Court filing

IRS Criminal Investigation Annual Report — Fiscal Year 2024

Filed January 1, 2024 in IRS Pandemic Tax Enforcement; one of 9 filings from this case.

Record facts

Court	IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI)
Filed	2024-01-01

Full text

ANNUAL REP ORT
ANNUAL REP ORT

Table of Contents
02 .... Message from the Chief
03 .... Organization Chart of IRS-CI
10 .... 2024 Snapshot
11 .... Thwarting Tax Evasion
12 .... Tracing Funds and Illicit Proceeds
12 .... Fighting the Fentanyl War
13 .... Catching Cyber Criminals
14 .... Securing Settlements and Seizures
14 .... International Impact
15 .... Enhancing Field Operations
Through Data and Technology
16 .... Protecting Our Financial System
16 .... Combatting CARES Act Fraud
17 .... Unraveling Billion-Dollar Abusive
Tax Shelters
18 .... Safeguarding Our National Security
18 .... Preserving Public Trust
19 .... Field Office Map
60 .... Appendix
Table of Contents
2024 Snapshot
Appendix
Field Office Map
NAVIGATION MENU
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2024 | IRS-CI ANNUAL REPORT

Message
from the Chief
It’s an extraordinary time to be at the
helm of IRS Criminal Investigation
(IRS-CI).
The demands of our workforce are greater than
ever as we see criminals utilize new venues,
revise their techniques, and use emerging
technologies to facilitate financial crimes.
Luckily, as you’ll see in this year’s report, our
special agents are ready and waiting. I often say
that if a criminal ends up on the radar of one of
our agents, they are likely going to jail, and that’s
because our special agents and professional
staff are the best at tracing money trails that
every crime inevitably has. I hope that our hefty
conviction rate — this year at 90% will deter
others from committing similar crimes.
Since 1919, our team has been committed to
investigating tax crimes, and those crimes are
still the focus for our agency. This year alone,
professional enablers behind syndicated
conservation easement schemes pleaded
guilty or were sentenced for their crimes, and
our investigative work secured the first ever
indictment against a defendant for falsely
reporting cryptocurrency gains on a tax return.
We have also been heavily invested in combatting
fraudulent employee retention tax credits tied
to the pandemic. Every tax-related case we
investigate puts us one step closer to closing the
multi-billion-dollar tax gap from U.S. taxpayers
not paying their fair share.
Beyond tax cases, IRS-CI plays an integral role
in uncovering financial trails tied to cybercrime,
healthcare fraud, and money mule schemes. This
year, our investigative work into Binance resulted
in the U.S. government securing the largest
financial settlement in a criminal case. We’ve
also been heavily invested in combatting fentanyl
trafficking, not only by investigating cases,
but also through education and outreach. We
launched the PROTECT event series, where we
meet with members of the financial industry and
law enforcement agencies in cities hardest hit by
the opioid epidemic to discuss what we’re seeing
and how we can work together. This series is part
of the Treasury Department’s Counter-Fentanyl
Strike Force, which I co-chair.
We also saw significant results from our
commitment to the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax
Enforcement (J5). In July, the group published
its first report detailing the global impact the
J5 has had on tax and financial crimes, and this
September, we announced the indictment of a
U.S. defense contractor and his wife, who evaded
taxes on more than $350 million they made
selling jet fuel to the U.S. military.
As we close out fiscal year (FY) 2024, I want
you to know that I am heavily invested in
making IRS-CI the best yet. This FY, we grew
our workforce by nearly 11% — the highest level
in nearly a decade – bringing our workforce to
nearly 3,500 employees encompassing special
agents and professional staff. Heading into FY
2025, our team will continue to focus resources
where we can make the most impact for U.S.
taxpayers. We are committed to staying at the
forefront of technology so our agents can keep
pace or stay a step ahead of criminals and
to leverage our skills to protect the U.S. tax
system. I could not be prouder to lead the IRS-CI
workforce into 2025.
Guy Ficco
Chief, Criminal Investigation
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2024 | IRS-CI ANNUAL REPORT

Organization Chart of IRS-CI
Click on an icon to learn more.
STRATEGY
National Criminal Investigation Training Academy, Asset and Knowledge Management,
Assurance and Advisory, Workforce Development, Human Resources, Finance, Project Office
ADVANCED ANALYTICS AND INNOVATION
Advanced Analytics, Nationally Coordinated Investigations Unit,
Systems and Operational Support, Refund Fraud and Investigative Support,
Innovation, Data Management & Governance
FIELD OPERATIONS
Western Area Field Operations,
Northern Area Field Operations,
Southern Area Field Operations
GLOBAL OPERATIONS
Global Operations Policy & Support, Asset Recovery and Investigative Services,
Financial Crimes, Narcotics and National Security Section, Special Investigative Techniques,
International Field Operations and International Liaison and Strategy
TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS
Development, Field Operations
CYBERCRIME AND
FORENSIC SERVICES
Cybercrimes, Digital Forensics,
Center for Science and Design
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF
Office of Communication,
Commissioner’s Protection Detail,
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Office
Chief
Guy Ficco is the Chief of IRS Criminal Investigation
(IRS-CI). He is responsible for overseeing a worldwide
staff of nearly 3,500 CI employees, including almost
2,300 special agents in 20 field offices and 14 foreign
countries, who investigate crimes involving tax, money
laundering, public corruption, cyber, ID theft, narcotics,
and terrorist-financing.
Prior to his selection as Chief, Guy served as the Deputy Chief of IRS-CI. Prior to
that, he was the Executive Director of Global Operations, Policy, and Support where
he oversaw the agency’s international footprint as well as much of IRS-CI’s policies
as they relate to investigations. Guy previously served as the Special Agent in
Charge of the Philadelphia Field Office from April 2018 to March 2020, where he led
investigative activities and employees in the states of Pennsylvania and Delaware.
Prior to these assignments, Guy served in a number of CI leadership roles, including
Supervisory Special Agent in the Washington Field Office, Senior Analyst in both
the Financial Crimes and International Operations sections, Assistant Special Agent
in Charge for the Washington Field Office, and Director of Special Investigative
Techniques and acting Deputy Director of IRS-CI’s Strategy section. Guy was also
a Congressional Fellow through the Government Affairs Institute at Georgetown
University, assigned to the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI) in the
Senate Homeland Security Committee.
Guy has a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree with a concentration in
Accounting from Dominican University in New York. He is a Certified Fraud Examiner
and joined IRS-CI in 1995.
Deputy Chief
Shea Jones is the (Acting) Deputy Chief of IRS Criminal
Investigation. Prior to his selection as Deputy Chief, Shea was
the Executive Director of the Office of Strategy for IRS-CI.
In this role he oversaw policy, direction and support of
IRS-CI’s Finance, Asset and Knowledge Management, Human
Resources, Workforce Development, Assurance & Advisory,
and National Criminal Investigation Training Academy sections.
During his tenure, Shea served in various positions of leadership throughout IRS-CI,
including Executive Director of International Operations, where he oversaw IRS-CI’s
international activities, narcotics, and national security programs; Acting Executive
Director of Operations, Policy and Support; Deputy Director of Strategy; Deputy Director
of Technology Operations and Investigative Services; Special Agent in Charge of the St.
Paul Field Office; and Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Las Vegas Field Office.
Shea joined IRS-CI in 2001 as a special agent and is a graduate of Ouachita
Baptist University.
Follow us for more information and to stay updated on CI.
@IRS_CI
irs.gov/ci
IRS Criminal Investigation
Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement (J5)
IRS-CI
J5 Website
Office of Communication
The Office of Communication aims to elevate IRS-CI’s
profile and deepen stakeholder confidence through
creative, proactive, and impactful communication
strategies to internal and external audiences. These
strategies drive deterrence of tax and financial crimes,
increase awareness of IRS-CI and the work we do,
enhance camaraderie within the workforce, grow
partnerships with professional organizations, and keep
stakeholders informed about IRS-CI’s expertise and
capabilities. In FY 2024, the Office of Communication
oversaw digital media initiatives with more than
96,500 followers/subscribers, launched internal and
external communications campaigns to demonstrate
how IRS-CI employees contribute to the agency’s
mission, conducted media interviews on topics ranging
from cryptocurrency to tax fraud, supported more
than 375 outreach events, and provided briefings
to Capitol Hill staff.
Commissioner’s
Protection Detail
The Commissioner’s Protection Detail is a specially
trained cadre of IRS-CI special agents who provide
personal security and protection to the IRS
Commissioner. The detail provides protection of the
Commissioner within the National Capital Region
and while in travel status, including foreign and
domestic travel. In a typical year, this team protects
the Commissioner on approximately 500 protective
movements, 20 domestic trips, and two to three
international visits. These 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.
Equity, Diversity,
and Inclusion Office
The Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Office examines and
addresses IRS-CI’s employment practices, policies, and
procedures to ensure that every employee attains equal
opportunity in every facet of IRS-CI’s programs, activities,
and services. This office’s role is to monitor and evaluate
the organization’s compliance with Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission and Treasury guidance to
eliminate barriers that hinder equal opportunity. The
office aims to achieve and sustain a diverse and inclusive
work environment that respects and values all aspects of
an employee’s diversity, including ideas (how you think),
identity (who you are), and information (what you know).
The office also supports leadership with building an
inclusive environment where employees are motivated to
put forth their best effort and are vested in achieving the
IRS-CI mission.
Office of the Chief
X
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2024 | IRS-CI ANNUAL REPORT

