 
WITH DISASTER RECOVERY EFFORTS 
CI Special Agents not only investigate a multitude of financial crimes, but they also 
provide assistance to state and local agencies during or after catastrophic events. 
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) designated 14 Emergency 
Management Functions (EMFs) to assist in disaster recovery efforts which range 
from transportation to external affairs. CI helps maintain ESF #13 by providing 
public safety and security assistance. 
In July 2022, 15 CI special agents supporting ESF #13 deployed to Hazard, 
Kentucky, for 12 days to provide security for first responders, the operations 
base and the FEMA staffing center after catastrophic flooding there. 
The team worked 15+ hour days on protection details, ensuring the safe 
completion of recovery efforts. 
About 140 CI special agents, supervisory special agents and analysts 
have volunteered to support ESF #13. Whenever, there’s a federally 
declared disaster, EMF participants can volunteer to deploy for the 
mission. Previous deployments include: hurricane recovery efforts 
after hurricanes Dorian, Ira, and Florence; perimeter security and 
relocation of sick guests after a COVID-19 outbreak on a cruise 
ship; and security for search and rescue efforts following the 
Oregon wildfires. 

Click on a location to go to that Field Office section. 
FIELD OFFICE MAP 
WESTERN AREA 
NORTHERN AREA  
 
Guam 
SOUTHERN AREA 
IRS:CI Annual Report 2022 
23 
ST. LOUIS
NEWARK
NEW YORK
CHICAGO
BOSTON
PHILADELPHIA
CINCINNATI
DETROIT
DALLAS
HOUSTON
TAMPA
ATLANTA
CHARLOTTE
MIAMI
WASHINGTON DC
PHOENIX
OAKLAND
SEATTLE
LOS ANGELES
DENVER

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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ATLANTA 
401 W. Peachtree St. NW 
Atlanta, GA 30308 
(470) 639-2228 
AtlantaFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov 
ALABAMA 
Huntsville | Mobile | Montgomery | Birmingham 
GEORGIA 
Atlanta | Augusta | Columbus | Decatur 
Macon | Savannah 
LOUISIANA 
Baton Rouge | Lafayette 
New Orleans | Shreveport 
MISSISSIPPI 
Gulfport | Hattiesburg | Jackson | Oxford 
The ATLANTA FIELD OFFICE encompasses 
four states: Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and 
Alabama. The territory includes Atlanta and New 
Orleans, two of the most popular destinations in 
the southeast, which are known for their vibrant 
culture, outstanding cuisine, and world renowned 
chefs. The field office is also home to some of the 
best beaches along the Gulf Coast in Mississippi 
and Alabama. The Atlanta Field Office offers 
meaningful investigative work in many areas, such 
as corporate fraud, political corruption, OCEDTF, 
counterintelligence and terrorism funding, and 
QRP/RPP. The field office is continually building 
and strengthening its relationships with our law 
enforcement partners, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, 
and the public in an effort to identify, investigate, 
and refer quality cases for prosecution. 
Former City of Atlanta
Director of Human Services 
Sentenced to 14 Years in 
Prison for Bribery Scheme 
September 8, 2022—former City of Atlanta 
Director of Human Services, Mitzi Bickers, 
was sentenced to 14 years in prison and 
3 years of supervised release. Bickers was 
also ordered to pay restitution of nearly 
$3 million to the City of Atlanta. Bickers was 
previously found guilty of conspiracy to commit 
bribery, wire fraud, money laundering, and filing a 
false tax return. Bickers utilized the illegally obtain 
bribery funds to purchase a lake home, a GMC Acadia 
Denali, and jet skis, which Bickers ultimately forfeited 
to the government. 
 
 
Former Georgia Insurance Commissioner 
Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison for Tax Fraud 
October 13, 2021—Jim Beck, the former General Manager 
of the Georgia Underwriting Association, was sentenced to 
over 7 years in prison and 3 years of supervised release and 
was ordered to pay restitution of $2,619,000 and forfeiture of 
over $426,000, two pieces of real property, and a $2,064,781.85 
personal forfeiture money judgment. Beck was previously found 
guilty of four counts of tax fraud for filing false federal income tax 
returns for 2014 through 2018. Beck devised a scheme to steal 
more than $2.5 million from the state-created insurance company, 
Georgia Underwriting Association. Beck managed the company 
prior to taking office as the insurance commissioner. 
Former Muscogee County Deputy Clerk
of Court Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison 
for Historic Multi-Million Dollar Fraud Case 
June 2, 2022— Willie Demps, was sentenced to over 12 years 
in prison and 5 years of supervised release and was ordered 
to pay $1,323,045 in restitution to Muscogee County Clerk 
of Court’s and $359,604 in restitution to the IRS. Demps 
the former deputy clerk for Muscogee County Clerk’s Office, 
was the ringleader of a massive lengthy scheme to drain the 
Muscogee County Clerk of Courts’ coffers of millions of dollars. 
Willie Demps, worked for the Muscogee County clerk’s office 
for about 30 years, where he supervised monetary deposits 
received by the clerk’s office. While in this role, Demps wrote 
checks from the clerk’s office payable to various codefendants 
in the case. The codefendants would then cash the checks and 
return the money to Demps, who allegedly gave the participants 
in the scheme a portion of the money. 
Georgia Man Sentenced to More Than 
19 Years in Prison for Filing False Returns 
July 14, 2022—Marquet Mattox, was sentenced to over 19 years 
in prison and 3 years of supervised release. Mattox was also 
ordered to pay restitution of $3.2 million to the IRS. Mattox was 
previously convicted by a federal grand jury on August 18, 2022, 
of wire fraud, false claims, and theft of government funds. From 
2016 to 2018, Mattox filed more than 30 fraudulent federal 
income tax returns with the IRS in the names of 12 different 
trusts. On those returns, Mattox falsely reported that the trusts 
had withheld large amounts of taxes on purported interest 
income, thereby entitling the trust to refunds. In total, Mattox 
claimed approximately $165 million in refunds on behalf of 
the purported trusts. The IRS paid $5 million of the requested 
refunds. Mattox used those funds to purchase a new house, a 
luxury automobile, and other personal expenses. 
Computer Consultant Sentenced to More 
Than 6 Years in Prison for Access Device Fraud 
March 14, 2022— Kevin Kirton, was sentenced to over 6 ½ 
years in prison and 3 years of supervised release. Kirton was 
also ordered to pay restitution of $629,551 to the IRS. Kirton 
previously pleaded guilty to access device fraud and aggravated 
identity theft. Kevin Kirton created a computer program to 
file fraudulent federal income tax returns with the IRS. The 
computer program stored stolen identities and could be used to 
submit fraudulent tax returns in the names of stolen identities 
to the IRS, effectively automating stolen identity tax refund 
fraud. The computer program could be accessed remotely via 
the internet to prepare fraudulent tax returns. The resulting 
fraudulent tax refunds were deposited onto prepaid debit cards 
in the names of identity theft victims. To help conceal the fraud 
activity, Kirton developed techniques to hide Internet Protocol 
addresses so the IRS could not trace a fraudulent tax return 
back to one particular origination point. Kirton also set up a 
bootleg phone system that he believed would not be susceptible 
to wiretaps to communicate with other criminals. 
ER Doctor Sentenced to More Than 
Two Years in Prison for Tax Evasion 
June 7, 2022—Dr. Kevin L. Crandell was sentenced to almost 3 
years in prison and ordered to pay restitution to the IRS totaling 
$972,493, resulting from a conviction involving a scheme to 
evade the payment of his personal income taxes. Crandell 
was an emergency room doctor from Golden, Mississippi, 
who earned approximately $30,000 to $40,000 per month. 
He ceased paying personal income taxes in 2007. Crandell 
committed multiple affirmative acts of evasion, which included 
making false statements to an IRS revenue officer, creating 
a nominee entity that he utilized to collect and conceal his 
income from the IRS, and filing a false Collection Information 
Statement, Form 433-A, which omitted his receipt of income 
and ownership of significant assets. During the trial, the IRS 
special agent and revenue officer testified and introduced 
evidence to ensure that Crandell was held accountable for the 
full extent of his criminal conduct. 
IRS:CI Annual Report 2022 
24 
 
A special agent meets with students at an Alabama A&M career fair. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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BOSTON 
15 New Sudbury Street 
Boston, MA 02203 
(617) 316-2080 
BostonFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov 
CONNECTICUT 
Bridgeport | Hartford | New Haven | Norwalk 
MAINE 
South Portland 
MASSACHUSETTS 
Boston | Springfield | Woburn | Worcester 
NEW HAMPSHIRE 
Manchester | Portsmouth 
RHODE ISLAND 
Warwick 
VERMONT 
Burlington 
The BOSTON FIELD OFFICE covers the six New 
England states: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode 
Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine; each 
with their own judicial districts. New England is 
home to some of the greatest sports franchises, 
a long coastline of beautiful beaches, and several 
of the oldest and most renowned colleges and 
universities in the country. Boston Field Office’s 
relationship with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our 
law enforcement partners is one of the best in the 
country. Boston Field Office 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. 
Third Strike for Rhode Island 
Businessman Sentenced to Prison 
for Employment Tax Fraud Scheme 
April 28, 2022—Steven M. Allard, owner and operator of 
BR Steel Corporation in Burrillville, RI and Greystone Iron 
Corporation in Smithfield, RI, was sentenced to almost 3 
years in prison and 3 years of supervised release. He was 
also ordered to pay $625,186 in restitution to the IRS. Allard 
previously admitted in court that from at least 2017 through 
2018, he failed to turn over to the IRS more than $570,000 in 
federal employment taxes and FICA payments withheld from his 
employees. Instead, Allard used the money to pay for personal 
expenditures, including the purchase of more than $216,000 in 
“credits” to an online dating website, RussianBrides.com, and 
$93,000 in rent payments for a luxury home in Scituate. This 
case marks the third federal conviction and sentencing of Allard 
in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island. 
Australian Tech Entrepreneur Sentenced to 
More Than 8 Years in Prison for Defrauding 
Mobile Phone Users of More Than $40 Million 
June 28, 2022—Eugeni Tsvetnenko, of Australia, was sentenced 
to over 8 years in prison and was ordered to pay $15.4 million 
dollars in forfeiture, which he repaid. Tsvetnenko pleaded guilty 
for his role in a consumer fraud scheme to charge mobile phone 
customers millions of dollars in monthly fees for unsolicited, 
recurring text messages about such topics as horoscopes, 
celebrity gossip, and trivia facts, without the customers’ 
knowledge or consent, a practice referred to as “auto-sub­
scribing.” The consumers who received the unsolicited text 
messages typically ignored or deleted the messages, often 
believing them to be spam. Tsvetnenko and his co-conspirators
 distributed the proceeds of the fraud scheme among them­
selves, and others involved in the scheme by causing funds to 
be transferred through the bank accounts of a series of shell 
companies and companies held in the names of third parties. 
Vermont Business Owner Sentenced 
to Prison for Executing a Multi-Step Plan 
to Evade Employment Taxes 
August 1, 2022—Blakely H. Jenkins, Sr., was sentenced to one 
year and one day in prison for evading taxes and committing 
identity theft while running his St. Johnsbury-based painting 
business, Blake Jenkins Painting, Inc. In total, Jenkins’ company 
failed to report over $1.3 million in employee wages, resulting 
in over $340,000 in unpaid federal taxes. Jenkins evaded 
employment taxes from the middle of 2015 to the middle of 
2020 by paying his employees “off the books” wages, either 
in cash or in checks falsely denoted as being for non-wage 
purposes. Jenkins took a number of steps to execute this plan, 
including falsifying records, creating bogus documents, and 
signing another person’s name without permission. 
Massachusetts Tax Return Preparer 
Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for 
COVID-19 and Tax Fraud Schemes 
May 12, 2022—Roosevelt Fernandez, was sentenced to 5 years 
in prison and 3 years of supervised release. Fernandez was also 
ordered to pay $198,402 in restitution and forfeiture. In as early 
as 2018, Fernandez, a tax preparer, operated a Salem-based tax 
preparation business called, Soluciones Multi Service. Through 
his business, Fernandez used personal identifying information of 
certain taxpayers to prepare and file fraudulent federal and state 
tax returns on their behalf without their knowledge. A number of 
these returns included fraudulent Forms W-2 purportedly issued 
by employers for whom the named taxpayer did not work. In 
addition, Fernandez applied for and received multiple fraudulent 
payments authorized under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and 
Economic Security Act (CARES Act) 
Connecticut Attorney Sentenced 
to 2 Years in Prison for Tax Offenses 
July 28, 2022—Deron Freeman, of Glastonbury, was sentenced 
to 2 years in prison, followed by one year of supervised release, 
for tax fraud offenses. Freeman was also ordered to pay 
$357,062 in restitution to the IRS and fined $15,000. Freeman, 
an attorney specializing in the areas of personal injury and 
criminal law, owned and operated The Law Offices of Deron 
Freeman in Hartford. Between 2006 and 2010, Freeman failed 
to pay his overdue tax balance, despite multiple notices of 
delinquent taxes and the imposition of payment and interest by 
the IRS. In 2011, soon after Freeman entered into a payment 
plan with the IRS, he began using a bank account in the name 
of a third party to hold hundreds of thousands of dollars in an 
attempt to protect the funds from IRS scrutiny. The evidence 
at trial revealed that between 2012 and 2016, Freeman spent 
lavishly on cars, watercraft, and approximately $1.5 million in 
expenses related to the construction of a new home. 
IRS:CI Annual Report 2022 
25 
Former CFO of Boston 
Grand Prix Sentenced to 
4 Years in Prison for Fraud 
and Tax Schemes That 
Netted Almost $2 Million 
February 15, 2022—John F. Casey was 
sentenced to 4 years in prison and 3 years 
of supervised release. Casey was also ordered 
to pay $1,998,097 in restitution and ordered 
to forfeit $1,570,399. Casey became the CFO 
of the Boston Grand Prix in January 2015. The 
Boston Grand Prix organization made payments 
to, or on behalf of, Casey totaling approximately 
$308,292 in 2015 and $601,073 in 2016, which 
Casey failed to include in the gross income he claimed 
on his personal tax returns for those years. In addition, 
between March 2020 and May 2021, Casey orchestrated 
a scheme to fraudulently obtain Economic Injury Disaster 
Loans and Paycheck Protection Program loans. Casey 
subsequently used the fraudulently obtained funds to pay 
personal expenses, including the purchase of a three-carat 
diamond ring, an online dating membership, private school 
tuition, and luxury hotel stays. 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CHARLOTTE  
10715 David Taylor Drive 
Charlotte, NC 28262 
(705) 548-4241 
CharlotteFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov 
NORTH CAROLINA 
Charlotte | Greensboro | Raleigh | Wilmington 
SOUTH CAROLINA 
Charleston | Columbia 
Greenville | Myrtle Beach 
TENNESSEE 
Chattanooga | Johnson City 
Knoxville | Nashville 
The CHARLOTTE FIELD OFFICE covers three 
states, spanning from the Great Smoky Mountains 
of North Carolina and the music filled state of 
Tennessee to the beaches of South Carolina. The 
field office covers seven judicial districts and 
has excellent partnerships both internally and 
externally. The field office works a diverse mix 
of cases throughout the three states, including 
general tax fraud, employment tax fraud, 
healthcare fraud, refund fraud, terrorist financing, 
public corruption, and Organized Crime Drug 
Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). 
North Carolina Surgeon 
and Wife Sentenced to 
Prison for Tax Crimes 
January 28, 2022–Dr. James and Susan 
Rice were both sentenced to 5 years in 
prison and 3 years of probation and were 
ordered to pay $2.4 million in restitution. 
Rice was an orthopedic surgeon and sole 
owner of Sandhills Orthopedic & Spine Clinic, 
and his wife had authority over the business’s 
administrative operations. Between 2007 and 
2016, the Rices withheld employment taxes from 
their employees but failed to pay over $580,000 in 
withheld taxes to the IRS. Instead, over $1 million 
of business funds were used to pay for their personal 
luxuries, transferred into their personal accounts 
Special agents support a suicide awareness walk. 
Special agents volunteer to help build a house. 
and business bank accounts of other entities under 
their control, and used to support Susan Rice’s truffle 
cultivation business. The Rices also directed employees to 
deposit patient co-payments directly into their personal bank 
accounts. Finally, the Rices failed to file individual income tax 
returns and corporate income tax returns from 2014 to 2016. 
Bookkeeper sentenced to prison for $1.5M theft 
Special agents conduct training. 