Organization Chart of IRS-CI
Click on an icon to learn more.
STRATEGY
National Criminal Investigation Training Academy, Asset and Knowledge Management,
Assurance and Advisory, Workforce Development, Human Resources, Finance, Project Office
ADVANCED ANALYTICS AND INNOVATION
Advanced Analytics, Nationally Coordinated Investigations Unit,
Systems and Operational Support, Refund Fraud and Investigative Support,
Innovation, Data Management & Governance
FIELD OPERATIONS
Western Area Field Operations,
Northern Area Field Operations,
Southern Area Field Operations
GLOBAL OPERATIONS
Global Operations Policy & Support, Asset Recovery and Investigative Services,
Financial Crimes, Narcotics and National Security Section, Special Investigative Techniques,
International Field Operations and International Liaison and Strategy
TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS
Development, Field Operations
CYBERCRIME AND
FORENSIC SERVICES
Cybercrimes, Digital Forensics,
Center for Science and Design
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF
Office of Communication,
Commissioner’s Protection Detail,
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Office
Global Operations
Global Operations
Policy & Support
Global Operations Policy and Support is the largest
IRS-CI division, consisting of Asset Recovery
and Investigative Services, Financial Crimes, the
Narcotics and National Security Section, Special
Investigative Techniques, International Field
Operations, and International Liaison and Strategy.
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. Following forfeiture of
seized assets, forfeited funds are routed to the
Treasury Forfeiture Fund managed by the Treasury
Executive Office for Asset Forfeiture. Forfeited funds
are often returned to 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 fund shares a portion
of forfeited monies with other federal, state, and
local law enforcement agencies.
Financial Crimes
Financial Crimes provides policy guidance and
operational support to field offices on tax crimes,
illegal source financial crimes, and money laundering
violations. It oversees a host of investigative priorities,
including abusive tax schemes, fraud referrals, and
Bank Secrecy Act violations. In addition, in compliance
with an Executive Order, Financial Crimes recently
implemented IRS-CI’s Body Worn Camera Program.
Narcotics and National
Security Section
The Narcotics and National Security Section 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. Liaison officers assigned to
the section support a government-wide approach to
address national security threats. The unit also focuses
heavily on narcotics and financial investigations related
to high-priority targets identified by Organized Crime
Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF).
Special Investigative
Techniques
Special Investigative Techniques provides oversight
of IRS-CI’s undercover activities. CI maintains a cadre
of undercover agents that utilize sophisticated means
to initiate contact with individuals perpetrating tax
crimes and other financial crimes, to gain evidence
needed for prosecution of those crimes. This section
provides training to those involved in the undercover
program and support to field offices in their planning
and approval of undercover activities.
International Field
Operations and International
Liaison and Strategy
International Field Operations oversees IRS-CI’s
international footprint, including overseeing staff
located at 14 attaché posts at embassies or consular
offices in Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Canada,
China, Colombia, England, Germany, the Netherlands,
Mexico, Panama, Singapore, and the United Arab
Emirates. IRS-CI attachés build partnerships and
investigate financial crimes with countries in their
areas of responsibility. IRS-CI’s International Training
Team often works with attachés to deliver trainings
to law enforcement counterparts, so they have the
necessary tools to combat financial crimes. This
year, IRS-CI added a Caribbean attaché post in
Nassau, Bahamas, as well as a Cyber Attaché Post in
Singapore, to expand IRS-CI’s global presence.
IRS-CI also has domestic specialty groups in the
United States that carry out our international mission,
including cybercrime units, the International Tax and
Financial Crimes Group, the Global Illicit Financial
Team, and the J5 Group, and our headquarters staff
work regularly with foreign embassy personnel based
in Washington, D.C.
X
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2024 | IRS-CI ANNUAL REPORT

2024
Snapshot

$7.03B
OTHER IDENTIFIED
FINANCIAL CRIMES
$2.12B
TAX FRAUD IDENTIFIED
1154
WARRANTS EXECUTED
1794
REFERRED FOR
PROSECUTION
90%
CONVICTION RATE
1571
CONVICTIONS
1.47
PETABYTES OF
DIGITAL DATA
***IRS-CI’S STAFFING LEVELS ARE BY FISCAL YEAR AND REFLECT AN ACTUAL COUNT
OF EMPLOYEES BASED ON THE EMPLOYEE MASTER DATABASE AS OF PP19.
STAFFING***
PROFESSIONAL STAFF
SPECIAL AGENTS
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
FISCAL YEAR
2,761
1,256
‘10
4,017
‘22
938
2,077
3,015
‘23
994
2,144
3,138
‘24
1,184
2,290
3,474
DIRECT INVESTIGATIVE TIME SPENT*
*1.6% UNCATEGORIZED
17.6%
NON-TAX
69.2%
TAX
11.6%
NARCOTICS
INVESTIGATION SOURCES**
**1% UNCATEGORIZED
26%
U.S. ATTORNEY’S
OFFICE
13%
FinCEN
DATA
20%
IRS-CI
6%
PUBLIC
3%
STATE/
LOCAL
GOV’T
4%
IRS
CIVIL
27%
OTHER FEDERAL
AGENCIES
10
2024 | IRS-CI ANNUAL REPORT

Thwarting Tax Evasion
IRS-CI is the only federal law enforcement agency with the jurisdiction to
investigate federal tax crimes.
IRS-CI special agents and professional staff
investigate the most egregious tax cheats and
partner with the Department of Justice to
prosecute violations of federal law. Every few
years, the IRS estimates the tax gap, the amount
of taxes paid compared to what should have been
paid. In a report published in October 2024, the
IRS estimated the tax gap at $696 billion for the
2022 tax year.
IRS-CI plays an important part in closing the tax
gap by investigating impactful criminal cases
to discourage other taxpayers who may be
interested in evading taxes or committing other
similar criminal violations. We focus our efforts
in three main areas including traditional tax
crimes, tax-related financial crimes (i.e. money
laundering, public corruption, counterterrorism,
etc.), and narcotics-related financial crimes.
These cases may include business owners
evading income taxes or fraudsters and drug
traffickers not paying tax on proceeds from their
criminal activities. In the eyes of the tax code, all
income from whatever source derived is taxable,
even if it is from criminal activity.
Often, we use special investigative techniques
like undercover operations to gather evidence
of a crime. These techniques were integral in a
recent case out of Virginia where undercover
agents obtained evidence that a restaurant owner
was maintaining two sets of financial books and
records tied to his business; this evidence resulted
in him pleading guilty to tax evasion charges and
being sentenced to 14 months in prison. Field
agents often rely heavily on special investigative
techniques to strengthen existing cases and
identify new targets. In FY 2024, we conducted
474 undercover operations.
Like the proceeds from a business, money
obtained through fraud or embezzlement is also
taxable. A recent investigation out of the Houston
Field Office resulted in a U.S. Army employee
being convicted and sentenced to 180 months in
prison for filing false tax returns. Janet Yamanaka
Mello worked as a financial program manager for
the Army and used her position to fraudulently
secure over $108 million in funds intended for the
care of children. She then used that money to fund
her lavish lifestyle, where she purchased houses,
more than 80 vehicles, and over 1,500 pieces of
jewelry. She was ordered to pay $31.8 million in
restitution to the IRS.
Our tax investigations continue to evolve as we
see more and more taxpayers engaging in the use
of cryptocurrency. In the first ever indictment
solely for failing to report or the underreporting
of cryptocurrency earnings and gains on their tax
return, Frank Ahlgren III was indicted in February
of 2024 for filing false tax returns related to the
sale of $4 million in bitcoin which resulted in
substantial capital gains. He allegedly used the
proceeds from the sale to purchase a residence
and filed a false 2017 federal tax return that
inflated the price he originally paid for the bitcoin,
underreporting his capital gain. He also failed to
report sales of bitcoin in 2018 and 2019 of more
than $650,000 on his tax returns. His sentencing
was scheduled for December of 2024.
In FY 2024, IRS-CI identified over $2.1 billion
in tax fraud and saw 615 subjects sentenced
to an average of 27 months in federal prison
for violating U.S. tax laws. While lengthy prison
terms can serve as a deterrent to committing
tax fraud, most subjects are also required to pay
restitution to the IRS for taxes owed. Restitution
can amount to millions of dollars in some cases.
615
DEFENDANTS
SENTENCED
1373
INVESTIGATIONS
INITIATED
674
PROSECUTIONS
RECOMMENDED
TAX CRIMES
11
2024 | IRS-CI ANNUAL REPORT

Fighting the Fentanyl War
In December 2023, the U.S. Department of
Treasury announced the launch of the Counter-
Fentanyl Strike Force to combat the trafficking
of illicit fentanyl. The strike force is jointly led
by Treasury’s Office of Terrorism and Financial
Intelligence (TFI) and IRS-CI. Under the strike
force, IRS-CI leverages Treasury’s expertise
from various Treasury components to investigate
financial crimes, counter illicit finance and
disrupt transnational criminal organizations that
traffic these drugs. Under the PROTECT series,
IRS-CI advances Treasury’s work with the private
sector and law enforcement partners through
collaborative FinCEN Exchanges that allow the
private sector to provide vital leads and information
so law enforcement can identify risks and take
action to combat illicit fentanyl trafficking.
Our agents are members of Organized Crime Drug
Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), using their
specialized financial investigative skills to combat
money laundering and drug trafficking by tracing
profits from illegal activity back to criminals who
are funding the U.S. fentanyl crisis. We spent
11.6% percent of our investigative time in fiscal
year 2024 investigating narcotics related cases.
Ivan Rodriguez Sr. and his son, Ivan Rodriguez Jr.
are behind one of the criminal organizations fueling
the fentanyl trade. They both received 10 years in
federal prison for conspiring to distribute fentanyl,
possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, and
money laundering. The Rodriguez drug trafficking
organization distributed fentanyl and a mixture of
fentanyl/heroin in and around Oneida County, New
York and elsewhere. Special Agents seized over
13 kilograms of fentanyl during the investigation.
Seven additional members of the organization were
sentenced from between 3.5 to 10 years in prison.
Similarly, Jonathan King, the leader of a fentanyl
trafficking conspiracy received a 10-year sentence.
He distributed and possessed enough fentanyl
to create more than two million potentially lethal
doses of the drug. King arranged for the sale and
delivery of thousands of fentanyl-laced pills in
Rhode Island.
Lastly, Branea Bryant was sentenced to more
than 24 years for fentanyl trafficking conspiracy
and money laundering. IRS-CI’s investigation
revealed Bryant’s company, ADF3 Investments,
owned several high-end vehicles connected to
a drug conspiracy, including two Range Rovers
purchased with drug money and a Jaguar F-Type
used to facilitate drug deals. ADF3 did not file any
state or federal tax returns nor appear to have any
legitimate business activity.
Tracing Funds and Illicit Proceeds
Money Laundering
While IRS-CI is the only federal law enforcement
agency with jurisdiction over federal tax crimes,
we are often called on to investigate other
financial crimes due to our financial forensic
capabilities and our financial expertise. IRS-CI is
a key player in money laundering investigations,
where criminals disguise the illicit nature of
their funds by making them appear as legitimate
sources. In FY 2024, IRS-CI special agents spent
roughly 29% of their time investigating non-tax
crimes involving suspected money laundering
violations including drug trafficking, fraud
schemes, and public corruption, and identified
over $7 billion in fraud from non-tax crimes.
Money laundering has become more
sophisticated as technology becomes more
advanced. Criminal enterprises often rely on
professional enablers and third-party money
launderers to help facilitate the transactions.
Third-party facilitators place illicit proceeds
into businesses, financial institutions, brokerage
firms, and physical assets to conceal the nature
of the illicit profits. By utilizing data analytics and
focusing on complicit Money Service Businesses
(MSB), IRS-CI has developed high impact
third-party money laundering, referred to as
3PML, investigations across the United States.
Jesus Vazquez Padilla, of Tijuana, Mexico,
operated an illegal unlicensed money
transmitting business and laundered the
proceeds of drug sales, using 22 shell
corporations and 85 corporate bank accounts
at various U.S. banks. Vazquez Padilla offered
money transmitting services to the public for
a fee. He deposited cash from his customers
to corporate bank accounts held at financial
institutions throughout the United States, then
transferred money to Mexico on behalf of the
third parties. In total, Vazquez Padilla’s business
deposited more than $42 million into the U.S.
financial system, and most of those funds were
transferred to third-party bank accounts in
Mexico. In February 2024, he was sentenced to
40 months in prison for his crimes.
Modern-day technologically has also increased
criminal activity in global financial crimes.
Complex webs of offshore holdings and
anonymous transactions aid criminals in
laundering money through a wide variety of
institutions, including banks, money transmitters,
stock brokerage houses, casinos, and virtual
currency exchanges.
In January 2024, Virak Prum, a leader of the
Massachusetts-based gang One Family Clique
(OFC), was sentenced to 96 months in prison
for conspiring with fellow OFC gang members
to launder millions of dollars in drug proceeds
through casinos in Canada. Prum used the U.S.
Postal Service to receive shipments of illegal
narcotics and shipped cash proceeds to the
sources of supply.
1294
INVESTIGATIONS
INITIATED
1120
PROSECUTIONS
RECOMMENDED
NON-TAX CRIMES
967
DEFENDANTS
SENTENCED
12
2024 | IRS-CI ANNUAL REPORT