COVID fraud investigations make the news. 
from Charleston real estate company 
April 4, 2022–Karen Rhett, of Charleston, South Carolina was 
sentenced to 3  years in prison and 2 years of supervised 
release and was ordered to pay $1.5 Million in restitution. 
Rhett was a longtime bookkeeper for a Charleston based real 
estate company. While working as the bookkeeper Rhett stole 
at least $1.5 Million dollars from the family-run business. 
The 59-year-old woman committed the thefts using secret, 
password-protected ledgers and fabricated invoices, federal 
authorities said. She stole company checks, padded her 
own salary and moved ill-gotten money through the bank 
accounts of affiliated businesses to hide its origins. David 
Simmons, president of the company, said Rhett was stealing 
from the company even as his father was dying of cancer. The 
family’s accounting showed Rhett stole more than $2.5 million 
beginning in 1996, family attorney Bart Daniel said. The govern­
ment’s figure of $1.5 million only accounted for money stolen 
after 2012, the attorney said. Rhett pleaded guilty following an 
investigation by the IRS and the FBI. 
New Bern Woman Sentenced to More Than 13 
Years After Drug and Tax Conviction Investigation 
February 17, 2022–Antoinette Charmane Becton of Wilmington, 
North Carolina, was sentenced to more than 13 ½ years in 
prison for conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent 
to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance 
containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, and 
conspiracy to defraud the United States. Becton was also 
ordered to pay $222,461 in restitution to the IRS. In addition 
to the drug activity, Becton owned and operated Carolina Tax 
Solutions, a tax return preparation business in New Bern and 
Kinston, North Carolina. Becton and her employees filed false 
tax returns with intended losses of more than $1 million. From 
2014 to 2018, Becton and others knowingly prepared false tax 
returns for clients by falsifying W-2 income, W-2 withholdings, 
and credits. Becton was paid through fees deducted from the 
refund checks, and she received cash kickbacks of approximately 
$1,000 to $1,500 after the client cashed the refund check. 
Cocaine Trafficker and Money Launderer 
Operating Across the Carolinas is Sentenced 
to 30 Years in Federal Prison 
April 7, 2022–Jared Shemaiah Jones, the leader of a drug 
and money laundering organization operating across the 
Carolinas, was sentenced to 30 years in prison and 5 years of 
supervised release for conspiracy to distribute and to possess 
with intent to distribute cocaine, money laundering conspiracy, 
and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Seven other 
co-conspirators have been sentenced to between 2 and 7 years 
in prison, while another is awaiting sentencing and another 
is a fugitive. Between 2014 and September 2020, the drug 
conspiracy trafficked approximately 1,000 kilograms of cocaine 
from California into North Carolina and South Carolina and 
laundered the criminal proceeds. During the investigation, law 
enforcement seized 30 kilograms of cocaine, one kilogram of 
heroin, and approximately $500,000 in cash. 
Chapel Hill Man Sentenced to More Than 
10 Years Imprisonment for an Elder Fraud
Home Repair Scheme 
January 24, 2022–Jorge Alberto Garcia, of Raleigh, North 
Carolina, was sentenced to over 10 years in prison and 3 years 
of supervised release for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and 
willfully failing to file a tax return. Garcia was also ordered to 
pay $4,043,398 in restitution. From around September 2015 
to April 2020, Garcia approached elderly, retired individuals 
at their private residences in Durham, Orange, and Chatham 
Counties, offering home improvement services using the 
business names “J&J Home Improvement” and “JH Home 
Improvements, Inc.” Many of these victims had physical or 
mental infirmities. Garcia, who never had a state general 
contractor’s license, offered to perform home improvement 
projects, and these elderly individuals paid him prior to the 
completion of any construction work. The victims made 
payments by personal checks, credit cards, or withdrawals from 
investment accounts. Garcia often directed these individuals 
to leave the “to” line of the check blank, and he later added the 
name of his wife to the check. Other times, Garcia directed the 
individuals to issue the check directly to his wife. Garcia’s wife 
then deposited the checks into personal accounts in her name 
or that of her business, La Cacerola. Garcia’s wife then withdrew 
the money in cash and/or issued a cashier’s check made out to 
Garcia. Garcia and his wife also took the checks to the elderly 
individual’s bank or their bank and cashed the checks without 
depositing the funds into their bank accounts. 
IRS:CI Annual Report 2022 
26 

 
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
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CHICAGO 
230 S Dearborn St. 
Chicago, IL 60604 
(312) 292-4500 
ChicagoFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov 
INDIANA 
Carmel | Evansville | Fort Wayne 
Indianapolis | Merrillville | South Bend 
ILLINOIS 
Chicago | Downers Grove | Matteson 
Orland Park | Rockford | Schiller Park 
Springfield 
MINNESOTA 
Duluth | St. Paul | Rochester 
WISCONSIN 
Eau Claire | Green Bay | Madison | Milwaukee 
Anchoring the Mid West, the CHICAGO FIELD 
OFFICE covers several major cities and areas, 
dotting the coastline of Lakes Michigan, Superior, 
and the Mississippi River. The Chicago Field 
Office has 20 posts of duty with over 165 special 
agents and professional staff across an area 
of responsibility across Minnesota, Wisconsin, 
Indiana, and most of Illinois. Second to none, the 
Chicago Field Office tackles tax fraud as its top 
priority and investigates a wide array of financial 
crimes, including money laundering from narcotics 
trafficking and COVID 19 fraud. Chicago’s special 
agents also work with their law enforcement 
partners to lend their financial investigative 
expertise to task forces, including HIDTA, OCDETF, 
JTTF, cybercrimes, and political corruption. Serving 
over 235,000 square miles, the office is consistently 
building on and bolstering its relationships with 
other law enforcement partners, the U.S. Attorney’s 
Office, and the public to identify, investigate, and 
refer quality cases for prosecution. 
Former Brookfield Business 
Owner Sentenced to Federal 
Prison for Tax Offense 
May 27, 2022–Kimberly Zulkowski 
was sentenced to 15 months in prison 
followed by 3 years of supervised release 
for her willful failure to account for and pay 
over taxes owed to the IRS. Zulkowski was 
also ordered to pay $731,970 in restitution. 
Zulkowski founded and managed Faith Family 
Services, Inc., a personal care business based 
in Brookfield, Wisconsin. Her business was 
successful, with gross annual receipts exceeding 
$5 million and over 150 employees. Despite that 
success, Zulkowski refused to pay over taxes she 
withheld from her employees’ wages as part of her 
company’s payroll tax obligations. Court records reveal 
that although the IRS had warned Zulkowski in 2015 that 
she was violating the federal tax laws, she nevertheless 
persisted in her criminal conduct for nearly two more years. 
Mexican Posse Gang Members Sentenced 
to Federal Prison for Narcotics Trafficking 
in prison and 5 years of supervised release after pleading 
guilty to conspiracy to distribute, possession with intent to 
distribute controlled substances, and possession of firearms, 
in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Perez III’s conviction 
and sentence stem from his leadership of a violent, nationwide 
drug trafficking organization that obtained multi-kilogram 
quantities of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana for distribution 
in the Milwaukee area. Perez III, also known as “Eight Ball,” 
often obtained controlled substances from California and 
shipped drug proceeds through the U.S. Postal Service to 
co-conspirators in California. As a result of the investigation, 
law enforcement officers seized approximately 45 firearms, 
8.6 kilograms of cocaine, 700 grams of heroin, 4.4 kilograms of 
marijuana, 4,500 kilograms of marijuana oils, 21.9 kilograms of 
filled marijuana vape cartridges, and $170,000 in U.S. currency. 
Minnesota Man Sentenced to More 
Than 2 Years in Prison for Tax Evasion 
October 8, 2021–Daniel Berglund was sentenced to over 2 
years in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release, 
and he was ordered to pay $336,040.45 in restitution for tax 
evasion after failing to file income tax returns since 1997. 
Berglund was previously convicted by a federal jury on four 
counts of tax evasion. Berglund was the owner and sole 
employee of Faith Software (FAITH), where he worked as a 
computer language instructor. Despite earning a substantial 
annual income through FAITH, Berglund did not file any 
individual income tax returns since 1997, and he did not file 
any corporate tax returns on behalf of FAITH. Berglund took 
numerous steps to hide his income from the IRS, including 
giving his clients a fabricated tax identification number to 
Supervisory special agents attend Chicago’s Hellenic Community 
Fair to support recruiting efforts. 
prevent their payments from being reported to the 
IRS as income attributable to him, depositing clients’ 
payments into accounts where the funds would not be 
traceable to him, and converting his income into silver that 
he stashed in concealed locations in his home. 
Grandparent Scammer Gets Federal Sentence 
August 23, 2022–Jasaun Pope was sentenced to 8 years in 
prison for mail fraud and money laundering related to his role in 
a nationwide elder fraud scheme. Pope and four co-conspirators 
have all signed plea agreements for their roles in the offense, and 
Pope is the first to be sentenced. Unidentified members of the 
conspiracy made scam telephone calls to elderly victims in Indiana 
and nationwide claiming that their grandchild or other relative had 
an urgent legal or medical problem and needed money immediately. 
The caller, who often claimed to be an attorney, police officer, 
or other authority figure, told the victims to send an overnight 
delivery of cash to help the purported relative in need—typically 
between $5,000 and $15,000—to a delivery address used by the 
conspirators. Pope’s crew traveled to cities around the country to 
identify unoccupied residences to use as cash delivery addresses. 
They relayed the delivery addresses to Pope, who provided them 
to other members of the conspiracy. Pope’s crew then traveled 
to the delivery addresses to retrieve the cash sent by the elderly 
victims, and the conspirators divided the criminal proceeds amongst 
themselves. To date, investigators have identified over 68 suspected 
victims of the defendants’ scheme and identified losses amounting 
to over $683,464. 
Leader of Massive Sports Gambling 
Ring Sentenced to 18 Months 
March 9, 2022–Vincent Delgiudice was sentenced to 1 ½ years 
in prison for conducting an illegal sports gambling business 
and laundering the proceeds, and he was ordered to forfeit 
proceeds of $3.6 million. Delgiudice pleaded guilty last year to 
conspiracy and gambling charges. Delgiudice, also known as 
“Uncle Mick,” conducted, managed, supervised, and directed 
a multi-million dollar illegal gambling business based in the 
greater Chicago area. Delgiudice accepted wagers from approx­
imately 1,000 gamblers on the outcome of sporting events, 
including major league baseball, college and professional 
basketball, college and professional football, and other profes­
sional and amateur sporting events. To maintain the illegal 
betting website, Delgiudice cashed at least 12 cashier’s checks 
totaling at least $113,625 and express mailed them via Federal 
Express from Orland Park, Illinois to Costa Rica. 
IRS:CI Annual Report 2022 
27 
August 21, 2022–Louis Perez III was sentenced to 21 years 
Participating in the US Marshalls Fallen Heroes Honor Run in Chicago 
on March 11, 2022, CI was well represented by special agents. 
A special agent learns the proper use of a weapon during range training. 
Special Agent in Charge gives a statement 
during the joint agency news conference to 
announce the indictment of Former Illinois 
Speaker of the House Michael Madigan. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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CINCINNATI 
550 Main St. 
Cincinnati, OH 45202 
(513) 975-6343 
CincinnatiFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov 
KENTUCKY 
Bowling Green | Florence 
Lexington | Louisville 
OHIO 
Akron | Canton | Cincinnati | Cleveland 
Columbus | Dayton | Independence | Toledo 
CINCINNATI FIELD OFFICE comprises of the 
states of Ohio and Kentucky, which contains 
two federal judicial districts in each state. 
The Cincinnati field office works closely with 
our federal, state, and local law enforcement 
partners to investigate and prosecute tax, 
money laundering, and related financial crimes 
that affect the southern and northern judicial 
districts of the “Buckeye State” and the eastern 
and western judicial districts of the “Bluegrass 
State.” Our special agents and professional 
staff provide unparalleled financial expertise to 
lead investigations against the most egregious 
white collar criminals. In concert with the U.S. 
Attorney’s office as well as our civil and law 
enforcement partners, our investigations have 
a significant impact on regional and national 
enforcement priorities that include income tax 
evasion, questionable tax refund/return preparer 
fraud, COVID 19 relief fraud, public corruption, 
cybercrimes, and narcotics related crimes. 
Middletown Man Sentenced 
to Prison for Tax Evasion 
April 4, 2022–David Fraley was sentenced to 2 ½ years in prison 
and ordered to pay $725,107 in restitution to the IRS, after 
pleading guilty to tax evasion. In an effort to evade the payment 
of his taxes, Fraley initially told his contractor not to issue any 
income in his name but to issue the income in his business 
name. When the IRS levied his business bank account, Fraley 
stopped making deposits into his business bank account and 
started making deposits into his brother’s bank account. 
Non-Profit CEO Sentenced 
to 4 years in Prison for Tax Fraud 
November 16, 2021–Barry Isaacs was sentenced to 4 years 
in prison and ordered to pay $360,025 in restitution to the IRS 
for willful failure to account for and pay over employment taxes 
and aggravated identity theft. Isaacs was the founder, owner, 
Program Theft, Tax Violations, Witness 
Tampering, and Falsifying Records 
October 8, 2021–former City of Cleveland Councilman Kenneth 
Johnson was sentenced to 6 years in prison and ordered to pay 
$746,839 in restitution to the IRS and the U.S. Department of 
Housing and Urban Development. Johnson was found guilty by 
a jury of conspiracy to commit federal program theft, federal 
program theft, aiding and assisting in the preparation of false 
tax returns, tampering with a witness, and falsification of 
records in a federal investigation. Garnell Jamison was also 
sentenced to 5 years in prison following his conviction of 
conspiracy to commit federal program theft, federal program 
theft, aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax 
returns, tampering with a witness, and falsification of records 
in a federal investigation. From January 2010 through October 
2018, Johnson and Jamison devised a scheme to induce the 
City of Cleveland to issue reimbursement checks to Johnson for 
Ward 4 services that were never actually performed. 
Elkhorn City Attorney Sentenced to 41 Months 
for Bank Fraud and Filing False Tax Returns 
November 9, 2021–Timothy Belcher was sentenced to almost 
3 ½ years in prison and ordered to pay $817,000 in restitution 
after pleading guilty to bank fraud and filing a false tax return. 
Belcher, a licensed attorney practicing in Pike County, agreed 
to represent a client and her minor daughter in a wrongful 
death lawsuit. In 2004, a settlement was reached in the 
lawsuit, where half of the settlement would be distributed to 
the victim and the other half would be distributed among the 
three children. The funds were placed into an escrow account 
for the children. From July 2012 to December 2018, Belcher 
transferred money from that escrow account to his law practice 
and used those funds for his personal and business expenses. 
Belcher knowingly failed to report the money he embezzled 
from the settlement account on his tax return. 
IRS:CI Annual Report 2022 
28 
Kentucky Man Sentenced
to 35 Years in Prison on 
Drug and Money Laundering
Conspiracy Charges 
July 18, 2022–William R. Hargis was 
sentenced to 35 years in prison for 
conspiracy to distribute and possession 
with intent to distribute 52.5 pounds of crystal 
meth, possession of firearms in furtherance 
of drug trafficking, and conspiracy to commit 
money laundering. Hargis was a drug supplier 
and was storing, packaging, and cutting narcotics 
in a Lexington office building. In that office, law 
enforcement found more than 50 pounds of metham­
phetamine, four firearms, cocaine, and additional 
drug trafficking items. Hargis traveled from Kentucky 
to casinos in Southern Indiana to place monetary bets 
to conceal the source of the bets, which was in whole or 
part drug proceeds. 
Two Men Sentenced in Massive 
COVID-19 Relief Fraud Scheme 
May 6, 2022–James Stote was sentenced to 10 years in 
prison, and Phillip Augustin was sentenced to 6 ½ years in 
prison related to Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) fraud. 
Augustin and Stote obtained fraudulent PPP loans for Augustin’s 
company and others using falsified documents. Augustin used 
his network of business contacts as a manager for professional 
football players to recruit loan applicants. The applications 
they submitted for these loans relied on fake payroll numbers, 
falsified IRS forms, and phony bank statements. Stote 
submitted or facilitated at least 79 fraudulent loan applications 
worth at least $35 million. Among those loans, Augustin was 
also held responsible for at least 34 fraudulent loan applications 
worth at least $15 million. 
CEO, and president of Hope 4 Change, a Cincinnati 
non-profit that provided housing and care for adults 
with developmental disabilities, drug addiction problems, 
and mental disorders. Isaacs withheld payroll taxes but 
failed to pay the taxes over to the IRS. Isaacs caused 
Hope 4 Change to spend thousands of dollars for clothing, 
massages, beauty care, travel, and personal vehicles for 
himself and his family. 