Catching Cyber Criminals
Crimes investigated by IRS-CI increasingly include a cyber component, and we
continue to be a leader in this realm, both domestically and across the globe.
Whether the crime relies on the internet to
effectuate the scheme, or whether it drastically
increases the scale of the scheme by using
computers, computer networks, and other forms
of communication, IRS-CI is on the cutting edge of
cybercrime investigations. Our cybercrime cases
are often some of our largest and most complex
cases, which often come with lengthy prison
sentences and some of the largest forfeiture and
seizure judgments in our nation’s history.
Cybercrime investigations are a priority for
IRS-CI, and convictions often result in some of
our most impactful sentences, with an average
of 61 months imprisonment. In FY 2024, IRS-CI
initiated 111 cyber-related investigations,
seized more than $925,728,496 in assets, and
recommended 72 investigations for prosecution.
Notable indictments this fiscal year include
“Bitcoin Jesus,” an early investor in bitcoin
who allegedly concealed information from his
accountant causing at least a $48 million tax
loss to the IRS, and three crypto fraudsters, who
allegedly defrauded investors of approximately
$1.89 billion by fraudulently promising
substantial returns from cryptocurrency mining
operations that did not exist. In November 2023,
IRS-CI and the U.S. Treasury announced the
largest settlement in our nation’s history against
the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance
for violating U.S anti-money laundering and
sanctions laws.
In January 2024, Mark Scott, a former law
partner in a prominent international firm, was
sentenced to 10 years in prison for laundering
$400 million of OneCoin proceeds. Much
like a “traditional” Ponzi-scheme, OneCoin
was deemed the largest fraud scheme ever
perpetrated, selling fraudulent cryptocurrency
to millions of victims around the world. OneCoin
leadership marketed its fake cryptocurrency
through a global multilevel marketing network.
In early 2016, Scott was introduced to Ruja
Ignatova of Bulgaria, who was the one of the
founders of OneCoin. Scott formed a series
of fake investment funds overseas, disguised
incoming transfers (OneCoin fraud proceeds) as
investments from wealthy European families,
then layered the funds through various offshore
accounts to conceal their origin. He eventually,
returned the funds to Ignatova and other
associates. Scott earned more than $50 million
for his money laundering services, which he used
to purchase a 57-foot yacht, a Ferrari, several
Porsches, and a $3 million seaside home in
Cape Cod. In addition to his prison sentence,
Scott was ordered to forfeit $392.9 million, his
yacht, Porsches, and four real estate properties.
Ignatova also known as the Cryptoqueen, went
into hiding in 2017 and remains a U.S. fugitive.
Banmeet Singh from India created vendor
marketing sites on dark web marketplaces,
such as Silk Road, Alpha Bay, and others,
to sell controlled substances like fentanyl,
ecstasy, and ketamine. His customers paid with
cryptocurrency, and he utilized the U.S. mail
and other shipping services to send the illicit
narcotics from Europe to the United States. Singh
established a drug enterprise that laundered
millions in cryptocurrency accounts valued at
approximately $150 million. He was arrested
in London and extradited to the United States,
where he was sentenced to five years in prison
and ordered to forfeit his illicit proceeds.
We have two Cybercrimes Units, located in Los
Angeles and Washington, D.C., where specially
trained agents, professional staff, and expert
contractors work exclusively on cybercrime cases.
In addition, IRS-CI deployed cyber attachés
to overseas posts in FY 2023, as part of a pilot
program to respond to the increasing need for
support on international cyber investigations.
Cyber attachés are strategically positioned
on four continents to support cyber-related
investigations, build relationships, train foreign
partners, and identify investigative leads for
criminal investigations. This fiscal year, we added a
permanent cyber attaché post in Singapore based
on the the success of the pilot program there.
CYBER CRIMES
61 Mos
AVERAGE SENTENCING
>$925M
ASSETS SEIZED
68
CONVICTIONS
13
2024 | IRS-CI ANNUAL REPORT

Asset forfeiture is an investigative tool to dismantle criminal
organizations and prevent fraudsters from reaping the benefits
of their illicit activity. Illicit proceeds seized are forfeited to the
Treasury Forfeiture Fund, which is managed by the Treasury
Executive Office for Asset Forfeiture (TEOAF). Forfeited funds
are returned to the victims of crime whenever possible, while the
remaining proceeds fund investigative and enforcement efforts for
partner agencies, including those from state and local governments.
IRS-CI led the criminal investigation into Binance, the world’s
largest cryptocurrency exchange, which admitted to prioritizing
growth of the company and profits over compliance with U.S.
anti-money laundering laws. Binance started in 2017 and quickly
became the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world with their
largest customer base in the United States. Binance was required
to register with the U.S. government as a money services business
but chose not to comply with U.S. law and failed to implement
anti-money laundering procedures. They also allowed U.S.
customers to conduct transactions with customers in sanctioned
jurisdictions, in violation of the IEEPA. Binance settled with the U.S.
Treasury for a penalty of over $4 billion.
Due to Binance’s failure to implement an effective anti-money
laundering program, criminals used Binance’s cryptocurrency
exchange to disguise the source and ownership of illicit proceeds,
conduct transactions with known terrorist organizations and transfer
proceeds of darknet market transactions. Additionally, Binance
assisted U.S. customers in evading U.S. Sanctions of Iran. Between
January 2018 and May 2022, Binance willfully caused over $898
million in trades between U.S. users and Iranian-based users.
In FY 2024, we saw forfeitures ordered in a variety of cases,
including a $9.6 million forfeiture where a Brooklyn man laundered
proceeds from a healthcare scheme. He concealed over $18
million of criminal proceeds by funneling money through several
shell companies, including sham pharmacy wholesale companies
designed to look like legitimate wholesalers. The funds were sent to
companies in China for distribution to individuals in Uzbekistan, and
the defendant received some of these funds in cash.
Daniel Hurt was ordered to forfeit $30 million of proceeds from the
sale of a yacht he purchased from kickbacks and proceeds of his
healthcare schemes. During the conspiracy, he sent thousands of
medically unnecessary prescriptions to a co-conspirator pharmacy,
which billed patients’ insurance plans thousands of dollars for the
compounded medications. Once the pharmacy received payment
for the prescriptions, the pharmacy paid a kickback to Hurt.
During FY 2024, IRS-CI seized more than $1.2 billion in assets
and forfeited approximately $196.4 million in ill-gotten proceeds.
In addition, more than $1 billion was refunded as part of our asset
recovery efforts.
Securing
Settlements
and Seizures
IRS-CI’s international footprint plays an integral role in ensuring the
agency can combat criminal activity on a global level. Special agents
based in the United States work with attachés and professional staff
stationed overseas to gather and share information and conduct
training for our foreign partners.
IRS-CI remains heavily involved with the Joint Chiefs of Global
Tax Enforcement (J5), which was launched in 2018 and consists
of the five chiefs of the tax enforcement bureaus of Australia,
Canada, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United
States. This year, the group published their first report detailing
the successes of the partnership. The report highlights significant
accomplishments, including lead generation, seizures of millions
of dollars in criminal proceeds, and the issuance of advisory
notices to financial institutions. As a result of the J5 partnership,
three individuals were charged in the United States for their roles
in a $1.89 billion cryptocurrency scheme that involved alleged
false representations made to investors in a cryptocurrency mining
operation that did not exist.
Operation Jetsetter emerged as one of the J5’s important
successes. U.S. Department of Defense contractor, Douglas
Edelman, and his wife, Delphine Le Dain, engaged in a decades-long
scheme to defraud the United States and evade taxes on more than
$350 million in income Edelman made as a defense contractor
during U.S. post-9/11 military efforts. From 2003 to 2020, Edelman
allegedly owned 50% of a defense contracting business that
received more than $7 billion in government contracts to provide jet
fuel to U.S. troops in the Middle East. According to the indictment,
Edelman concealed his profits using foreign bank accounts, false
documents, and false claims that Le Dain, a French citizen residing
abroad, did not have U.S. tax obligations and was the founder/owner
of the contracting business. Edelman and Le Dain are charged
with conspiring to defraud the United States and 15 counts of tax
evasion. Edelman is also charged with two counts of making false
statements to the United States and 12 counts of willfully violating
his foreign bank account reporting obligations.
A large part of IRS-CI’s role abroad includes providing trainings for
international partners. During FY 2024, our international training
team delivered more than 30 trainings to over 930 participants
from more than 70 countries, playing a critical role in maintaining
foreign partnerships.
IRS-CI also has specialty groups that carry out our international
mission, including Cybercrime Units, the International Tax and
Financial Crimes Group, the Global Illicit Financial Team, and the
J5 Group. IRS-CI currently has 14 overseas posts at embassies
or consular offices around the world. This year, IRS-CI added a
Caribbean attaché post in Nassau, Bahamas, as well as a cyber
attaché post in Singapore, to expand our global presence.
International
Impact
14
2024 | IRS-CI ANNUAL REPORT

responded to approximately 700 requests and
seized 1.47 petabytes of data from over 3,000
computer devices in support of investigations.
In the Michael J. Miske Jr. investigation, an
IRS-CI digital forensics special agent analyzed
terabytes of data, including hundreds of
emails, and conducted extensive timeline
and metadata analysis to uncover evidence of
fraudulent documents that assisted in concealing
a racketeering enterprise. An IRS-CI digital
forensic special agent testified at trial, which
resulted in Miske’s conviction for racketeering
conspiracy, murder, and 11 other felony charges.
In the Binance investigation, one of the largest
cases in the agency’s history, digital forensic
specialists from around the country participated
in search warrants, processed digital evidence,
and assisted IRS-CI’s Los Angeles-based
Western cybercrimes unit to investigate the
case. Once again, our digital forensics team
played an integral role in the investigation,
including the seizure and imaging of a laptop
and mobile phone and the review of emails and
other digital evidence.
Enhancing Field Operations
Through Data and Technology
The Advanced Analytics and Innovation section is a critical component of
IRS-CI, transforming how financial crimes are detected, investigated, and prosecuted.
Advanced Analytics and Information harnesses
the power of data analytics, machine learning,
and emerging technologies to enhance IRS-CI’s
investigative capabilities, providing tools and
methodologies that help the agency stay ahead
of increasingly complex financial crimes. As the
digital landscape evolves, AAI’s role within IRS-CI
will only grow, making it a continued indispensable
asset in the fight against financial crime.
The section’s primary function is to develop and
deploy advanced algorithms to analyze vast
amounts of data and to uncover patterns and
anomalies indicative of criminal activity. This is
particularly important for investigating tax fraud,
money laundering, and cybercrimes, where illicit
activities are often concealed among legitimate
financial transactions. AAI also integrates new
technologies, such as machine learning, into
IRS-CI’s operations, enabling agents to trace
illicit funds, identify perpetrators, and build
stronger cases more effectively.
The Nationally Coordinated Investigations
Unit uses data mining and analysis to identify
potential targets from a variety of potential tax
evasion schemes. These leads are provided to
the field for further investigation. In FY 2024,
the NCIU provided 292 referrals to field offices
around the country.
In one example, the NCIU identified a Texas man
who evaded paying income taxes on over $4.75
million income. Peter Tignini worked in the United
Arab Emirates and Qatar and reported income
of approximately $100,000 per year, which is
near or below the amount that U.S. citizens who
live and work abroad can exclude from their
taxable income on their U.S. tax returns. He was
sentenced to 41 months in prison, three years
of supervised release, and was ordered to pay
nearly $1.17 million in restitution.
Field-based special agents also rely on the
digital forensics team, part of the agency’s
Cyber and Forensic Services Section, to process
data and analyze digital evidence. These teams
consist of forensic scientists, special agent
computer investigative specialists, and computer
investigative forensic analysts. They employ
cutting-edge tools and techniques to uncover
digital evidence of financial crimes, a critical
capability as crimes increasingly involve online
transactions, cryptocurrency, and cyber fraud.
Our digital forensic specialists accompany field
agents at search warrants and specialize in
the preservation of electronic evidence. They
meticulously document the scene, maintain
chain-of-custody logs for every piece of electronic
evidence, and follow strict protocols to ensure
data integrity. In FY 2024, IRS-CI’s team has
STAFFING
3474
TOTAL STAFFING
1184
PROFESSIONAL STAFF
2290
SPECIAL AGENTS
15
2024 | IRS-CI ANNUAL REPORT

Combatting
CARES Act
Fraud
Protecting
Our
Financial
System
In 1970, the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) was enacted to fight money
laundering in the United States. The BSA authorizes the U.S. Treasury
Department to require financial institutions to keep records of cash
transactions, to report suspicious activity that may signify crimes
such as money laundering, tax evasion, or other criminal activity, and
to gather information about their customers to prevent our financial
system from being exploited for criminal purposes.
IRS-CI is one of the largest consumers of BSA data each year,
and we use that information to identify new investigative leads
and to uncovering previously unknown assets or bank accounts
in current cases.
Circumventing BSA regulations allows criminals to disguise
proceeds from their criminal activities or to commit tax evasion.
We help secure the nation’s financial system by holding individuals
accountable for intentionally violating BSA regulations. A business
owner was convicted in July 2024 for a multi-year scheme, where
he operated an unlicensed money services business out of a lumber
company. He earned millions by cashing “off-the-books” payroll
checks for employees. These “customers” paid a higher fee knowing
he would not file the appropriate reports with FinCEN, which would
allow their activities to go unnoticed.
Casinos are also subject to many of the same provisions under
the BSA. The former president of MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas
pleaded guilty and was sentenced for violating the BSA after
allowing a casino patron to gamble with illicit proceeds from an
illegal bookmaking business. The casino executive not only turned
a blind eye to the laundering of these proceeds, but he authorized
numerous complimentary benefits, including meals, free lodging,
and golf trips with senior executives, where he solicited new
customers for his illegal gambling business.
The MGM Grand and The Cosmopolitan casinos also entered
settlement agreements with the Department of Justice to resolve
the allegations of money laundering and violations of the BSA.
Each casino accepted responsibility for the laundering of these illicit
funds, totaling over $4 million at the MGM Grand and $900,000 at
The Cosmopolitan. The casinos admitted to failing to properly file
BSA reports, agreed to pay a combined $7.45 million fine.
We participate in Suspicious Activity Report Review Teams and
Financial Crimes Task Forces in 92 federal judicial districts.
Through these efforts, IRS-CI special agents and investigative
analysts collaborate with federal, state, and local law enforcement
partners across the country to identify and investigate financial
crimes. In FY 2024, at least 440 investigations originated as a lead
from BSA data.
In March 2020, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and
Economic Security (CARES) Act to provide emergency financial
assistance to Americans affected by the economic impact of
the COVID-19 pandemic. Criminals saw the CARES Act as an
opportunity to defraud the government by submitting false claims.
IRS-CI has dedicated extensive resources to fighting this fraud
since the early days of the pandemic.
A relatively new area of concern arose in 2023 when fraudsters
turned their attention to the Employee Retention Credit (ERC). This
credit is a refundable tax credit for businesses who continued to
pay employees while being shut down due to lockdowns and other
restrictions. The ERC became a target for scammers, who used
aggressive marketing tactics and falsely touted they were tax credit
experts to entice individuals and businesses to file for the credit.
In 2023, tax professionals and IRS personnel noticed an extremely
high rate of improper ERC claims being filed. Third-party ERC
promoters provided taxpayers with misinformation about the
program and their businesses’ ability to meet the qualification
criteria. However, the promoters did not evaluate the businesses’
eligibility and merely filed the additional ERC claims to gain a
profit by charging fees related to those claims. As a result, ERC
fraud victims risked having their claims denied or being faced with
repaying the credit.
In September 2023, the IRS announced a moratorium on the
processing of new ERC claims due to unprecedented fraud. This
allowed the agency to implement stricter compliance reviews and
audits. The IRS began processing ERC claims once again in August
2024 and has identified 50,000 valid ERC claims, which are being
processed for payment.
In FY 2024, IRS-CI initiated 493 investigations involving more than
$5.5 billion of potentially fraudulent ERCs related to tax years 2020,
2021, 2022, and 2023. Of these investigations, 42 have resulted in
federal charges to date.
Bradford Fishback, of St. George, Utah was sentenced in May
2024 to 29 months in prison for wire fraud, money laundering, and
filing false claims. He was ordered to pay more than $685,000 in
restitution. The business owner submitted 22 false Forms 941,
Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Returns, and received over
$480,000 from the IRS. Lonnise Andrews, from Macon, Georgia, was
sentenced in January 2024 to serve 51 months in prison and to pay
restitution to the IRS of $331,758 for filing false claims with the IRS.
CI continues to pursue criminals who stole CARES Act funds by
exploiting the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic
Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL).
16
2024 | IRS-CI ANNUAL REPORT