Former Cleveland City Councilman
Sentenced to 6 Years in Prison for Federal 
Special agents in Louisville assist with recovery 
efforts in the wake of Kentucky tornados. 
Special Agent in Charge sits down with 
WLWT in Cincinnati to discuss COVID 
relief fraud schemes. 
A special agent executes a search warrant 
in southwestern Ohio. 
Special agents in Northern Ohio participate in a National Night 
Out event in Cleveland, Ohio. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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DALLAS 
1100 Commerce 
Dallas, TX 75242 
(214) 413-5929 
DallasFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov 
ARKANSAS 
Fayetteville | Fort Smith | Little Rock 
OKLAHOMA 
Muskogee | Oklahoma City | Tulsa 
TEXAS 
Amarillo | Beaumont | Dallas | Farmers Branch 
Fort Worth | Irving | Lubbock | Tyler 
THE DALLAS FIELD OFFICE covers a broad 
geographic area that includes the Northern and 
Eastern Texas, and the entire states of Oklahoma 
and Arkansas. Serving seven judicial districts in 
the “Lone Star State”, the “Sooner State”, and the 
“Natural State”, the Dallas Field Office is comprised 
of a group of hard working special agents and 
professional staff who investigate an array of 
complex and impactful cases, including tax fraud, 
general fraud, cybercrimes, identity theft, public 
and political corruption, narcotics, and terrorism 
investigations. The Dallas Field Office has excellent 
working relationships with the U.S. Attorney’s 
Office and our other law enforcement partners. Our 
special agents are essential members of several 
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 (FCTF) 
and the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF). 
Two Arkansas Men 
Sentenced to Over 23 
Years Combined in Prison 
for Wind Farm Fraud & 
Money Laundering Scheme 
March 8, 2022–Jody Douglas Davis was 
sentenced to 15 years in prison and Phillip 
Vincent Ridings was sentenced to over 8 years 
in prison relating to charges of wire fraud, aiding 
and abetting wire fraud, money laundering, 
and aiding and abetting money laundering in 
connection with a scheme to defraud investors in 
the development of a wind turbine a proposed wind 
farm project. Both defendants were also sentenced 
to 3 years supervised release and ordered to pay 
restitution of $1,138,845. Davis and Ridings developed 
a scheme where they stole large sums of money from 
innocent investors. They formed limited liability companies 
in Texas, called Dragonfly Industries International, LLC and 
Arkansas Wind Power, LLC, to develop what they told investors 
was a revolutionary wind turbine design that was to be installed 
on a 311-acre wind farm proposed for construction in Elm 
Springs, Arkansas. Investors were told that their money would be 
used to build a prototype of the wind turbine and to develop wind 
farms. However, the wind turbine was never operational, and the 
wind farm was never constructed. Instead, Davis and Ridings used 
most the money obtained from investors for their personal use. 
Oklahoma Man Sentenced to 7 Years 
in Prison for Defrauding Investor and Banks 
June 1, 2022–Brian Mulder, of Tulsa, was sentenced to 
7 years in prison and ordered to pay $8.4 million in restitution. 
Mulder misrepresented himself as worth millions to friends 
and convinced them to pool their investments with his fortune 
to grow their money faster. However, Mulder did not make 
any investments on their behalf. Instead, Mulder deposited 
checks into his personal bank accounts and used the funds 
to pay off credit card debts and to run a coffee shop chain. To 
cover his tracks, Mulder created a web of convoluted rules and 
restrictions to keep the victims from seeing the progress of 
their investments. He also moved money between more than 
60 bank accounts to make it difficult for the investors and law 
enforcement to follow the trail of money. 
Four Gang Members Sentenced to 
Over 69 Years in Prison Combined 
In April 2022–four Universal Aryan Brotherhood (UAB) gang 
members, Christopher K. Baldwin, Robert W. Zeidler, Charles 
M. McCully, and Eddie Funkhouser, were sentenced to over 
69 years, combined, in prison for conspiring to participate 
in a racketeering enterprise that committed acts of murder, 
kidnapping, the trafficking of methamphetamine and 
firearms, money laundering, assault, and robbery throughout 
Oklahoma. The UAB is a white supremacist prison-based gang 
with members operating inside and outside of state prisons 
throughout Oklahoma. 
Former North Texas Mayor and Land
Developer Husband Sentenced to Combined
12 Years in Prison for Public Corruption 
August 4, 2022–Laura Jordan (aka Laura Maczka), the former 
Mayor of Richardson, Texas, and her husband, Mark Jordan, a 
land developer, were each sentenced to 6 years in prison for 
their public corruption scheme. Maczka and Mark Jordan, both 
of Plano, Texas, conspired and executed a scheme to commit 
bribery. Contrary to her campaign promises, Maczka supported 
and repeatedly voted for controversial zoning changes sought 
by Jordan, ultimately allowing for the construction of over 
1,000 new apartments in Richardson. In exchange, Jordan paid 
Maczka over $18,000 in cash and $40,000 by check, and he 
paid for over $24,000 in renovations to Maczka’s home. Jordan 
also paid for luxury hotel stays and airfare upgrades for Maczka 
and provided Maczka lucrative employment at one of Jordan’s 
companies. Maczka and Jordan failed to disclose to the public 
that they had coordinated to affect the zoning changes Jordan 
wanted and that Jordan had provided a stream of benefits to 
Maczka. Maczka and Jordan were married after the federal 
investigation began. 
Oklahoma Office Manager Sent to 
Prison for Tax Evasion and Swindling
Broken Arrow Business of $2.7 Million 
Melissa Raye Dihel, of Okmulgee, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 
almost 4 years in prison and 3 years of supervised release for 
tax evasion and mail fraud. She was ordered to pay $2,722,332 
in restitution to her former employer and $775,971 in restitution 
to the IRS. Dihel was an office manager, who embezzled 
more the $2.7 million from her employer. She began stealing 
from her employer less than two years after pleading guilty to 
embezzling from another business. Dihel took advantage of her 
trusted position as an office manager and forged the president’s 
signature on approximately 334 checks for her own benefit and 
to the detriment of the company. Dihel further manipulated 
accounting entries in her employer’s books and records to 
cover her tracks. Dihel spent most of the money on gambling. 
Additionally, Dihel did not report the illegal income to the IRS. 
IRS:CI Annual Report 2022 
29 
A special agent coordinates 
search warrant staging. 
Special agents plan their next move. 
A professional staff member answers a call. 
A special agent gives an IVLP presentation. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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DENVER 
1999 Broadway 
Denver, CO 80202 
DenverFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov 
COLORADO 
Colorado Springs | Denver | Durango 
Fort Collins | Grand Junction | Westminster 
IDAHO 
Boise | Coeur D’alene 
MONTANA 
Billings | Helena | Missoula 
WYOMING 
Cheyenne 
THE DENVER FIELD OFFICE covers a vast and 
diverse area encompassing approximately 432,500 
square miles that includes the states of Colorado, 
Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. Our special agents 
are based in twelve cities throughout the region 
and specialize in investigating sophisticated 
financial crimes involving evading federal income 
or payroll taxes, money laundering, and COVID 19 
relief scams. Denver Field Office special agents 
focus on financial crimes in our region and lead 
investigations all over the world. When other 
law enforcement agencies identify any financial 
aspect of an investigation, they rely on our agents’ 
unmatched financial investigative expertise to 
present the most thorough investigation possible 
to federal prosecutors. These investigations often 
involve the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement 
Task Forces (OCDETF) and lead to dismantling 
drug operations by disrupting the flow of money 
throughout the organization. Denver’s team also 
includes our professional staff who provide critical 
support to our investigations. 
Colorado Man Found Guilty
of Submitting Multiple
Fraudulent COVID-19 
Relief Applications 
August 12, 2022–Russell Foreman 
of Aurora, Colorado was sentenced to 
5 ½ years in prison and ordered to pay 
$367,000 in restitution for money laundering 
and wire fraud. Over six months in 2020, 
Foreman submitted several fraudulent Economic 
Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and Paycheck 
Protection Program (PPP) loan applications. As 
a result of these fraudulent applications, Foreman 
received $216,552 in illicit funds. Foreman was also 
convicted of aiding and abetting a co-defendant who 
received $150,000 based off the information contained 
in a false EIDL application. 
Bozeman Woman Convicted of Failing to Pay
Over $2.8 Million in Federal Employment Taxes 
August 10, 2022–Melissa Horner was sentenced to 2 ½ years 
in prison and to pay $2,878,522 in restitution for failing to pay 
employment taxes for her business. For approximately five years, 
from her employees’ paychecks and used the funds for her benefit 
instead of paying them over to the IRS. Horner also willfully failed 
to file quarterly federal tax returns, knowing she was required to 
do so. Horner used the money she obtained for personal expenses, 
including more than $100,000 on motorsports vehicles, $90,000 
to a real estate title company, $50,000 on home renovations, and 
$20,000 for a motor home. 
‘Ring-leader’ Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison on 
Drug Trafficking and Money Laundering Charges 
July 15, 2022–Omar Briceno-Quijano was sentenced to 
14 years in prison after his conviction of conspiracy to distribute 
methamphetamine and heroin and conspiracy to commit money 
laundering. Between January 1, 2019 and December 18, 2019, 
Briceno-Quijano was involved in sending illegal narcotics from 
Mexico to the western slope region of Colorado. Once the drugs 
were in the United States, Briceno-Quijano received drug orders 
and dispatched couriers to deliver the drugs to the customers. 
This conviction was a result of an Organized Crime Drug 
Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. 
Special agents conduct firearms training. 
Prostitution and Money
Laundering Operation Leads
to Federal Prison Sentence 
May 17, 2022–Dannie Carr of Boise, Idaho was sentenced 
to over 6 years in prison for transporting women for prosti­
tution and for money laundering. Over a two-year period, 
Carr engaged in the interstate prostitution of two women 
primarily throughout six states in the western United States. Carr 
laundered between $250,000 and $550,000 of illicit proceeds 
from his operation and concealed the nature and source of the 
income from the IRS. Additionally, he failed to file tax returns for 
the 2018 through 2020 tax years. 
Fake Spy Sentenced for Defrauding Investor 
in Scheme to Fund Fake CIA Missions 
March 3, 2022–Matthew Marshall of Whitefish, Montana was 
sentenced to 6 years in prison and 3 years of supervised release 
for wire fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion. Marshall was 
also ordered to pay $2,355,000 in restitution to the victim and 
$899,327 to the IRS. Marshall defrauded a Montana investor 
of $2.3 million by falsely claiming to be a former Force Recon 
Marine and CIA operative who needed funds to run fake rescue 
missions in foreign countries. As part of the scheme, Marshall 
forwarded the victim fake text messages, allegedly from a 
former CIA officer and others, lauding the success of the fake 
rescue missions. 
Wyoming Revenue Suppression
Software Scheme Uncovered 
August 16, 2022–Jin Chen Liang was sentenced to 5 years 
of probation and ordered to pay $700,000 in restitution to the 
State of Wyoming and the IRS for his role in a conspiracy to 
defraud the government. Liang developed, sold, and installed 
software that enabled multiple restaurants in Wyoming to 
conceal cash sales and underreport the amount of state and 
federal income tax owed. Liang sold the software to restaurants 
in five cities throughout Wyoming, resulting in a total amount 
of $2 million in underreported income. Four restaurant owners 
involved in the scheme were also convicted of wire fraud and 
conspiracy and paid over $1.8 million in restitution to the State 
of Wyoming and the IRS. 
IRS:CI Annual Report 2022 
30 
Horner, a small business owner, withheld payroll and FICA taxes 
Special agents pose for a group photo following a training event in Helena, Montana. 
A special agent educates high school students on the different job opportunities CI provides 
during a career fair at Helena High School in Montana. 
A special agent conducts a sit down 
interview with an accounting professor from 
the Colorado State University Accounting 
Department. 

  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
 
 
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DETROIT 
985 Michigan Avenue 
Detroit, MI 48226 
DetroitFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov 
MICHIGAN 
Ann Arbor | Detroit | East Lansing | Flint 
Grand Rapids | Pontiac | Traverse City 
THE DETROIT FIELD OFFICE area of 
responsibility encompasses the state of 
Michigan and it’s two judicial districts. The state 
of Michigan is surrounded by the Great Lakes, 
which are the largest surface freshwater system 
on the Earth. 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, COVID 19 fraud, and money 
laundering. To address the various priorities 
affecting Michigan, agents are embedded on 
a variety of task forces with our law enforcement 
partners, such as the Joint Terrorism Task 
Force (JTTF), Public Corruption, and Organized 
Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), 
among others. 
Grand Blanc Man 
and Flint Woman 
Sentenced in Fraudulent 
Investment Scheme 
October 8, 2021–Larry Holley, a former 
pastor, was sentenced to over 8 years in 
prison and restitution of $8,858,591 for 
his role in a multi-year Ponzi scheme that 
defrauded more than 140 individuals from 
multiple states out of nearly $9.3 million dollars. 
Holley promised high guaranteed returns and 
the safe return of an investor’s entire principal 
at the end of the investment period. However, the 
money was not invested and did not earn the profits 
to pay the guaranteed interest payments. Instead, 
Holley deposited the victim investor funds into bank 
accounts he controlled and then used the money for his 
personal benefit. 
State Contractor Sentenced in 
$3 Million Unemployment Fraud Scheme 
October 28, 2021–Brandi Hawkins was sentenced to almost 
5 years in prison and restitution of $3,793,186 after having pleaded 
fraud scheme. Hawkins’s scheme defrauded the State of Michigan 
and the U.S. government of funds earmarked for unemployment 
assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hawkins entered 
numerous false claims, totaling over $12 million, into the State 
of Michigan’s Unemployment Insurance Agency system, many of 
which were filed using stolen identities. 
Former Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith 
Sentenced to Prison for Obstruction of Justice 
February 16, 2022–former Macomb County Michigan 
Prosecutor Eric Smith, was sentenced to almost 2 years in 
prison and ordered to pay a $20,000 fine after having pleaded 
guilty to obstruction of justice. Between 2012 and 2020, Smith 
conducted two fraud schemes to steal approximately $75,000 
in cash from his political campaign fund to use for his personal 
expenses. When he became aware of a federal grand jury 
investigation in 2019, Smith pressured three witnesses to lie 
and commit perjury on his behalf to federal authorities and a 
federal grand jury. 
Three Defendants Sentenced 
for Illegal Bitcoin Business 
February 28, 2022–Christopher Allan Boden, Daniel Reynold 
DeJager, and Leesa Beth Vogt, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, were 
 
sentenced for the commission of various financial 
crimes, including operating an unlicensed money 
transmitting business, money laundering, structuring 
deposits to evade financial institution reporting 
requirements, and conspiracy. Boden was sentenced to 
2 ½ years in prison and was ordered to pay $75,000 and 
forfeit bitcoin, among other penalties. DeJager received 
10 months in prison for his role in the scheme and was ordered 
to pay $25,000. Vogt was sentenced to 4 years of probation and 
ordered to pay $62,711 to the government. In total, the defendants 
forfeited and were ordered to pay more than $200,000 in bitcoin 
and U.S. currency. 
Cadillac Businessman Sent 
to Prison for Tax Evasion 
April 11, 2022–Douglas Horning was sentenced to almost 
2 years in prison and 3 years of supervised release and was 
ordered to pay $977,983 in restitution for tax evasion. Horning 
concealed business income by routing it through a second 
company, even after that company was dissolved by the State of 
Michigan, and failed to disclose the company’s bank account to 
the IRS when required to do so. Horning also did not include that 
income on the Forms W-2 he issued to himself. Horning further 
received unreported income by paying personal expenses using 
business bank accounts. 
Real Estate Consultant Sentenced 
for Tax Crimes in Kickback Scheme 
July 21, 2022–Steven Mills was sentenced to 1 ½ years in 
prison and ordered to pay $297,858 in restitution for filing false 
tax returns with the IRS that omitted more than $800,000 in 
income. Mills was retained by a corporation to supervise several 
outside real estate agents hired by the corporation. The outside 
real estate agents were paid substantial commissions by the 
corporation. From 2012 to 2015, Mills demanded and received 
approximately $577,000 in kickbacks from one of these agents, 
and he not report the funds as income on his tax returns. 
Mills also did not report all the income he received from the 
corporation, nor did he report $100,000 of compensation he 
received from a real estate developer for the years 2013 to 2015. 