aiding and assisting the filing of false tax returns,
and subscribing to false tax returns arising out
of their fraudulent tax shelter scheme related to
syndicated conservation easements. To date, at
least seven additional defendants have pleaded
guilty to criminal conduct related to Fisher’s
syndicated conservation easement tax shelters.
The appraisers also serve as key components in
these schemes. Walter “Terry” Douglas Roberts
II, a licensed appraiser in North Carolina, inflated
the values of at least 18 conservation easements
by not following normal appraisal methods,
making false statements, and either personally
manipulating or relying on knowingly manipulated
data to reach a targeted appraisal value, resulting
in the desired tax deduction amount. Roberts
admitted he inflated some of his appraisals by at
least 600%. The inflated appraisals for these
18 conversation easements resulted in more than
$466 million in tax deductions and a tax loss to
the IRS of over $129 million.
Unraveling Billion-Dollar
Abusive Tax Shelters
An abusive tax scheme can undermine the integrity of the U.S. tax system. These
schemes often start with a legitimate tax-planning strategy but are then distorted
by a promoter to offer benefits that are too good to be true.
The IRS is actively working to combat abusive tax
schemes, including pursuing criminal prosecution
against those involved.
In the Tax Reform Act of 1976, a provision
was passed in the tax code that allowed land
owners to deduct the value of a donated
easement from their federal income taxes. This
act recognized the importance of incentivizing
private land conservation, commonly referred
to as conservation easements. A conservation
easement is a voluntary legal agreement between
a land owner and a conservation organization or
government entity that restricts certain land uses
to protect its natural scenic or agricultural values.
While the land owner retains ownership, the
easement places a permanent or long-term limit
on the activity, like development or industrial use,
to ensure the land is preserved for conservation
purposes. In exchange, the land owner may
receive tax benefits, and the easement holder
is responsible for monitoring and enforcing the
agreement. The tax deductions are based on the
difference between the land value before and
after the easement was placed, reflecting the
land’s reduced development potential.
A conservation easement becomes syndicated
when it is part of a structured investment
designed to allow multiple investors to purchase
interest in the land with the primary goal of taking
advantage of the tax deduction associated with
donating the easement. In abusive arrangements,
promoters are syndicating easement transactions
that purport to give an investor the opportunity
to claim charitable contribution deductions and
corresponding tax savings that significantly
exceed the amount the investor invested.
In 2022, the SECURE 2.0 Act was passed, which
introduced significant changes to conservation
easements by targeting abuses in syndicated
conservation easement transactions. These
changes aim to prevent fraud, ensuring that
conservation easements serve legitimate
environmental purposes rather than functioning
as tax shelters for investors.
In January 2024, Jack Fisher, a certified public
accountant (CPA), and James Sinnott, an attorney,
were sentenced to 25 years and 23 years in
prison, respectively, for their roles in a syndicated
conservation easement tax scheme. For more
than a decade, Fisher and Sinnott designed,
marketed, and sold more than $1.3 billion in
abusive syndicated conservation easement tax
shelters. They inflated the value of the easements
so their clients could claim fraudulently inflated
tax deductions, which resulted in over $450
million in tax losses to the IRS. Fisher and Sinnott
were convicted of conspiracy to defraud the
United States, conspiracy to commit wire fraud,
17
2024 | IRS-CI ANNUAL REPORT