IRS:CI Annual Report 2022 
31 
guilty for her role in a multi-million dollar unemployment insurance 
Special agents provided recruitment outreach to over 230 Northern 
Michigan University students. 
Special agents and an investigative analyst volunteered at Gleaner’s Food Bank. 
Investigative analysts conducting inventory 
on site during a search warrant. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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HOUSTON 
8701 S. Gessner 
Houston, TX 77074 
(281) 721-8390 
HoustonFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov 
TEXAS 
Austin | Brownsville | Corpus Christi 
El Paso | Houston | Laredo | McAllen 
San Antonio | Waco 
The boundaries of THE HOUSTON FIELD OFFICE 
includes some of Texas’ most bountiful treasures: 
NASA’s Johnson Space Center, the iconic Alamo, 
the state capitol in Austin, the southwestern 
living of El Paso, and the gulf coast beaches. The 
Houston Field Office also encompasses unique 
and culturally diverse locations, including the Rio 
Grande Valley along the Mexican border, the coast 
of Corpus Christi, the Central Texas hub of Waco, 
and the oil producing communities in the Permian 
Basin. The sprawling urban area and ports add to 
the complexity of work in the field office, which is 
rich with Fortune 500 headquarters and has the 
largest concentration of healthcare and research 
institutions. The Houston Field Office is among 
the leaders in complex federal investigations with 
national and international impact and is one of 
the most successful when it comes to stopping 
criminal financial activities. The field office 
participates in federal task forces, including South 
Texas money laundering, Joint Terrorism Task 
Force, Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task 
Force, high intensity drug trafficking areas, public 
corruption, human trafficking, paycheck protection 
program, and healthcare fraud. Partnerships with 
the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in the Western and 
Southern districts of Texas are critical, as well 
as the interagency work done with other federal, 
state, and local law enforcement agencies. 
Midland Businessman 
Evades $12.7 Million in 
Taxes, Gets 24 Months 
in Prison 
August 9, 2022–Thomas Valdez Rodriguez, 
of Midland, Texas, was sentenced to 
2 years in prison and was ordered to pay 
over $12.7 million in restitution to the IRS 
for failing to pay personal income taxes and 
employment taxes for his two companies, 
Tom-E-Lee Trucking and Tom-E-Lee Industries. 
Instead of remitting the withheld taxes to the IRS, 
Rodriguez paid for personal expenses, such as 
Dallas Cowboy season tickets on the 50-yard line, 
chartered flights to the games, and the purchase of a 
$2 million residence. 
Conspirators in Prison, Massive Restitution 
for Health Care Fraud 
June 21, 2022–Fausat Adekunle of Houston was sentenced to 
12 years in prison for his role in a health care fraud conspiracy 
with two other individuals, including Oluyemisi Amos. The 
conspirators defrauded both Medicare and Medicaid through 
several home health care companies they started or purchased in 
the Houston area. They then used the businesses to bill the federal 
government for services not provided or claims not properly filed. 
Proceeds from the fraud were used to purchase a Land Rover 
luxury SUV and several properties, including one property worth 
over $3.3 million. On August 4, 2022, Amos was sentenced to 
6 years in prison for his role in the conspiracy. Adekunle and Amos 
were also ordered to pay $21,197,440 in restitution to Medicare. 
Former School Superintendent
Learning His Fraud Lesson in Prison 
December 1, 2021–Richard Rose of Missouri City, Texas, 
was sentenced to 3 years in prison and was ordered to pay 
$335,439 in restitution for conspiracy to commit mail fraud. 
Rose was the founding superintendent of the Zoe Learning 
Academy Charter School. Rose used his position as the CEO 
and chief financial officer to falsify governance reports to obtain 
funding for the school, but he then used the money for personal 
expenses, including legal fees, a lawsuit settlement, and the 
purchase of a timeshare. 
Iranian Fugitive Rests Legs in Prison After 
Running a Scheme to Launder Drug Money 
February 9, 2022–fugitive Mohsen Mohammadi-Mohammadi, of 
Iran, was sentenced to 3 ½ years in prison for his conviction of 
conspiracy to commit money laundering in a scheme known as 
a black-market peso exchange (BMPE). Mohammadi was also 
ordered to the forfeiture of $177,345. He obtained proceeds from 
the sale of illegal drugs in the U.S. and transferred the funds to 
Special agent participates in an interview with Radio 1560AM to discuss CI’s mission, 
investigative priorities, and avoiding identity theft and unscrupulous tax preparers. 
Special agents hold a pre operational meeting. 
A Special Agent in Charge holds an onsite press conference 
during a court ordered operation. 
Mexico using a BMPE, a form of trade-based money laundering. 
The monies were laundered through commodities businesses, 
such as perfume sellers. Mohammadi owned such a business 
known as Mav Trading Inc. Mohammadi is expected to face 
removal proceedings following completion of his prison sentence. 
Nigerian Attempts Scam to Net $250 Million, 
Gets Nearly 14 Years Instead 
February 17, 2022–Harry Cole was sentenced to almost 
14 years in prison and 3 years of supervised release for his 
role in a fraudulent “sweepstakes” scheme, leading to an 
attempted loss of more than $260 million. Cole was also 
ordered to pay $111,870 in restitution and to forfeit $850,000. 
Cole, a Nigerian citizen and Canadian resident, worked with 
seven others to target elderly residents in the United States and 
led them to believe they won a sweepstakes. Cole has been in 
federal custody since his extradition and arrest in August 2020. 
Unscrupulous Tax Preparer Makes Sure
He Gets His Cash, CI Gets Him a Bonus: 
25 Months in Prison 
March 30, 2022–Mario Clark, of Houston, was sentenced to over 
2 years in prison and ordered to pay $203,336 in restitution 
for preparing false income tax returns. Clark prepared the tax 
returns for himself and others by falsely claiming business 
losses, unreimbursed employee expenses, itemized deductions, 
and gifts by cash or check. 
Hotel Management Fraudster Books 
70 months in Prison After Stealing $5 Million 
May 18, 2022–Jason Michael Schubert of Austin, Texas was 
sentenced to almost 6 years in prison and ordered to pay over 
$5 million in restitution for his scheme to bilk hotel investors out 
of millions of dollars. From 2012 through June 2018, Schubert 
conducted seminars on how to make money from investing 
in hotel properties, known as “Rich in Five” seminars, and 
charged participants substantial fees to attend. Schubert then 
solicited money from the participants for investing in preexisting 
hotel properties that he would manage and operate. Instead, 
Schubert misappropriated the funds and paid himself significant 
“management fees.” Schubert’s fraud depleted investor funds 
and caused hotel properties to go into foreclosure. 
Central Texas Resident Forges a Path to 51 
Months in Prison After Scheme to Steal $775,000 
June 13, 2022–Cynthia Linette Jones of Round Rock, Texas 
was sentenced to over 4 years in prison and ordered to pay 
$960,000 in restitution for her scheme to embezzle $775,000 
from her former employer and evade $185,000 in taxes. From 
2012 through 2018, Jones abused her position as the office 
manager for her employer and forged 70 company checks 
totaling over $775,000. Jones did not report any of the ill-gotten 
gains to the IRS. 
IRS:CI Annual Report 2022 
32 
Special agents meet with students during a career fair 
at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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LOS ANGELES  
300 N. Los Angeles St. 
Los Angeles CA, 90012 
(213) 372-4129 
LosAngelesFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov 
CALIFORNIA 
Camarillo | El Monte | Laguna Niguel 
Long Beach | Los Angeles | San Bernardino 
San Diego | San Marcos | Santa Ana 
Santa Maria | Van Nuys 
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 LA Field Office covers 
two judicial districts in California, the Central and 
the Southern. The LA field office 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). 
A special agent is interviewed for an episode of “American Greed.” 
Special agents meet at a search warrant 
staging area. 
$20-million COVID Relief 
Fraud Ring Sentenced 
November 15, 2021–members of a San 
Fernando Valley family were sentenced 
for scheming to fraudulently obtain more 
than $20 million in Paycheck Protection 
Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster 
Loan (EIDL) COVID-19 relief funds. Richard 
Ayvazya was sentenced to 17 years in prison, 
his wife, Marietta Terabelian, was sentenced to 
6 years in prison, and his brother, Artur Ayvazyan, 
was sentenced to 5 years in prison. The defendants 
used dozens of fake, stolen, or synthetic identities, 
in prison), Edvard Paronyan (2 ½ years in prison), Vahe Dadyan (one 
including names belonging to elderly or deceased 
people and foreign exchange students who briefly 
visited the United States years ago and never returned, 
to submit fraudulent applications for approximately 
150 PPP and EIDL loans. The defendants then used the 
funds as down payments on luxury homes in Tarzana, 
Glendale, and Palm Desert. They also used the funds to buy 
gold coins, diamonds, jewelry, luxury watches, fine imported 
furnishings, designer handbags, clothing, and a Harley-Davidson 
motorcycle. Others previously sentenced in this case, include 
Tamara Dadyan (over 10 years in prison), Manuk Grigoryan (6 years 
year and one day in prison), and Arman Hayrapetyan (10 months 
of probation). 
Unlicensed Bitcoin Exchanger Sentenced 
November 18, 2021–Hugo Sergio Mejia was sentenced to 
3 years in prison for operating an unlicensed business that 
exchanged at least $13 million in bitcoin and cash, often for drug 
traffickers. Mejia established shell companies to mask his true 
identity, used encrypted messaging services with his customers, 
and held meetings at coffee shops to evade law enforcement 
surveillance. From May 2018 to September 2020, Mejia 
operated a virtual currency business that was not registered 
with FinCEN and laundered over $250,000 in bitcoin-cash 
transactions purported to be proceeds of international metham­
phetamine sales. As part of the sentence, Mejia forfeited 
$233,987 in cash, silver coins and bars, and approximately 
$95,587 in cryptocurrency seized during the investigation. 
Former Synagogue Rabbi Sentenced
for Multi-million dollar Fraud Schemes 
January 4, 2022–in California Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, former 
director at Chabad of Poway, was sentenced to 14 months 
in prison and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of 
$2,834,608 relating to his multi-million dollar schemes to 
defraud the IRS. From at least 2010 through 2018, Rabbi 
Goldstein engaged in a series of schemes that defrauded the 
IRS, three Fortune 500 companies, the California Office of 
Emergency Services, and the Clarence Brooks Foundation, 
most significant of which was a 90-10 tax fraud scheme. Rabbi 
Goldstein received false donations from more than a dozen 
donors and provided them with fake receipts, which they 
used to illegally claim huge tax deductions for the nonexistent 
donations. Rabbi Goldstein kept 10 percent and secretly 
funneled back 90 percent of the false “donations” to the donors. 
Nun Who Embezzled Tuition Money from 
Catholic Elementary School Sentenced to Prison 
February 7, 2022–Mary Margaret Kreuper, a nun who was the 
principal of a Catholic elementary school in California, was 
sentenced to one year and one day in prison and was ordered to 
pay $825,338 in restitution to St. James School for her scheme 
to embezzle funds from the school. For a period of 10 years, 
Kreuper, who had taken a vow of poverty, diverted school funds 
into the St. James convent account and the St. James savings 
account and then used the diverted funds to pay for expenses 
that the order would not have approved or paid for. In total, 
Kreuper stole more than $835,000 in school funds to pay for 
personal expenses, including gambling trips. 
Personal Injury Attorney
Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison 
February 17, 2022–Philip Layfield, a disbarred personal-injury 
lawyer, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for stealing 
settlement money from multiple clients and for cheating on his 
federal income taxes. During the investigation, it was found that 
Layfield misappropriated approximately $2 million owed to a car 
accident victim for his personal and unrelated business uses, 
including to pay clients whose settlement proceeds Layfield had 
earlier misappropriated. Long after Layfield misappropriated 
the victim’s settlement proceeds, Layfield attempted to placate 
the victim by paying her a mere $25,000 from other clients’ 
settlement proceeds. 
Former Sheriff Deputy Sentenced for Multi-million
dollar Investment Fraud and Cheating on His Taxes 
August 30, 2022–Christopher Burnell, a former sheriff’s deputy, 
was sentenced to 14 years in prison for wire fraud and filing 
false tax returns. After deceiving victims into believing he was 
a wealthy businessman, Burnell encouraged victims to invest 
hundreds of thousands of dollars with him by offering exclusive 
investment opportunities that promised rates of returns as 
high as 100%. Burnell spent victims’ money on gambling and 
luxury items, such as $500,000 in private jet trips, $70,000 on 
Louis Vuitton merchandise, and $175,000 on luxury cars and 
an apartment lease for his then-girlfriends. During this time, 
Burnell lost more than $2 million from gambling. Burnell did not 
report any of the money he received from victims on his income 
tax returns for the tax years 2011 or 2012. 
IRS:CI Annual Report 2022 
33 
New special agents participate in training. 
Members of the Orange County Cyber Taskforce gather for a photo. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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MIAMI 
51 SW 1st Avenue 
Miami, FL 33130 
(954) 991-4322 
Miamifieldoffice@ci.irs.gov 
FLORIDA 
Miami | Plantation | Port St. Lucie 
West Palm Beach 
PUERTO RICO 
Guaynabo 
U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS 
St. Thomas 
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. Greater Miami, the 
state’s largest urban concentration, includes the 
“Magic City” of Miami, Miami Beach, and many 
smaller municipalities and unincorporated areas; 
together, these make up the southern section of 
Florida’s “Gold Coast.” Last year’s investigations 
were highlighted by a myriad of criminal cases 
in tax law, identity theft, return preparer fraud, 
money laundering, healthcare fraud, and political 
and public corruption. 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. 
Managers of Key West 
Labor Staffing Companies
Sentenced for Tax Crimes 
and Immigration Fraud 
August 26, 2022–Mykhaylo Chugay was 
sentenced to over 24 years in prison for 
conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government, 
money laundering, and immigration related 
crimes. Chugay owned and operated a series 
of labor-staffing companies in Southern Florida. 
Between 2007 and 2021, Chugay facilitated 
the employment of individuals in hotels, bars, 
and restaurants in Key West and other locations, 
even though the employees were not authorized 
to work in the United States. As part of his scheme, 
Chugay and his co-conspirators defrauded the IRS out 
of more than $10 million in Social Security and Medicare 
taxes that should have been collected and paid over 
in connection with these workers. His co-conspirator, 
Volodymyr Ogorodnychuk, was previously sentenced to 4 
years in prison and 3 years of supervised release for tax and 
immigration crimes. 
Owner and Operator of Telemedicine 
and Telemarketing Companies Sentenced
to 14 Years for $20 Million Fraud Scheme, 
$4 Million Tax Evasion 
June 16, 2022–Marc Sporn, of Delray Beach, Florida, was 
sentenced to 14 years in prison for health care and wire fraud 
that cost Medicare more than $20 million dollars and for 
evading taxes. Sporn owned and operated several telemar­
keting and telemedicine companies and used them to market 
medically unnecessary genetic tests to Medicare beneficiaries 
and to sell prescriptions for medically unnecessary genetic tests 
to laboratories in exchange for kickbacks and bribes. In 
addition to the prison term, Sporn was ordered to pay more 
than $4 million in restitution to the IRS. 
Florida Man Sentenced to 97 Months 
for Filing False Tax Returns 
March 23, 2022–Fred Pickett Jr. was sentenced to over 8 
years in prison, one year of supervised release, and ordered to 
pay $169,639 in restitution to the IRS for preparing false tax 
returns for his clients. Pickett owned and operated a tax return 
business, which he used to prepare false individual income tax 
returns for his clients. From 2013 to 2016, Pickett prepared tax 
returns for some of his clients claiming they owned fictitious 
businesses that lost tens of thousands of dollars each year. 
Pickett included these nonexistent companies, as well as other 
false deductions and tax credits, on his clients’ returns to 
generate refunds to which they were not entitled. 
Special agents visit the Department of Treasury in Puerto Rico. 
Kids participate in getting fingerprinted. 
Florida Man Sentenced to 52 Months 
for Filing False Tax Returns 
March 11, 2022–Michael Wihlborg was sentenced to over 
4 years in prison for filing false tax returns and conspiracy 
to commit wire fraud. From 1997 to 2017, Wihlborg worked 
for a personal injury law firm in various roles. Wihlborg and 
other co-conspirators derived a scheme to set up “dummy” 
companies, whose names were similar to actual vendors with 
whom the law firm conducted legitimate business. They then 
diverted medical expense payments to the sham companies. 
In addition, they voided legitimate checks and rewrote them to 
the sham companies. The money received was not reported by 
Wihlborg and resulted in a tax loss of over $500,000. 