IRS-CI plays a significant role in combating both domestic and
international terrorism. IRS-CI’s Narcotics and National Security
Section collaborates with federal law enforcement partners to
identify, disrupt, deter, and defeat terrorism, espionage, and
other intelligence activities undertaken on behalf of our nation’s
adversaries. We play a critical role in the national security of our
nation through our participation in the National Joint Terrorism Task
Force and the National Counterintelligence Task Force.
In January 2024, U.S. Navy service member Petty Officer Wenheng
Zhao was sentenced to 27 months in prison for transmitting
sensitive U.S. military information to an intelligence office of the
People’s Republic of China in exchange for bribery payments. Zhao
worked at Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme, California.
Between August 2021 through May 2023, Zhao received payments
in exchange for sensitive, non-public information regarding U.S.
Navy operational security and critical infrastructure.
An IRS-CI investigation led to the indictment of Jason Brown
who pleaded guilty in December 2023 to trafficking fentanyl and
other drugs in an attempt to support the Islamic State of Iraq and
al-Sham, aka ISIS. According to Brown’s plea agreement, on at
least three occasions, Brown provided cash to be wired to an
ISIS soldier engaged in terrorist activity in Syria. Unbeknownst to
Brown, the purported ISIS fighter was actually an undercover law
enforcement officer.
In December 2023, Johnny Paul Tourino was sentenced to
18 months in prison and ordered to forfeit approximately $2
million. Tourino conspired to procure and illegally ship high-end
computer servers from the United States to Iran, in violation of the
International Emergency Economics Powers Act (IEEPA) and U.S.
sanctions against Iran. When the manufacturer of the servers asked
Tourino where he planned to send the servers, he falsely stated they
were “NOT going to Iran” and that they were destined for a bank
in Africa. When the Department of Treasury blocked funds from
Iran that Tourino used to pay for the servers, he falsely conveyed to
government officials that the servers were destined for Slovenia.
Judy Grace Sellers, a self-proclaimed sovereign citizen, was
sentenced to nine years in prison for a $3.4 million tax fraud
scheme, filing a false lien, and absconding. Sellers operated the
website commercialredemption.com, where she promoted the
use of IRS Forms 1099-OID to commit tax fraud. Sellers falsely
purported that the U.S. Treasury maintains secret accounts
attributed to every U.S. citizen that can be accessed by completing
a series of bogus documents, including IRS Forms 1099. These
fraudulent returns sought massive refunds based on non-existent
1099-OID income and withholdings.
Safeguarding
Our National
Security
Trust in those in public service is essential to our democracy. It is
the comfort that no matter what position of power an individual
might hold, no one is above the law. When someone in a public
position is bribed, receives kickbacks, or embezzles funds, all
taxpayers lose. Whether the position is at the local, state, or federal
level, individuals in public service are accountable to the American
public, and IRS-CI ensures those who abuse their power by
committing financial crimes are brought to justice.
When political figures violate the law, it erodes the public’s faith in
the electoral process. IRS-CI investigations resulted in the conviction
of Senator Robert Menendez for corruption and bribery offenses,
former Congressman George Santos pleading guilty to filing fraudulent
Federal Election Commission (FEC) reports and embezzling funds
from campaign donors, and Abhijit Das, a candidate for the U.S.
House of Representatives, receiving 21 months in prison. Individuals
contributed approximately $125,000 to Das campaign, he structured
the contributions as personal loans to a family member to circumvent
FEC reporting requirement and contribution limits.
Unfortunately, corruption is not limited to national political positions
and can happen in any community. For years, former Los Angeles
City Council member José Luis Huizar abused his position to operate
a pay-to-play scheme that sought nearly $2 million worth of bribes
from real estate developers; he was sentenced to 156 months in
prison. A former city of Newark official, who served as deputy mayor,
also admitted to violating his duties by accepting bribes to advance
and influence private real estate interests.
IRS-CI safeguards public trust and the integrity of law enforcement
by investigating individuals who swore to uphold the law but instead
violated it. A jury found a rogue Homeland Security Investigations
agent guilty of tax fraud, structuring, and concealment offenses
and sentenced him to 74 months in prison. A former Massachusetts
State Police lieutenant Daniel J. Griffin was sentenced to five years
for conspiring to steal thousands of dollars in federally funded
overtime and hiding over $700,000 of his revenue from his security
business from the IRS. Griffin made and approved false entries
on forms and other documentation to conceal and perpetuate
the fraud. A former New York state trooper and president of the
Law Enforcement Employees Benevolent Association (LEEBA)
was sentenced to 40 months in prison for an embezzlement fraud
scheme, personal income tax evasion, and employment tax fraud.
For at least eight years, he participated in a scheme to steal,
embezzle, and misappropriate money from the Annuity Fund and
individual members’ retirement accounts.
Public trust positions were created to serve the public, not defraud
or dishearten the public’s confidence in the government. IRS-CI is
uniquely qualified to investigate corruption of all types, because, at its
core, corruption is a crime of greed, often involving bribery, extortion,
embezzlement, kickbacks, tax fraud, and money laundering.
Preserving
Public Trust
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2024 | IRS-CI ANNUAL REPORT

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Field Office Map
Click on a city to go to that Field Office.
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19
2024 | IRS-CI ANNUAL REPORT

Western Area
COLORADO: Colorado Springs, Denver, Durango, Fort Collins, Grand Junction, Westminster | IDAHO: Boise, Coeur D’alene | MONTANA: Billings, Helena, Missoula | WYOMING: Cheyenne
Husband and Wife Sentenced
for Defrauding an Elderly Victim
and Obstruction of Justice
Between 2015 and 2017, James Dougherty and his wife, Jessica
Dougherty, engaged in a scheme to defraud an elderly victim.
In early 2015, the Doughertys moved into a building on their
victim’s 46-acre ranch in Boise, Idaho, to provide assistance in
exchange for free rent. Over time, James gained control of the
victim’s affairs, including being named as the victim’s power of
attorney for finances. Shortly after obtaining power of attorney
privileges, the ranch was transferred to the Doughertys through
a trust. In late 2015, the victim’s health deteriorated. When the
victim was declared incapacitated, James was appointed sole
trustee of the trust. In 2015 and 2016, the Doughertys began
to transfer funds from the victim’s bank accounts for their own
use. In 2017, the Doughertys entered into an agreement to
purchase the ranch from the trust for far less than market value,
which James executed as trustee. During the investigation,
Jessica admitted to knowingly destroying records on a laptop
that were relevant to the investigation. In August 2024, James
was sentenced to 41 months in prison for wire fraud involving a
scheme to defraud an elderly victim, and Jessica was sentenced
to three years of probation for obstruction of justice.
Learn more about this case.
Final Conspirator in Drug
Trafficking Operation Sentenced
to Over 15 Years in Prison
While incarcerated for other illegal activity, Michael Osborn, of
Boise, Idaho, used a contraband cell phone to communicate
with members of a conspiracy to purchase and distribute “bath
salts,” also known as alpha-pyrrolidinohexanophenone (a-PHP).
From October 2019 to March 2021, Osborn’s co-conspirators
received shipments containing the drugs from outside the
United States and converted the profits to bitcoin to conceal
the nature and source of the proceeds. During the investigation,
the government seized a bitcoin wallet valued at approximately
$280,000. In 2023, Osborn was sentenced to 188 months in
prison and three years of supervised release and was ordered
to forfeit the seized bitcoin wallet. Osborn’s co-conspirators
received a collective sentence of 16 years and four months.
Learn more about this case.
Denver Man Conspired
to Commit COVID Fraud
Between March and October 2020, Chandler Simbeck conspired
with Russell Foremen to submit loan applications with false
information to the Small Business Administration (SBA) for
himself and various businesses. Soon after, Simbeck and
Foreman created a limited liability company and applied for an
Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL). However, the company
never engaged in any business activity. On the loan applications,
the duo submitted fraudulent figures for the gross revenue and
cost of goods sold. After Simbeck received $149,900 from the
EIDL application, he wired $50,000 to Foreman. In December
2023, Simbeck was sentenced to 37 months in prison and
was ordered to pay $151,000 in restitution for his role in a
conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government. Earlier in 2023,
Foreman was sentenced to 66 months in prison for a similar
scheme involving falsified COVID relief applications.
Learn more about this case.
Owner of Online Luxury
Baby Boutique Sentenced
to 90 Months for Defrauding
COVID-19 Relief Programs
Shambrica Washington, owner of Tiny Toes and Tiaras based
in Colorado Springs, obtained loans from the Small Business
Administration for two Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL)
and two Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans for a total
of $485,749.00 between March of 2020 and July of 2020. To
obtain the fraudulent loans, Washington misrepresented how
many people were employed by her business and the business’s
wages, revenues, and costs of operation. She used the funds
to purchase a car and a custom-built home, to pay for elective
surgery, and to pay credit card debt and other bills. She then
applied for millions of dollars in additional loans, grants, and
tax credits, including by applying for advance tax credits
from the IRS and a $6 million grant through a Small Business
Administration program intended for shuttered concert venues.
Washington was found guilty by a federal jury on 31 counts
including wire fraud, bank fraud, money laundering, and false
claims offenses. She was sentenced to 90 months in federal
prison followed by three years of supervised release and
ordered to pay $542.924.45 in restitution.
Learn more about this case.
Former Farm Foreman Sentenced
to Federal Prison for Extorting
Agricultural Workers and Tax Fraud
Ernesto Garza worked as a supervisor and foremen for farm
workers at an agricultural services company that operates
throughout Idaho. While serving as the supervisor, he prepared
and submitted timesheets for the workers but regularly falsified
those timesheets by adding extra hours and asked the workers
to return cash to him for the extra hours. Between at least 2014
and 2019, Garza also charged the workers an unauthorized
flat fee ranging from $750 to $2,500 to work for the company.
Between 2013 and 2019, Garza also deposited approximately
$493,153 in unreported income into his personal bank
accounts. The income was derived from the extortion described
above, as well as a separate scheme to defraud the farm. Garza
filed false tax returns for the years 2013 through 2019, when he
did not disclose the additional income on the returns. Garza was
sentenced to 27 months in federal prison and was ordered to
pay $621,724 in restitution to his many victims.
Learn more about this case.
Denver
DenverFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
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.
View FO Photo Gallery
20
2024 | IRS-CI ANNUAL REPORT
X