Former NFL Player Sentenced to
Federal Prison for COVID-19 Relief Fraud 
December 10, 2021–Joshua J. Bellamy, a former National 
Football League (NFL) player, was sentenced to over 3 years in 
prison and 3 years of supervised released, and he was ordered 
to pay $1,246,565 in restitution and $1,246,565 in forfeiture 
for fraudulently obtaining a Paycheck Protection Program 
(PPP) loan. Bellamy obtained a PPP loan of $1,246,565 for his 
company, Drip Entertainment LLC, using falsified documents 
and false information. Bellamy admitted to using the PPP loan 
proceeds on personal items, such as jewelry and a stay at the 
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Bellamy also sought PPP 
loans on behalf of his family members and close associates. 
Bellamy further admitted that he paid more than $311,000 
to an alleged co-conspirator, James Stote, as a kickback for 
his assistance in preparing and submitting the fraudulent 
loan application. In addition, Yashica Bain was sentenced to 
2 years in federal prison and 3 years of supervised released 
and was ordered to pay $415,232 in restitution and $415,232 
in forfeiture for fraudulently obtaining a PPP loan as part of this 
criminal scheme. 
Florida Physician Gets 8 Years in Prison, 
Ordered to Pay $31M for Fake Medical Claims 
June 28, 2022–Mark Agresti, MD, a West Palm Beach, 
Florida-based addiction recovery physician has been
 sentenced to over 8 years in prison and 3 years of 
supervised release and was ordered to pay more than 
$31 million in restitution for his involvement in a scheme to 
be reimbursed for $106 million in fake medical claims. 
Dr. Agresti worked as the former medical director of Good 
Decisions Sober Living, a residential addiction recovery center. 
Dr. Agresti and the recovery center’s owner, Kenneth Bailynson, 
falsely billed private payers and federal healthcare benefit 
programs for reimbursement for fluid analysis used to evaluate 
the addiction recovery center’s residents. On April 20, 2022– 
Kenneth Bailynson, of Lake Worth Beach, was sentenced to 
6 years in prison for the same scheme. Two other co-con­
spirators, Matthew Noel and Stephanie Curran, were also 
sentenced for their roles in defrauding insurers to 14 months 
and one year in prison, respectively. 
IRS:CI Annual Report 2022 
34 
Special agents participate in a Fraud Prevention Community Forum. 
Special agents attend a recruiting event. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
NEWARK 
955 S. Springfield Ave. 
Springfield, NJ 07081 
(973) 921-4130 
NewarkFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov 
NEW JERSEY 
Cherry Hill | Edison | Freehold 
Mays Landing | Paterson 
Springfield | Trenton 
New Jersey, also known as the “Garden State,” 
because of the fruitfulness of its farmland, and 
home to more than 9,800 farms covering 790,000 
acres, is home to THE NEWARK FIELD OFFICE. 
The dedicated agents, analysts, and professional 
staff in the Newark Field Office are responsible for 
investigating a large catalogue of potential criminal 
violations of the Internal Revenue Code, and 
related financial crimes in a manner that fosters 
confidence in the tax system and compliance with 
United States tax law. The Newark Field Office 
is comprised of seven locations sprinkled across 
New Jersey: Cherry Hill, Edison, Freehold, Mays 
Landing, Paterson, Springfield, and Trenton, and 
are responsible for 21 counties, 565 municipalities, 
250 boroughs, 52 cities, 15 towns, and 244 
townships in New Jersey. The Newark Field Office 
investigations continue to bear fruit by holding 
accountable individuals who knowingly commit tax 
fraud or other financial crimes. 
Special agents next to a private plane. 
Special agents on a boat. 
Cumberland County Man
Sentenced to 14 Years 
May 3, 2022–Rubbin Sarpong was 
sentenced to 14 years in prison and 3 
years of supervised release for conspiring 
to commit wire fraud and money laundering, 
and tax evasion, in connection with a 
romance fraud scheme. He was also ordered 
to pay restitution of $3.08 million to 36 victims 
and $387,923 to the IRS. At least 40 identified 
victims wired money to Sarpong and others in the 
United States, including to 13 bank accounts he 
controlled, some of which were in the names of his 
friends, relatives, and a fictitious business entity. While 
engaged in this fraud, Sarpong purchased property 
in Ghana and posted photographs of himself on social 
media showing him with large amounts of cash, high-end 
cars, designer clothing, and expensive jewelry. Despite 
having received approximately $1.14 million in taxable 
income from the scheme during tax years 2016 through 2018, 
Sarpong did not file any income tax returns or pay any income 
tax for those years, resulting in a tax loss of $387,923. 
Former Vice President of New Jersey 
Window Tinting Company Sentenced
to Prison on Employment Tax Charges 
September 21, 2021–Stephen Walloga was sentenced to 
2 years in prison and 3 years of supervised release and was 
ordered to pay $1,150,487 in restitution for employment tax 
charges. Walloga admitted that he withheld but failed to pay 
over to the IRS approximately $37,524 in payroll taxes on behalf 
of employees working for A Pain in the Glass Inc. for the tax 
quarter ending December 31, 2017. In total, Walloga failed to 
pay over $1,150,487 in employment taxes for the years 2010 
through 2019. 
Sussex County Man Sentenced to 64 Months 
in Prison for Fraudulently Obtaining $5.6 Million 
Loan Meant to Help Small Businesses During 
COVID-19 Pandemic 
December 14, 2021–Azhar Sarwar Rana was sentenced to 
over 5 years in prison and 5 years of supervised release and 
was ordered to pay restitution of $5.58 million for fraudu­
lently obtaining a federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) 
loan of over $5 million. Rana submitted a fraudulent PPP 
loan application to a lender on behalf of a corporate entity, 
Azhar Sarwar Rana LLC, that purportedly invested in real 
estate development. The application falsified payroll and tax 
information and included inconsistent listings of the number 
of company employees. Rana used the fraudulently obtained 
PPP loan proceeds to pay for numerous personal expenses, 
including to invest millions in the stock market, make a payment 
to a luxury car dealership, and send hundreds of thousands of 
dollars to accounts in Pakistan. 
A special agent conducts a session of the Citizen Academy. 
Bergen County Women Sentenced
to Prison for Embezzling Money 
From Guided Tour Company and
Subscribing to False Tax Returns 
June 2, 2022–Ruby Baroni was sentenced to almost 
2 years in prison and 2 years of supervised release and was 
ordered to pay $295,297 in restitution for her participation 
in a multi-year embezzlement scheme and to subscribing to a 
false personal income tax return. Estela Laluf was sentenced 
to over 2 years in prison and 2 years of supervised release and 
was ordered to pay $295,297 in restitution for participating in the 
same scheme. Laluf directed Baroni to cut company checks to 
actual company employees and contractors, which did not reflect 
any actual work or services done by those individuals. Baroni then 
cashed the checks, and Laluf and Baroni converted the resulting 
funds for their personal use. Baroni and Laluf then fraudulently 
omitted the proceeds from the embezzlement scheme from their 
respective 2016 tax returns. 
Pharmacy Owner Sentenced to 41 Months 
in Prison for Role in Multi-Million Dollar Illegal 
Kickback Scheme and Evading Taxes on Over 
$33 Million of Income 
November 3, 2021–Igor Fleyshmakher was sentenced to almost 
3 ½ years in prison and 3 years of supervised release and was 
ordered to pay $5.8 million in restitution and a $100,000 fine for 
his role in a scheme to pay bribes to health care professionals 
and evade taxes. Fleyshmakher was an owner of The Prime Aid 
Pharmacies, “specialty pharmacies” with locations in Union 
City, New Jersey, and Bronx, New York. The locations, which 
are now closed, processed expensive medications used to treat 
various conditions, including Hepatitis C, Crohn’s disease, and 
rheumatoid arthritis. Fleyshmakher and others orchestrated 
a scheme to pay bribes to doctors and doctors’ employees to 
induce doctors’ offices to steer prescriptions to the Prime Aid 
Pharmacies. The bribes included expensive meals, designer 
bags, and payments by cash, check, and wire transfers. 
Fleyshmakher diverted a substantial amount of Prime Aid’s 
Union City income into a secret bank account that he opened 
and controlled. He concealed the account from the pharmacy’s 
tax preparers and did not report any of the funds he deposited 
into it on his personal income tax returns. In total, he diverted 
$33.9 million of income into the secret account, all of which he 
failed to report to the IRS. 
IRS:CI Annual Report 2022 
35 
Special agents bike in the Police Unity Tour. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Special agents prepare to enter a building 
during a training exercise. 
NEW YORK 
290 Broadway 
4th Floor 
Manhattan, NY 10007 
(212) 436-1761 
NewYorkFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov 
NEW YORK 
Albany | Bethpage | Bronx | Brooklyn 
Buffalo | Hauppauge | Manhattan 
New Windsor | Rochester | Staten Island 
Syracuse | White Plains 
As the nation’s largest field office and CI’s flagship 
location, THE NEW YORK FIELD OFFICE conducts 
intricate financial investigations in association 
with the most dynamic United States Attorney’s 
Offices in the country. To tackle the various 
threats affecting the taxpayers of New York, our 
diverse special agents and support staff provide 
unparalleled financial expertise to unravel domestic 
and international tax evasion. In support of the CI 
mission, our office also investigates International 
and Domestic Terrorism Finance, Cybercrimes, 
Money Laundering as of a result of Public 
Corruption, COVID 19 Fraud, Market Manipulation, 
Corporate and Securities Fraud, Health Care Fraud, 
Mortgage Fraud, Bank Fraud and Money Laundering 
from International Narcotics Trafficking. The New 
York field office has two specialty groups one 
dedicated to support the Joint Chiefs of Global 
Tax Enforcement (J5), and the other dedicated 
exclusively to cybercrime investigations. 
Special agents participate in the 2022 Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics New York. 
A special agent adjusts his vest as he 
prepares for an enforcement action. 
Co-Founder of Foreign Oil
Company Sentenced to 
5 Years for Failure to File 
Tax Returns Causing Over 
$20 Million in Losses 
January 26, 2022–Todd Kozel, the 
co-founder and former CEO of a London-
based petroleum company with operations 
in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, was sentenced 
to 5 years in prison following his guilty plea to 
five counts of willful failure to file individual 
income tax returns for the calendar years 2011 
sation as the CEO of the Oil Company, totaling more 
than $66 million during the five-year period and willfully 
failed to file any personal federal income tax returns for 
those years, resulting in well over $20 million in unpaid 
federal tax liabilities. As part of his criminal conduct, Kozel 
used sophisticated offshore structures, trusts, and bank 
accounts to conceal a portion of his undeclared income from 
the U.S. government. 
Physician Sentenced to More Than 
4 Years for COVID-19 Loan Fraud 
through 2015. Kozel earned substantial compen-
March 18, 2022–Konstantinos Zarkadas, a Glen Cove, 
New York based medical doctor, was sentenced to over 
5 years in prison for fraudulently obtaining millions of dollars 
in COVID-19 emergency relief funds. The Court also ordered 
Dr. Zarkadas to pay approximately $3.5 million in restitution. 
Dr. Zarkadas fraudulently applied for, and received, based on 
the false information that he provided, at least 11 COVID Relief-
related loans totaling approximately $3,700,000, on behalf of 
corporate entities he controlled. Dr. Zarkadas laundered the 
loan proceeds through various bank accounts, ultimately using 
the funds for extravagant personal purchases, including a down 
payment on a $1.75 million yacht, payments for leases on 
luxury automobiles, and several Rolex and Cartier wristwatches, 
which he forfeited as part of his guilty plea in this case. He also 
withdrew tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of loan proceeds 
in cash and used some of the proceeds to satisfy more than 
$1 million in judgments against him. 
Foreign National Sentenced to More Than 4 Years 
in Prison for $20M COVID-19 Pandemic Loan 
Fraud 
April 21, 2022–Muge Ma, a/k/a “Hummer Mars,” was sentenced 
to over 4 years in prison in connection with a fraudulent 
scheme to obtain over $20 million in Government-guaranteed 
loans designed to provide relief to small businesses during the 
COVID-19 pandemic. In connection with loan applications for 
relief available from the Paycheck Protection Program and 
the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program, Ma falsely 
represented to the U.S. Small Business Administration and 
six financial institutions that his companies, New York Interna­
tional Capital LLC and Hurley Human Resources LLC, had 
hundreds of employees and paid millions of dollars in wages to 
those employees, when, in fact, Ma appears to have been the 
only employee of his companies. 
Operators of Over $16 Million International Boiler 
Room Fraud Sentenced to Years in Prison 
June 30, 2022–Christopher Wright was sentenced to over 
4 years in prison and Steven Hooper was sentenced to just 
under 4 years in prison for defrauding elderly victims for their 
part in the fraudulent sale of stock and fake carbon credits in 
an over $16 million international telemarketing scheme. For 
6 years, Wright, Hooper, and other co-conspirators operated 
multiple fraud schemes, one of which they used the services 
of telemarketing call centers to identify and cold-call potential 
victims, who were primarily elderly or retired individuals 
residing in the United Kingdom. Over a series of telephone 
calls, the telemarketers persuaded victims to invest money 
under various false and misleading pretenses, including the 
promise of short-term, high-yield, no-risk returns, when in fact 
the investments were high-risk, illiquid, and in some instances, 
entirely fictitious. In order to conceal the nature, location, 
source, ownership, and control of the proceeds of the fraudulent 
scheme, Wright, Hooper, and their co-conspirators set up 
overseas bank accounts, including in Cyprus, Switzerland, and 
the United Kingdom, in the names of various shell companies, 
which were used to launder a substantial portion of the fraud 
proceeds. In total, victims lost over $16 million in this scheme. 
Donut Shop Owners Sentenced to Prison 
for Tax Evasion – With $4.5 Million in Cash Sales 
and Paid Employees Off the Books Concealed 
July 13, 2022–John Zourdos, his wife, Helen Zourdos, and their 
son, Dimitrios Zourdos of Rome, New York, were sentenced 
for tax evasion and conspiracy to defraud the United States, 
after their conviction by a federal jury in November 2021. 
John Zourdos was sentenced to 2 ½ years in prison, Helen 
Zourdos was sentenced to 20 months in prison, and Dimitrios 
Zourdos was sentenced to 10 months in prison. In addition 
to their terms of imprisonment, they were each ordered to 
serve 3 years of supervised release and to pay more than 
$2 million in restitution. The Zourdos’ operated three Dippin 
Donuts coffee and donut shops with locations in Rome and New 
Hartford. From 2012 to 2017, the trio concealed from the IRS 
approximately $4.5 million in cash sales. During that period, 
they evaded more than $2 million in individual and corporate 
taxes, by, among other things, depositing cash directly into their 
personal bank accounts instead of into business bank accounts, 
providing incomplete information to their accountants, causing 
their accountants to file false individual and corporate tax 
returns with the IRS, and funding personal expenditures directly 
with undeposited and unreported cash. They used unreported 
income to fund a lavish lifestyle that included multiple luxury 
vehicles, expensive watches, investment accounts, and real 
estate. They also paid some of their employees “off the books” 
cash wages to avoid federal payroll taxes. 
IRS:CI Annual Report 2022 
36 
U.S. Coast Guard invited Special Agents in Charge from CI and ATF aboard their 
flagship, USCGC Eagle. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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OAKLAND 
1301 Clay St. 
Oakland, CA 94612 
(510) 907-5249 
OaklandFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov 
CALIFORNIA 
Fresno | Modesto | Oakland 
Sacramento | San Francisco 
San Jose | San Rafael | Santa Rosa 
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 sunny California. Eight posts of duty 
cover territory from the west coastline to the Sierra 
mountains and from the Oregon border all the way 
down to Bakersfield, CA. The Oakland Field Office 
is proud to represent CI as the leading agency in 
financial crimes in Northern California. Tax fraud is 
a top priority, but the field office also partners with 
other federal law enforcement agencies in tackling 
financial crimes, including money laundering and 
high profile public corruption cases. Oakland Field 
Office special agents maintain a strong working 
relationship with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and are 
involved in local task forces, including OCDETF, 
JTTF, cybercrimes, and public corruption. Some of 
the top CI cases are investigated by special agents 
from the Oakland Field Office. 
Former Netflix Executive 
Sentenced to 30 Months 
for Bribes and Kickbacks 
From Netflix Vendors 
December 14, 2021–Michael Kail, the 
former Vice President of IT Operations 
at Netflix, was sentenced to 2 ½ years 
in federal prison for his convictions for 
honest services wire, mail fraud, and money 
laundering. Kail was indicted on April 26, 2018, 
and charged with nineteen counts of wire fraud, 
three counts of mail fraud, and seven counts 
of money laundering. On April 30, 2021, after a 
three-week trial, a jury returned guilty verdicts on 
28 of the 29 counts charged. The jury also made 
findings to support the forfeiture of property Kail had 
purchased with the proceeds of his fraud. As Netflix’s Vice 
President of IT Operations, Kail approved the contracts 
to purchase IT products and services from smaller outside 
vendor companies and authorized payments to them. 
Evidence produced at trial proved that Kail solicited and 
received bribes and kickbacks from nine tech companies 
providing products or services to Netflix. In exchange, Kail 
approved millions of dollars in contracts for goods and services 
provided by them to Netflix. Kail received over $500,000 and 
A special agent competes in the Baker to Vegas race. 
Special agents conduct firearms training. 
stock options from the outside companies. He used his kickback 
payments in multiple ways, including to pay his personal expenses 
and to buy a home in Los Gatos, California. 
Former Bay Area Woman Sentenced
to 5 Years in Prison for Fraud Scheme 
May 3, 2022–Amanda Christine Riley was sentenced to 5 years 
in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud in connection with 
a scheme to solicit donations from individuals to help pay for 
cancer treatments she never needed nor received. Beginning in 
2012, Riley began to falsely report that she had been diagnosed 
with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of cancer. Although she 
was not actually ill, Riley carefully cultivated a social media 
presence, using Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and a blog. 
She used her presence on these sites to “document” her 
nonexistent medical condition, and to aggressively solicit 
donations, supposedly to cover her medical expenses. Riley 
went to great lengths to maintain her deception, including 
shaving her head to make it appear as if she were receiving 
chemotherapy. In truth, Riley had no medical expenses. 
Instead, she deposited the donations into her personal bank 
accounts and used the funds to pay her living expenses. In 
total, the government identified 349 individuals and entities 
who made contributions towards Riley’s fabricated medical 
expenses with a total value of $105,513. 
Special agents conduct a search warrant. 
Former HP Employee Sentenced to 
3 Years in $5+ Million Wire Fraud Scheme 
August 17, 2022–Shelbee Szeto was sentenced to 
3 years in prison for wire fraud, money laundering, and filing 
a fraudulent tax return. Szeto was ordered to pay over 
$4.8 million in restitution to HP Inc. and $1.2 million to 
the IRS. From August 2017 until June of 2021, Szeto was 
employed as an executive assistant and finance planning 
manager for HP Inc. Szeto was responsible for making payments 
to HP vendors and was issued multiple HP commercial credits 
cards to make payments on HP’s behalf. Rather than making 
payments in accordance with the company’s policies, she devised 
a fraudulent scheme, where she sent approximately $4.8 million 
in unauthorized payments from her HP commercial credit cards to 
several Square, PayPal, and Stripe merchant accounts under her 
control. In addition, she attempted to steal approximately $330,000 
from HP. Szeto pleaded guilty to her crimes and acknowledged 
the total loss and attempted loss from her scheme was at least 
$5.2 million. She surrendered items purchased with the stolen 
funds, including a Tesla, a Porsche, designer handbags, and jewelry. 
Former San Francisco Public Works Director 
Sentenced to 7 Years in Federal Prison 
August 25, 2022–former San Francisco City Hall public official 
Mohammed Nuru was sentenced to 7 years in prison for honest 
services wire fraud. Nuru admitted to a spectrum of public 
corruption charges involving bribery and kickbacks he received 
while in leadership positions with the San Francisco 
Department of Public Works (DPW). Nuru was arrested on 
January 17, 2020, following the filing of a 79-page federal 
complaint against him. At the time, Nuru was the Director of 
DPW and had held that position since 2011. The complaint 
charged Nuru with honest services fraud in public office and 
alleged a long-running scheme of bribes and kickbacks during 
his DPW tenure. Nuru was also charged in a second federal 
complaint with lying to a federal agent during the San Francisco 
City Hall corruption investigation. Nuru exercised great influence 
over San Francisco’s business and policy, including public 
contracts, permits, and construction projects. His power and 
influence extended beyond DPW’s jurisdiction to numerous 
other city departments and agencies, making him one of the 
most powerful public officials in the city. 
IRS:CI Annual Report 2022 
37 
Special agents work to open a safe while 
conducting a search warrant. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
PHILADELPHIA  
600 Arch St. 
Philadelphia, PA 19106 
(267) 941-6187 
PhiladelphiaFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov 
DELAWARE 
Newark 
PENNSYLVANIA 
Bethlehem | Cranberry Township | Erie 
Harrisburg | Johnstown | King Of Prussia 
Philadelphia | Pittsburgh | Scranton 
PHILADELPHIA FIELD OFFICE is located in 
downtown Philadelphia and home to several 
historical sites, such as the Liberty Bell, 
Independence Hall, and the Rocky Statue. With 
seven posts of duty, the field office serves a broad 
geographic area that includes the entire states of 
Pennsylvania and Delaware. Within this area of 
responsibility, the field office 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 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). 
Businessman Sentenced to 
Over 6 Years for Tax Evasion 
and $21 Million Bank Fraud 
February 8, 2022–Christopher Hogg 
was sentenced to over 6 years in prison, 
followed by two years of supervised 
release. He was also ordered to forfeit 
over $17 million and pay restitution of over 
$750,000 for his participation in a loan fraud 
scheme worth more than $21 million. Hogg 
previously pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy 
to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, filing a false 
return, and tax evasion. The bank fraud charges 
arose from an insurance premium financing scheme 
that Hogg and others conducted. Hogg and co-con­
spirator, Rennie Rodriguez, submitted approximately 
35 applications to a finance company, purportedly for 
premium finance loans to purchase insurance, when 
the loans were not for that purpose. Neal Dunoff, another 
co-conspirator inside the finance company, waived the loan 
verification procedures and approved the loans, in exchange 
for compensation from Hogg. Hogg used the proceeds of this 
scheme as capital for his businesses and to support his luxurious 
lifestyle, including payments for a Mercedes Benz S-Class vehicle, 
country club dues, vacations, and payments towards the purchase 
of a $1 million mansion on the Main Line. Hogg also failed to report 
over $370,000 of income on his 2016 tax return. Furthermore, 
he failed to file his 2017 tax return, even though he earned over 
$1.7 million in income that year. His actions resulted in a total tax 
loss of approximately $750,000. 
Construction Business Owner Sentenced 
to 2 ½ Years for $1.3 Million Tax Fraud Scheme 
June 15, 2022–Samuel Bullock was sentenced to 2 ½ years 
in prison, one year of supervised release, and ordered to pay 
restitution in the amount of $3,501,261 to the IRS. Bullock 
orchestrated a tax fraud scheme to avoid paying nearly 
$1.3 million in federal income taxes, and millions more in 
interest and penalties. Bullock previously pleaded guilty to 
aiding and assisting in the filing of a false federal tax return and 
willful failure to file a federal tax return, relating to his efforts to 
avoid paying taxes on income from his construction business. 
In 2009, after the defendant had repeatedly failed to file his 
federal income tax returns, the IRS secured liens for more than 
$1.9 million that Bullock owed in taxes, penalties, and interest. 
Bullock responded by taking steps to avoid collection. Specif­
ically, he arranged to have his business income paid over to a 
sole proprietorship, which he set up in his spouse’s name. He 
then provided his clients with new Forms W-9 with his spouse’s 
Social Security number, and he opened a new business checking 
account listing his spouse as the alleged sole proprietor. Bullock 
reported his own income on his spouse’s tax return, using the 
filing status “Married filing separately.” Although he was aware 
that he had earned income and was required to file a federal 
income tax return, Bullock failed to do so. 
Special agents visit Antietam National Battlefield in Maryland. 
A special agent participates in training. 
Operators of Veterinary Clinic Sentenced 
to Prison for Employment Tax Fraud 
May 20, 2022–Dr. Karin Breitlauch and Linda Breitlauch were 
each sentenced to one year and one day in prison for failure 
to remit payroll taxes from their veterinary business and were 
ordered to serve 3 years of supervised release following their 
incarceration. They were also ordered to pay $2,486,496 in 
restitution. Veterinarian Karin Breitlauch owned and operated 
Creature Comforts Veterinary Service, and her sister, Linda 
Breitlauch, worked as the comptroller for the business. Between 
2013 and 2016, the Breitlauchs withheld federal income taxes 
from their employees’ paychecks, but they failed to remit the 
withholdings to the IRS for tax quarters in 2013 through 2016. 
They also failed to pay the employer portion of the payroll taxes. 
Corporate Secretary Sentenced 
to Prison for Employment Tax Fraud 
November 17, 2021–Sara Collins was sentenced to 6 months 
in prison, followed by 18 months of supervised release. Collins 
was ordered to pay $930,008 in restitution. Collins previously 
pleaded guilty to intentionally failing to pay employment taxes 
on behalf of a local business. Collins served as the Corporate 
Secretary of a plumbing, heating, and air conditioning business 
for over 20 years. She was responsible for overseeing payroll 
disbursement and filing tax documents on behalf of the 
business. From the first quarter of 2013 through the last quarter 
of 2019, Collins failed to file quarterly Forms 941 with the IRS, 
and she paid fewer than $37,000 in payroll taxes for that entire 
six-year period. In total, Collins failed to pay over $930,000 in 
taxes owed to the IRS by the business. 
Michigan Man gets 7 Years in Prison 
for Hacking UPMC HR Databases and 
Stealing Employees’ Personal Information 
October 15, 2021–Justin Sean Johnson was sentenced to the 
statutory maximum sentence of 5 years in prison for conspiracy 
to defraud the United States, and the statutory maximum of 
2 years for aggravated identity theft, for a total of 7 years in 
prison. The charges resulted from Johnson hacking the human 
resources databases of the University of Pittsburgh Medical 
Center and stealing personally identifiable information (PII) 
of more than 65,000 UPMC employees. Johnson, age 30, 
formerly of Detroit, Michigan, was known on the Dark web as 
“TheDearthStar” and “Dearthy Star.” He infiltrated and hacked 
into the UPMC human resource server databases in 2013 and 
2014 and stole sensitive PII and W-2 information belonging to 
tens of thousands of UPMC employees. Johnson then sold the 
stolen information on Dark web forums for use by conspirators, 
who promptly filed hundreds of false Forms 1040 in 2014. 
These false Form 1040 filings claimed hundreds of thousands 
of dollars of false tax refunds, which they converted into Amazon. 
com gift cards. They then used the funds to purchase Amazon 
merchandise, which was shipped to Venezuela. Additionally, 
from 2014 through 2017, Johnson stole and sold nearly 
90,000 additional (non-UPMC) sets of PII to buyers on dark web 
forums, which could be used to commit identity theft and bank 
fraud. The scheme resulted in approximately $1.7 million in false 
tax refunds. 
IRS:CI Annual Report 2022 
38 
A special agent is sworn in. 
Special agents participate in training. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
PHOENIX 
4041 N. Central Ave. 
Phoenix, AZ 85012 
(602) 636-9721 
PhoenixFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov 
ARIZONA 
Glendale | Mesa | Phoenix | Tucson 
NEVADA 
Las Vegas | Reno 
NEW MEXICO 
Albuquerque | Las Cruces | Santa Fe 
UTAH 
Ogden | Salt Lake City 
THE PHOENIX FIELD OFFICE covers the 
southwestern states of Arizona, Nevada, New 
Mexico and Utah. After recently merging with 
the former Las Vegas Field Office, the office now 
covers a vast geographic area that stretches from 
the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the west to the 
Rockies in the east. The office’s special agents 
investigate both legal and illegal source tax crimes, 
including cases with an international nexus. The 
office also operates multiple financial crimes 
task forces. Located on the U.S. / Mexico border, 
the office provides significant participation in the 
high level Organized Crime Drug Enforcement 
Task Force (OCDETF). From the Grand Canyon of 
Arizona to the bright lights of Las Vegas, Nevada 
the Phoenix Field Office identifies and investigates 
a wide variety of complex financial crimes. 
Restaurant Developer
Sentenced to 5 Years 
in Prison for Tax Evasion 
and Conspiracy 
February 24, 2022–Frank Capri was 
sentenced to 5 years in prison related to his 
fraudulent scheme involving the operation 
of Toby Keith and Rascal Flatts restaurant 
chains. Capri directed employees to fabricate 
construction draw paperwork submitted to 
property developers in order to fraudulently 
receive tenant improvement funds for the build 
out of these restaurants. Property developers 
disbursed $12,997,478 in tenant improvement funds 
for construction of Toby Keith Restaurants, which were 
never completed or opened. Capri received an additional 
$5,035,225 in tenant improvement funds for Rascal 
Flatts restaurants that never opened. Despite earning 
millions of dollars each year from the business between 
2013 and 2015, Capri underreported his income by a total 
of $4,476,582, with a tax loss of $1,528,079. 
Ogden Dentist Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison 
June 3, 2022–Derald Geddes of Ogden, Utah was sentenced 
Special agents staging prior to a search warrant. 
A special agent is interviewed by a reporter with KTVK in Phoenix, Arizona. 
Special agents participate in first aid training 
in Las Vegas, Nevada. 
to 5 years in prison, after being found guilty at trial of tax 
evasion, filing false returns, and corrupt interference with tax 
administration. He was also ordered to pay over $1.8 million in 
restitution. From approximately 1998 through 2014, Geddes 
took repeated steps to evade the payment of federal income 
taxes he owed, and he obstructed the IRS’s efforts to collect 
his tax debt. Among other efforts, Geddes filed false liens 
against his own properties, submitted to the IRS bogus “bonds 
to discharge debt” that he claimed were from the account of 
the former Treasury Secretary, and filed false corporate income 
tax returns. 
Sunland Park Woman Sentenced to 12 Years in 
Prison for Drug Trafficking and Money Laundering 
November 30, 2021–Rosa De Santiago of Sunland Park, New 
Mexico was sentenced to 12 years in prison for her part in a 
drug trafficking and international money laundering conspiracy. 
De Santiago was one of 22 defendants charged as the result 
of a 16-month federal investigation targeting a Mexican 
drug trafficking organization responsible for importing large 
quantities of heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine from 
Mexico and distributing the drugs in New Mexico, Texas, Kansas, 
Kentucky, and Illinois. During the investigation, law enforcement 
authorities seized approximately 30 kilograms of heroin, 64 
kilograms of methamphetamine, 17 kilograms of cocaine, 20 
kilograms of marijuana, 24 firearms, $102,000 in currency, and 
three vehicles. 
Las Vegas Tax Preparer 
Sentenced to Prison for Tax Crimes 
February 16, 2022–Jesus Castro was sentenced to almost 
4 years in prison for failing to collect and pay over employment 
taxes to the IRS, causing a total loss to the IRS of over $9.6 
million. He was also ordered to pay $399,388 in restitution. In 
2014, Castro began operating a tax preparation business in Las 
Vegas. He failed to report wages and employment taxes owed 
for his employees and filed numerous tax returns on behalf of 
clients with incorrect deductions and credits. 
Jamaican Man Sentenced to 160 Months in Prison 
for Role in International Lottery Fraud Scheme 
August 16, 2022–David McIntosh, of Jamaica, was sentenced 
to over 13 years in prison and ordered to pay restitution totaling 
approximately $1.8 million. McIntosh had previously been found 
guilty by a jury for conspiracy to commit money laundering, 
conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, wire fraud, and mail 
fraud. McIntosh was one of the leaders of an international fraud 
ring targeting thousands of elderly victims around the United 
States. Jamaican-based scammers and others called elderly 
victims in the United States, claiming the victims had won a 
lottery or other prize. 
Chinese Citizen Sentenced to 33 Months 
in Prison and Ordered to Pay $3.2 Million 
Dollars for Kickback Scheme 
May 10, 2022–Nan Ma of Washington, Utah, was sentenced 
to almost 3 years in prison for failing to file financial reports 
with the U.S. Treasury after bringing over $10,000 in currency 
into the United States from China. Ma was also ordered to pay 
$2,563,337 in restitution to Sound Vision Technology, which is 
a high-end audio business in Hurricane, Utah, and ordered to 
pay $777,879 in restitution to the IRS for outstanding federal 
tax obligations. Ma was accused by federal prosecutors of using 
his position and authority as the officer in charge of production 
to solicit and obtain kickbacks for his personal benefit from 
Chinese companies. 
Las Cruces Woman Sentenced to Four Years 
in Prison for Wire Fraud and False Tax Returns 
July 21, 2022–Sandra Roberto was sentenced to over 4 years in 
prison for wire fraud and filing false and fraudulent tax returns. 
Roberto began working for Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT) 
in 2009, first as a fuel clerk and later in the accounting office. 
From 2011 through 2018, Roberto exploited her position at the 
company to embezzle approximately $1,130,215 from MVT. 
Roberto then used the money for personal expenditures, such 
as rent and the purchase of vehicles, flights, hotel accommo­
dations, and other items. Roberto has agreed to pay restitution 
to her former employer in the amount of $1,130,215 and to the 
IRS in the amount of $250,473. 
IRS:CI Annual Report 2022 
39 
Special agents participate in use of force 
training in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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SEATTLE 
915 Second Ave. 
Seattle, WA 98174 
SeattleFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov 
ALASKA 
Anchorage 
GUAM 
Agana 
HAWAII 
Honolulu 
OREGON 
Bend | Eugene | Medford | Portland 
WASHINGTON 
Seattle | Spokane | Tacoma | Vancouver 
THE SEATTLE FIELD OFFICE investigates a wide 
variety of complex crimes related to domestic and 
international tax, public corruption, identity theft, 
cybercrime, and drug related financial crimes. 
Our area of operation spans four states and two 
territories: Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, 
Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern 
Marianas Islands. The Seattle Field Office works 
with U.S. Attorney’s Offices in seven judicial 
districts in four different time zones (on both sides 
of the international date line). The field office is 
privileged to serve a diverse and unique population 
of taxpayers. Financial investigative expertise, 
meticulous planning, and determined collaboration 
allow us to effectively combat all types of financial 
crime for the benefit of the communities within our 
geographic area. 
Tax Preparer Sentenced
to Federal Prison for 
Filing Hundreds of False
Tax Returns 
October 4, 2021–Damian O. Barrett, 
of Homestead, Florida, was sentenced to 
4 ½ years in prison and 3 years of supervised 
release for his multi-year fraud scheme to 
file false tax returns. Barrett owned two tax 
preparation companies, one to prepare and 
submit legitimate tax returns and the other to 
submit false and fraudulent tax returns. Between 
January 2015 and December 2018, Barrett filed 
745 false tax returns to 19 different state taxing 
authorities using stolen identities, some of which 
belonged to his clients. In total, Barrett sought nearly 
$900,000 in fraudulent refunds and received more 
than $234,000. 
Oregon Tax Cheat Sentenced to Federal Prison 
November 15, 2021–Robert Andrew Lund was sentenced to 
almost 3 ½ years in prison and 3 years of supervised release 
for using a complex scheme to evade more than $1.7 million 
in personal income taxes, for which he was also ordered to 
A special agent delivers a Source Development Training presentation to special agents in Portland, OR. 
Special agents seize evidence while executing 
a search warrant in Washington. 
A special agent with 
Guardia Civil of Spain 
seize digital evidence. 
pay restitution. Despite operating a highly profitable computer 
consulting company, Lund reported almost no income on his 
personal tax returns. The IRS audited Lund and determined he 
owed more than $2.7 million in taxes plus penalties, assessments 
that were upheld by both the U.S. Tax Court and the Ninth Circuit 
Court of Appeals. Subsequently, Lund attempted to evade payment 
by claiming to the IRS that he was not a U.S. citizen and therefore 
not subject to taxation. During this time, Lund also fraudulently 
received food stamps and Medicaid he was not eligible for, 
effectively stealing $70,000 in public health benefits. 
Anchorage Couple Sentenced to Prison for 
Distributing Drugs and Money Laundering 
December 1, 2021–May Saelee, aka “The First Lady,” was 
sentenced to over 3 years in prison followed by 5 years of 
supervised release, and Cher Vang, aka “The President,” was 
sentenced to almost 6 years in prison followed by 5 years 
of supervised release. Between August 2011 and 2018, the 
couple distributed methamphetamine and used the proceeds 
to purchase various items, including jewelry and personal 
property. They also structured over $150,000 of bank deposits 
to avoid federal banking requirements and to conceal the illicit 
source of the money. As part of their plea agreement, Saelee 
and Vang agreed to forfeit to the United States any property 
derived from their illegal activities, including jewelry, money, 
guns, and personal property. 
Oregon Man Sentenced to Federal Prison 
and Ordered to Forfeit Over $18 Million 
in Stock and Properties After Stealing 
Millions in COVID-Relief Funds 
January 6, 2022–Andrew Lloyd was sentenced to 4 years in 
federal prison and 5 years of supervised release for bank fraud, 
money laundering, and aggravated identity theft. Lloyd was also 
ordered to pay more than $4 million in restitution and to forfeit 
25 properties and more than 15,000 shares of Tesla Inc. stock. 
Lloyd fraudulently applied for COVID-19 relief under the CARES 
Act, by using numerous business names and the identities of 
relatives and business associates without their consent. Lloyd 
submitted false documentation to justify the loan amounts 
requested. In total, Lloyd fraudulently obtained over $3.5 million 
of relief funds due to his false CARES Act loan applications. 
Tax Preparer Sentenced to Prison for Fraudulent 
Deductions on Federal Income Tax Returns 
January 19, 2022–Jean Mpouli was sentenced to one year and 
one day for 14 counts of aiding and abetting the filing of false 
tax returns and was ordered to pay $31,296 in restitution to the 
IRS. While Mpouli worked for 25 years as an aviation inspector 
for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), he also ran a 
side tax preparation business with hundreds of clients, offering 
his services primarily to African immigrants. Mpouli falsely 
increased deductions for unreimbursed business expenses and 
educational expenses to boost his clients’ tax refunds. Mpouli 
took a percentage of the refund as his fee, meaning the higher the 
refund, the larger the fee. Furthermore, Mpouli hid over $200,000 
of revenue generated by the preparation of these false returns. 
Former Lake Oswego Resident Sentenced
to Federal Prison for COVID-Relief Fraud 
February 22, 2022–David Unitan was sentenced to over 
5 years in prison and 3 years of supervised release for stea 
ling funds intended to help small businesses during the 
COVID-19 pandemic. In July 2020, a small business owner 
contacted the local sheriff’s office to report that an unknown 
person had obtained and used his personal information, as well 
as that of his wife and their business, to establish accounts in 
Boston. Unitan submitted six fraudulent COVID-19 relief loan 
applications using this small business owner’s Social Security 
number, two of which were funded for a total of $295,000. At his 
arrest in December 2020, federal agents seized a Ford pickup, 
a Tesla sedan, and digital evidence that confirmed Unitan had 
applied for dozens of fraudulent COVID-19 relief loans. 
Former Seattle Doctor Sentenced to 4 years in 
Prison for Defrauding Pandemic Relief Programs 
March 8, 2022–Eric R. Shibley, a former Seattle doctor, 
was sentenced to 4 years in prison and was ordered to pay 
$1,438,000 in restitution for fraudulently seeking over 
$3.5 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and 
Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) relief funds. Shibley was 
convicted following a trial in 2021–where evidence showed 
that Shibley submitted 26 fraudulent PPP applications and 
13 false EIDL loan applications. In the applications, Shibley 
misrepresented the number of his employees and payroll 
expenses, concealed his own criminal history, and submitted 
fake tax documents. 
IRS:CI Annual Report 2022 
40 
Special agents participate in a 
pre operational briefing prior to safely 
executing an authorized search warrant. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
  
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
ST. LOUIS  
1222 Spruce St. 
St. Louis, MO 63103 
(314) 339-1307 
StLouisFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov 
ILLINOIS 
Fairview Heights 
IOWA 
Cedar Rapids | Davenport | Des Moines 
KANSAS 
Overland Park  | Wichita 
NEBRASKA 
Omaha 
MISSOURI 
Chesterfield | Jefferson City | Lee’s Summit 
St. Louis | Springfield 
NORTH DAKOTA 
Fargo 
SOUTH DAKOTA 
Rapid City | Sioux Falls, SD 
THE ST. LOUIS FIELD OFFICE serves a population 
of more than 17 million people in nine judicial 
districts spanning the states of Iowa, Kansas, 
Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, 
and 38 counties in southern Illinois. Known for 
their farming communities and friendly residents, 
these seven states see a significant amount of 
financial crimes that include tax fraud, money 
laundering, narcotics trafficking, and identity 
theft. Special agents of the St. Louis Field Office 
invest a great deal of time building relationships 
with local colleges, community organizations, and 
law enforcement offices to build a level of trust 
that assists them in investigations. Recognizing 
CI’s distinction as the finest financial investigation 
team in the world, we play a critical role in the U.S. 
Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug 
Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). 
A supervisor special agent speaks about the special agent job opening during 
a career fair at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. 
Special agents participate in firearms training. 
West Des Moines Man 
Lands in Jail for Stealing 
$10 Million in False Refund 
Claims from IRS 
February 4, 2022–Jeffrey Allan Kock 
was sentenced to over 8 years in prison 
for multiple offenses, including money 
laundering and making false claims for 
tax refunds. Kock was also ordered to pay 
$404,440 in restitution. Kock attempted to steal 
money from the IRS by filing two IRS Forms 1041, 
which are used by estates and trusts to obtain 
large tax refunds. Kock fraudulently requested 
refunds in the amounts of $20,671 and $10,921,192, 
which the IRS initially paid. Kock used some of the 
proceeds to purchase three luxury automobiles. The IRS 
seized the vehicles and recovered most of the ill-gotten 
proceeds. From 2014 through 2018, Kock worked in the 
local restaurant and bar industry, earning sufficient income 
to require the filing of individual income tax returns. However, 
Kock did not file individual returns for any of those years. 
Convicted Payday Lender Ordered to 
Pay More Than $40 Million in Back Taxes 
March 1, 2022–Scott Tucker, a former professional race car 
driver and subject of the Netflix documentary Dirty Money, 
was sentenced to 3 years in prison for tax fraud and ordered 
to pay $40 million in restitution to the IRS. Tucker owned 
and operated several businesses involved in a nationwide 
payday lending scheme. From 1997 until 2013, Tucker made 
small, short-term, high-interest, unsecured loans, commonly 
referred to as “payday loans.” In 2018, Tucker was sentenced 
to over 16 ½ years in prison for evading New York state laws. 
In November 2021, Tucker pleaded guilty to one count of filing 
a false tax return. Tucker admitted that his business, Level 
5, never operated as a for-profit business, and he submitted 
false information on his tax return to hide the amount of taxes 
owed. The IRS secured the restitution order after alleging 
Tucker did not pay taxes on $118 million in net income from 
his businesses. A federal judge ordered Tucker’s 3-year 
prison sentence to be served concurrently with the previous 
conviction in the Southern District of New York. On April 21, 
2022–the former home of Scott Tucker was seized and sold for 
$2,412,500, and the proceeds were applied towards restitution. 
Missourians Get a Few Less 
Vehicle Warranty Calls as Business 
Owner Gets Three Years on Tax Charges 
January 26, 2022–Gary Primm was sentenced to 3 years in 
prison after a federal jury found him guilty of two counts of tax 
evasion and one count of failure to file an income tax return. 
Primm owned and operated United Auto Defense, LLC, a St. 
Charles, Missouri based call center that marketed and sold auto 
warranties. In 2014, United earned more than $620,000 
in taxable income, but Primm failed to file the 
company’s income tax return. In 2014 and 2015, 
Primm received over a million dollars in income from the 
business, but he did not pay any personal income taxes 
on it. He took steps to evade assessment of his taxes by 
diverting United’s funds to a shell company’s bank account, 
instead of his personal bank account, and by filing false forms 
with the IRS. Primm used funds from a nominee bank account 
to pay personal expenses, including his mortgage, jewelry and 
automobile purchases, and gambling expenses. 
Special agents participate in Defensive Tactics Training. 
Mexican National Sentenced to 12 Years 
for Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine 
December 27, 2021–Mexican national Jesus Salvador Campoy-
Estrada was sentenced to 12 years in prison without parole for 
his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy. The court also ordered 
Campoy-Estrada to forfeit $12,150,000 to the government, 
which represents the proceeds of his drug trafficking crimes. 
Campoy-Estrada was a primary organizer in a drug-trafficking 
organization that distributed more than 2,600 kilograms of 
cocaine in the Kansas City metropolitan area over a three-year 
period. He admitted that he was personally responsible for the 
distribution of more than 450 kilograms of cocaine during his 
involvement with the conspiracy. When he was arrested, law 
enforcement searched his residence and found marijuana, a 
drug ledger, a loaded XD 9mm semi-automatic handgun, and 
$111,995, which he admitted were illicit drug proceeds. 
Teenager’s Death Leads to Federal 
Prison for Large-Scale Fentanyl Dealer 
October 14, 2021–Steven Barros Pinto was sentenced to 
33 years in jail for his part in drug trafficking and money 
laundering conspiracies. Steven Pinto was part of a Rhode 
Island organization that was receiving fentanyl from Canada 
and China. After a five-week trial, the jury returned guilty 
verdicts against Pinto on various drug trafficking charges. 
The case is part of “Operation Denial,” an Organized Crime 
and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation into 
the international trafficking of fentanyl. The investigation began 
in Grand Forks, North Dakota, on January 3, 2015, with the 
overdose death of teenager Bailey Henke. Operation Denial 
led to criminal charges against 31 defendants in North Dakota 
and three in Oregon. The investigation resulted in the forfeiture 
of nearly $1 million in cash and property from members of 
the organization. 
IRS:CI Annual Report 2022 
41 
Special agents prepare to greet visitors to the 
CI table they hosted during National Night 
Out 2022 in Prairie Village, Kansas. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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-
TAMPA 
9450 Koger Blvd. 
St. Petersburg, FL 33702 
TampaFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov 
FLORIDA 
Fort Myers | Gainesville | Jacksonville 
Maitland | Pensacola | St. Petersburg 
Sarasota | Tallahassee | Tampa 
THE TAMPA FIELD OFFICE is nestled between 
the east and west coasts of the Sunshine State. 
Covering both Florida’s middle and northern judicial 
districts, the field office is home to nine posts of 
duty that stretch from Ft. Myers to Jacksonville and 
across the panhandle to Pensacola. Special agents 
in this office embrace traditional tax cases, as well 
as a multitude of financial crimes cases ranging 
from money laundering to public corruption. The 
Tampa Field Office benefits from well established 
partnerships with other law enforcement agencies 
and has excellent working relationships with the 
U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of 
Florida and the Northern District of Florida. 
Special Agent in Charge is interviewed by Tampa’s NBC affiliate on economic impact payment scams. 
Special agents ran 6.1 miles in the Baker 
to Vegas Race. 
Special agents were in  
London for an extradition. 
Co-Conspirators Sentenced
in Nationwide Tax Scheme 
March and July 2022–four 
co-conspirators were sentenced to a 
combined total of more than 27 years 
in prison for their roles in a nationwide 
tax fraud scheme. Iran Backstrom and 
his second-in-command, Mehef Bey, 
spearheaded a scheme that involved more 
than 200 participants in at least 19 U.S. 
states. The co-conspirators held and promoted 
seminars throughout the country where they and 
their co-conspirators convinced clients to file false 
tax returns with the IRS by telling them that their 
mortgages and other debts entitled them to refunds. 
One co-conspirator, Aaron Aqueron, recruited clients to 
participate in the scheme, and another co-conspirator, 
Yomarie Febres, prepared 77 false tax returns that collec­
tively sought more than $23.8 million in tax refunds from the 
IRS. The false returns resulted in the IRS distributing more 
than $15 million in fraudulent refunds to scheme participants. 
Co-conspirators received, on average, between $10,000 to 
$15,000 from a client who participated in the scheme, and they 
also failed to declare their earnings on their personal income taxes 
filed with the IRS. 
Florida Couple Sentenced
to Prison for COVID Fraud 
Amber Rewis Bruey and Anthony James Bruey, both of Lehigh 
Acres, Florida, were sentenced to prison for trying to fraudu­
lently obtain Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security 
(CARES) Act funds. Amber was sentenced to 4 years in prison 
for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to 
commit money laundering, and illegal monetary transactions. 
Her husband and co-conspirator, Anthony, was sentenced to 
over 4 years in prison for the same offenses. According to 
court documents, between April and June 2020, the Brueys 
conspired to submit a total of 26 fraudulent Paycheck 
Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan 
(EIDL) applications to Small Business Administration-approved 
lenders, loan processing companies, and the Small Business 
Administration. The applications contained numerous false and 
fraudulent representations, including the applicant’s dates of 
operation, payroll, gross revenues, total number of employees, 
and the criminal histories of the applicants or business owners. 
The Brueys also submitted false and fraudulent tax documents 
to qualify for the loans. The Brueys’ false and fraudulent 
representations caused PPP lenders and the Small Business 
Administration to approve 12 of the loans and issue a 
total of $881,058 in PPP and EIDL funds. The Brueys then 
unlawfully used the funds to purchase a $211,457 residence 
in North Carolina, a 2019 GMC Yukon SUV, a 2020 Honda Talon, 
and to make a $23,566 restitution payment as a condition of 
probation in another criminal court case for Amber. The Brueys 
were ordered to forfeit these items and property, as well as to 
pay $881,659 in restitution. 
Former Congresswoman Pleads
Guilty to Corrupt Obstruction of
the Internal Revenue Laws 
May 2022–former Congresswoman Corrine Brown pleaded 
guilty and was sentenced to time served –over 2 ½ years in 
prison – for engaging in a corrupt endeavor to obstruct and 
impede the due administration of the Internal Revenue laws. 
According to the plea agreement, between October 15, 2009 
and October 15, 2015, Brown caused her certified public 
accountant to file individual income tax returns for tax years 
2008 through 2014 that did not include income associated with 
cash deposits into her bank accounts. During the same period, 
Brown also over-reported her charitable giving by inflating total 
gifts to charitable organizations and non-profit entities. Brown 
signed each referenced tax return under penalty of perjury, 
knowing that each one contained false information. In addition, 
Brown caused two Jacksonville non-profit entities to create 
letters that did not accurately reflect her donations, so that 
Brown could use those letters during an IRS audit. 
American Ex-Pat Sentenced to 8 Years 
for Panamanian Wire Fraud Conspiracy 
June 2022–Jeffrey Jedlicki, of Panama City, Panama, was 
sentenced to 8 years in prison for wire fraud conspiracy. As 
part of his sentence, the court also ordered Jedlicki to forfeit 
$700,000 and a South Florida residence worth in excess of 
$2 million, as well as pay $3,244,592 in restitution to the 
victims. According to court documents, Jedlicki and his 
co-conspirators operated international boiler rooms in Panama 
and elsewhere that used high-pressure sales techniques to 
defraud individuals. The victims invested substantial amounts 
of money in what they believed were regulated financial 
products or markets, such as options in commodities and 
stocks. The majority of the victims were located in Canada, the 
United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Jedlicki and his 
co-conspirators then transferred fraud proceeds generated by 
the boiler rooms through several money laundering rings, and 
then on to overseas accounts, with the launderers receiving 
a percentage of the funds they had moved. Jedlicki himself 
received a two percent referral fee for referring victims’ funds to 
a money laundering ring. Jedlicki used the funds to perpetuate 
the conspiracy, and for his own personal enrichment. In 
total, Jedlicki and his co-conspirators wired or caused to be 
wired approximately $3,244,592 in victims’ funds to money 
laundering accounts in furtherance of the wire fraud conspiracy. 
IRS:CI Annual Report 2022 
42 
Special agents from Jacksonville start their 
annual 1.5 mile run. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
-
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1200 First St. NE 
Washington, DC 20002 
WASHINGTON D.C. 
WashingtonDCFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov 
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 
Washington 
MARYLAND 
Baltimore | Frederick | Landover 
Rockville | Salisbury 
VIRGINIA 
Hampton | Norfolk | Richmond 
Roanoke | Vienna 
WEST VIRGINIA 
Bridgeport | Charleston | Parkersburg 
THE WASHINGTON D.C. FIELD OFFICE is an 
executive led field office and one of the largest 
in CI overseeing criminal financial investigations 
throughout Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, 
and the District of Columbia. Serving six judicial 
districts, the field office is comprised of dedicated 
professional staff and special agents who work a 
wide array of significant investigations. The diverse 
geographical coverage from the Appalachian 
Mountains to the Chesapeake Bay 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. In addition to 
the regional groups, the WDCFO houses CI’s 
specialty groups: the DC Cyber Crimes Unit (CCU), 
the International Tax and Financial Crimes (ITFC) 
group, the Global Illicit Financial Team (GIFT), and 
the U.S. Treasury Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and 
Trade Bureau Group (TTB). These specialty groups 
focus on national and international financial crimes 
and are a beacon of investigative talent for dozens 
of special agents across the country. 
A special agent seizes a Bentley. 
Special agents conduct a search warrant. 
West Virginia Construction 
Company Owner Sentenced
for Tax Fraud 
August 30, 2022–Travis A. Harner was 
sentenced to over 2 years in prison and 
1 year of supervised release for multiple 
tax violations. Harter was also ordered 
to pay $433,147 in restitution to the IRS. 
As the owner and operator of Talan Trucking & 
Excavating, LLC and Harner Construction, LLC, 
in Morgantown, West Virginia, he failed to pay 
the IRS more than $433,000 in income taxes and 
underreported the income from his businesses, did 
not report the income from selling personal assets, 
and did not pay over the trust fund taxes withheld from 
his employees’ wages. 
Woman Gets 7 Years for Elder Financial Fraud 
August 30, 2022–Shelly Leipham, a resident of Las Vegas, 
was sentenced in West Virginia to more than 7 years in 
prison for committing financial fraud against the elderly. 
Leipham was also ordered to pay a judgment of $336,402. 
employment taxes from 2008 to 2019. He grossly 
Leipham targeted elderly victims, including a victim in West 
Virginia, claiming the victims won $1 million. Leipham badgered 
and manipulated her elderly victims by calling them over and 
over again, disregarded the hardships they were experiencing 
while she was exploiting and repeatedly lying to them. Leipham 
used those tactics to defraud the West Virginia victim of nearly 
$25,000 by directing the victim to send that amount to her by 
mail and wire, over the course of two years. 
D.C. Man Sentenced to 10 years 
in Prison for Attempting to Steal More 
than $31 Million in COVID-19 Funds 
September 20, 2022–Elias Eldabbagh was sentenced to 
10 years in prison for trying to steal $31 million in COVID-19 
CARES Act funds. He succeeded in stealing nearly $2.4 million 
from the Paycheck Protection (PPP) Loan and the Economic 
Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) programs that were meant for 
taxpayers in need. From July 2020 through May 2021, he used 
his company, Alias Systems, LLC, to fraudulently apply for at 
least 25 PPP loans totaling more than $30 million. He also 
submitted at least four false EIDL applications totaling $950,000. 
He used a stolen identity to disguise the ownership of Alias 
Systems, LLC, and he used the same stolen identity to submit 
most of the applications. Altogether, Eldabbagh fraudulently 
stole $2,385,000 from the PPP and EIDL program. He used the 
funds to purchase a Tesla Model 3, and to pay for other personal 
expenses, such as for rent, hotels, dog boarding, attorney fees, 
ride shares, and electronics. Eldabbagh also converted at least 
$288,000 of proceeds into multiple cryptocurrencies. As part 
of his plea agreement, he agreed to forfeit the Tesla and the 
contents of 21 bank accounts, and he agreed to liquidate his 
interest in the cryptocurrency obtained with the proceeds and to 
remit the funds to the U.S. government. 
Virginia Woman Sentenced to 30 Months 
in Prison for $2.7M Tax Fraud 
September 8, 2022–Wendy Brockenbrough, a resident of 
Virginia Beach, Virginia, was sentenced to 2 ½ years in prison 
with 3 years of supervised release and was ordered to pay 
$2,721,269 in restitution for employment tax fraud. From at 
least 2011 to 2019, Brockenbrough failed to pay over to the IRS 
payroll taxes from the three different companies she owned. 
She issued weekly paystubs and annual Form W-2s to her 
employees indicating that the appropriate payroll taxes were 
being withheld from their paychecks. However, she failed to pay 
the money to the IRS. In total, Brockenbrough failed to pay over 
$2,721,268 in unpaid payroll taxes. Brockenbrough attempted 
to conceal her actions by lying to her accountants and stating 
that she made the payroll tax payments. To support her claims, 
she forged IRS records and QuickBooks entries showing the 
taxes had been paid. Instead of making the tax payments, 
Brockenbrough kept the money to fund a lavish lifestyle, 
including the purchase of a Regulator center console boat for 
about $126,000, a Hatteras 60-foot yacht for about $820,000, 
and a Jeep Wrangler for about $41,000. 
Organizer of Conspiracy that Defrauded 
Cares Act of Over $1.5 Million in Unemployment 
Benefits Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison 
December 21, 2021–Farren Ricketts, a Virginia woman, who 
admitted to heading a conspiracy that defrauded the government 
of more than $1.5 million in pandemic-related unemployment 
benefits, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay 
restitution. Ricketts and her co-conspirators concocted a scheme 
to gather personal identification information and then submitted 
more than 150 unemployment claims to the Virginia Employment 
Commission (VEC) website for individuals who were known 
to be ineligible to receive pandemic unemployment benefits, 
including various inmates in Virginia Department of Corrections 
facilities. Ricketts developed a business entity called “Ricketts 
Advisory, LLC,” registered it with the Virginia State Corporation 
Commission, and advertised as a financial services company that 
helped with filing pandemic unemployment claims. In addition to 
receiving unemployment benefits herself, Ricketts charged fees 
to over 120 of her co-conspirator “clients” for the service of filing 
their fraudulent claims. For many of these filings, Ricketts created 
fraudulent documents to support the claims, including fraudulent 
IRS forms purporting to show pre-pandemic income. 
DC Man Sentenced to 5 years in Federal Prison for 
Stolen Identity Tax Fraud Scheme 
February 3, 2022–Devell Lincoln was sentenced in Greenbelt, 
Maryland, to 5 years in prison followed by 3 years of supervised 
release for conspiring and committing tax fraud and aggravated 
identity theft. From 2011 to 2013, Lincoln conspired with others 
to cash tax refund checks that were fraudulently obtained by 
filing false federal income tax returns using the Social Security 
numbers of unwitting taxpayers to get fraudulent refunds from 
the IRS. In total, the conspirators cashed more than $500,000 
in fraudulent refunds at a check-cashing business, and Lincoln 
deposited more than $150,000 in fraudulent refunds using bank 
accounts under his control. While two of these accounts were 
in Lincoln’s name, one bank account was held in the name of a 
deceased third-party, and one was in the name of a company 
registered under the deceased person’s name, with the 
deceased person listed as the signatory. 
IRS:CI Annual Report 2022 
43 
Students practice handcuffing techniques. 
A special agent meets with students. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Follow us for more information and to stay updated on IRS: Criminal Investigation. 
APPENDIX 
@IRS_CI 
www.irs.gov/compliance/criminal-investigation 
This appendix includes investigation data appearing in the annual report as  
well as extended information regarding incarceration rates.  
IRS Criminal Investigation 
Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement (J5) 
IRS:CI 
J5 Website 
 FY 2022 Combined Results 
Abusive Tax Schemes 
Corporate Fraud 
Financial Institution Fraud  
2022 
2021 
2020 
2022 
2021 
2020 
2022 
2021 
2020 
2022 2021 2020  
Investigations 
Investigations 
Investigations 
Investigations 
Initiated 
2558 
2581 
2596 
Initiated 
74 
65 
109 
Initiated 
34 
40 
55 
Initiated 
29 
61 
50  
Prosecution 
Prosecution 
Prosecution 
Prosecution  
Recommendations 
1837 
1982 
1859 
Recommendations 
58 
38 
45 
Recommendations 
25 
22 
48 
Recommendations 
26 
50 
33  
Informations/ 
Informations/ 
Informations/ 
Informations/  
Indictments 
1670 
1856 
1512 
Indictments 
35 
41 
26 
Indictments 
23 
27 
38 
Indictments 
20 
49 
22  
Sentenced 
1490 
1268 
1226 
Sentenced 
32 
23 
26 
Sentenced 
28 
31 
21 
Sentenced 
32 
21 
21 
Incarceration Rate 
77% 
78% 
80% 
Incarceration Rate 
88% 
48% 
85% 
Incarceration Rate 
89% 
84% 
76% 
Incarceration Rate 
81% 
71% 
86%  
Average Months 
Average Months 
Average Months 
Average Months  
to Serve 
42 
43 
44 
to Serve 
52 
13 
32 
to Serve 
46 
32 
23 
to Serve 
41 
43 
44  
Abusive Return Preparer Program 
Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) 
Employment Tax 
Healthcare Fraud  
2022 
2021 
2020 
2022 
2021 
2020 
2022 
2021 
2020 
2022 2021 2020  
Investigations 
Investigations 
Investigations 
Investigations 
Initiated 
175 
145 
140 
Initiated 
544 
473 
489 
Initiated 
223 
215 
298 
Initiated 
76 
61 
69  
Prosecution 
Prosecution 
Prosecution 
Prosecution  
Recommendations 
93 
90 
145 
Recommendations 
352 
389 
345 
Recommendations 
168 
170 
151 
Recommendations 
68 
55 
63  
Informations/ 
Informations/ 
Informations/ 
Informations/  
Indictments 
112 
110 
128 
Indictments 
338 
346 
253 
Indictments 
142 
111 
67 
Indictments 
69 
57 
63  
Sentenced 
129 
111 
112 
Sentenced 
267 
248 
226 
Sentenced 
101 
67 
52 
Sentenced 
56 
52 
46 
Incarceration Rate 
69% 
77% 
80% 
Incarceration Rate 
71% 
76% 
75% 
Incarceration Rate 
70% 
81% 
83% 
Incarceration Rate 
80% 
79% 
89%  
Average Months 
Average Months 
Average Months 
Average Months  
to Serve 
19 
16
21 
to Serve 
24 
41 
34 
to Serve 
18 
22 
18 
to Serve 
29 
42 
58 
IRS:CI Annual Report 2022 
44 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
APPENDIX 
This appendix includes investigation data appearing in the annual report as 
well as extended information regarding incarceration rates. 
Identity Theft 
Money Laundering 
Non-Filer 
Questionable Refund Program  
2022 
2021 
2020 
2022 
2021 
2020 
2022 
2021 
2020 
2022 
2021 
2020  
Investigations 
Investigations 
Investigations 
Investigations 
Initiated 
101 
145 
124 
Initiated 
962 
1050 
838 
Initiated 
260 
243 
279 
Initiated 
66
69 
70  
Prosecution 
Prosecution 
Prosecution 
Prosecution  
Recommendations 
97 
111 
100 
Recommendations 
796 
934 
745 
Recommendations 
152 
137 
146 
Recommendations 
58 
49
81  
Informations/ 
Informations/ 
Informations/ 
Informations/  
Indictments 
88 
146 
106 
Indictments 
701 
800 
650 
Indictments 
115 
128 
96 
Indictments 
51
56 
75  
Sentenced 
101 
112 
108 
Sentenced 
418 
383 
379 
Sentenced 
116 
88 
80 
Sentenced 
65 
95 
107 
Incarceration Rate 
85% 
82% 
82% 
Incarceration Rate 
83% 
84% 
83% 
Incarceration Rate 
78% 
80% 
83% 
Incarceration Rate 
80% 
80% 
80%  
Average Months 
Average Months 
Average Months 
Average Months  
to Serve 
38 
34 
37 
to Serve 
71 
75
66 
to Serve 
35 
35 
36 
to Serve 
28 
27 
30  
International Operations 
Narcotics 
Public Corruption 
Terrorism  
2022 
2021 
2020 
2022 
2021 
2020 
2022 
2021 
2020 
2022 
2021 
2020  
Investigations 
Investigations 
Investigations 
Investigations 
Initiated 
163 
172 
242 
Initiated 
592 
661 
587 
Initiated 
26 
51
73 
Initiated 
48
26 
41  
Prosecution 
Prosecution 
Prosecution 
Prosecution  
Recommendations 
161 
181 
213 
Recommendations 
495 
646 
513 
Recommendations 
24 
38 
63 
Recommendations 
37 
9
41  
Informations/ 
Informations/ 
Informations/ 
Informations/  
Indictments 
143 
180 
180 
Indictments 
475 
578 
463 
Indictments 
27
52 
51 
Indictments 
33 
13 
22  
Sentenced 
130 
111 
138 
Sentenced 
353 
322 
336 
Sentenced 
38 
27 
40 
Sentenced 
9 
10 
15 
Incarceration Rate 
77% 
79% 
77% 
Incarceration Rate 
81% 
82% 
82% 
Incarceration Rate 
84% 
78% 
68% 
Incarceration Rate 
44% 
70% 
53%  
Average Months 
Average Months 
Average Months 
Average Months  
to Serve 
52
46 
47 
to Serve 
82 
84 
78 
to Serve 
39 
24 
21 
to Serve 
13 
7
51  
IRS:CI Annual Report 2022 
45 

Publication 3583 (Rev. 11-2022) Catalog Number 29201R Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service www.irs.gov

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