Western Area
COLORADO: Colorado Springs, Denver, Durango, Fort Collins, Grand Junction, Westminster | IDAHO: Boise, Coeur D’alene | MONTANA: Billings, Helena, Missoula | WYOMING: Cheyenne
Denver
DenverFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
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.
View FO Cases
Members of Denver field office at annual training.
Assistant Special Agent in Charge interviewed for a television broadcast.
Denver field office members participate in career fair.
Denver field office holds Citizen Academy for students.
Special agents conduct firearms training.
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Western Area
Orange County Heroin
Home-Delivery Orchestrators
Sentenced to 24 Years
From 2003 through July 2021, brothers Victor and Julio Martinez
masterminded a complex drug trafficking operation supplying
primarily heroin to customers in Orange County, which resulted
in at least one user’s death. To mask their operations, the
brothers operated call centers customers could call to coordinate
meetings with a street dealer to exchange cash for narcotics. To
further conceal their activities, the Martinez brothers directed
others to deposit drug proceeds into bank accounts held by
co-conspirators with specific instructions to structure deposits at
various banks in amounts less than $10,000 to evade the banks’
federal reporting requirements. Victor and Julio Martinez each
plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin. In
December 2023, each of the Martinez brothers was sentenced to
288 months in prison. This case was part of an Organized Crime
Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation targeting all
levels of the international drug trafficking organization led by the
Martinez brothers.
Learn more about this case.
Granada Hills Man Sentenced
to 17½ Years for COVID Related
Benefits Scam and Stealing
Dozens of Car Titles
From 2020 to September 2022, Eduard Gasparyan stole dozens
of identities to fraudulently obtain more than $1.5 million in
COVID-19 related unemployment insurance benefits from
the California Employment Development Department (EDD)
and used debit cards to withdraw the fraudulently obtained
benefits at ATMs. Gasparyan used those same stolen identities
to steal dozens of vehicle titles and to purchase vehicles with
fraudulent checks or bank account numbers. Gasparyan also
stole vehicles by using stolen identities to rent the vehicles
and later used forged documents to convince DMV employees
to remove the rental car companies as the registered owners.
Gasparyan pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit
wire fraud and was sentenced in February 2024 to 210 months
in prison and was ordered to pay $2,232,767 in restitution.
His co-conspirator and then-fiancée, Angela Karchyan, was
sentenced in February 2023 to 41 months in prison and ordered
to pay restitution of the same amount.
Learn more about this case.
Former Malibu Resident Receives
15½ Years for Running Fraudulent
Investment Scheme
From November 2013 to April 2015, Frank Harold Rosenthal,
formerly of Malibu but most recently of New York City, lured
victims into a fraudulent investment opportunity, accumulating
more than $3 million from trusting investors. Rosenthal
convinced his victims he had inside connections at Goldman
Sachs that provided him special access to purchase shares
of Alibaba, a Chinese e-commerce company, at a discount
before its initial public offering. Rosenthal negotiated and
drafted fraudulent loan agreements and promissory notes with
the victims, promising significant returns on their loans and
investments. Instead of delivering on his promises, Rosenthal
used his victims’ investments to fund a lavish lifestyle,
which included the $16,000 monthly rent of a Malibu home.
Rosenthal pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud, and he
was sentenced in November 2023 to 188 months in prison and
ordered to pay $1,182,500 in restitution to his victims.
Learn more about this case.
Westwood Man Sentenced to
More Than 9 Years in Prison for
Long-Running Surety Bond Scam
From September 2016 to September 2019, Tommy Lester Watts
of Westwood defrauded victims out of more than $5 million
by claiming he could provide surety bonds and other financial
guarantees for large-scale projects. Watts convinced victims
that he could help them obtain financing for their projects via his
various companies, including the Sherman Oaks-based Source
One Surety LLC. Watts falsely claimed the bonds or guarantees
were underwritten by well-known companies and banks and
were backed by assets in the millions or billions of dollars.
Neither Watts nor any of his companies were licensed to sell
such bonds in California. He laundered the proceeds through
accounts in the names of unregistered corporations and fake
taxpayer identification numbers. He spent his falsely obtained
proceeds on a lavish lifestyle, including classic and luxury cars,
rent for high-end apartments, and the purchase of luxury retail
goods. Watts pleaded guilty to one count of transactional money
laundering and one count of tax evasion. In November 2023, he
was sentenced to 110 months in prison and was ordered to pay
$8,995,879 in restitution, $4,226,535 of which is to the IRS.
Learn more about this case.
Binance CEO Plead Guilty
to Federal Charges, Agreed to
$4 Billion Resolution
Binance Holdings Limited, the entity that operates the world’s
largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance.com, admitted in
November 2023 to violations of U.S. anti-money laundering
and sanctions laws that protect American national security
and the integrity of the international financial system. Binance
willfully operated as an unregistered money services business
in an attempt to skirt Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
(FinCEN) requirements to submit suspicious activity reports on
questionable transactions. Between August 2017 and October
2022, Binance executed more than 1.67 million virtual currency
trades on its Binance.com platform between U.S. citizens, users
in sanctioned jurisdictions, and blocked users. As part of the plea
agreement, Binance agreed to forfeit $2,510,650,588 and to pay
a criminal fine of $1,805,475,575 for a total financial penalty of
$4,316,126,163. In addition to the financial resolution, Binance’s
founder and chief executive officer, Changpeng Zhao, a Canadian
national, pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective
anti-money laundering program. Zhao resigned as Binance’s CEO
and was sentenced to four months in prison.
Learn more about this case.
CALIFORNIA: Camarillo, El Monte, Laguna Niguel, Long Beach, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Marcos, Santa Ana, Santa Maria, Van Nuys
Los Angeles
LosAngelesFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
THE LOS ANGELES FIELD OFFICE
is the nation’s largest field office
by population serving nearly 24
million people, stretching over
nine counties from San Luis
Obispo to the border between
United States and Mexico. The
Los Angeles Field Office covers
two judicial districts in California,
the Central and the Southern
Judicial Districts. The Los Angeles
Field Office works a diverse mix
of financial investigations across
this 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 JTTF and OCDETF.
View FO Photo Gallery
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Western Area
CALIFORNIA: Camarillo, El Monte, Laguna Niguel, Long Beach, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Marcos, Santa Ana, Santa Maria, Van Nuys
Los Angeles
LosAngelesFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
THE LOS ANGELES FIELD OFFICE
is the nation’s largest field office
by population serving nearly 24
million people, stretching over
nine counties from San Luis
Obispo to the border between
United States and Mexico. The
Los Angeles Field Office covers
two judicial districts in California,
the Central and the Southern
Judicial Districts. The Los Angeles
Field Office works a diverse mix
of financial investigations across
this 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 JTTF and OCDETF.
View FO Cases
Special agent removes hard drive during search warrant.
Representatives from the Los Angeles field office reconstructing torn evidence.
Special Agent in Charge holds a press conference.
Special agent participates in Baker to Vegas law enforcement race.
Special agent presents at Cybersecurity Summit.
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Western Area
CALIFORNIA: Fresno, Modesto, Oakland, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose, San Rafael, Santa Rosa, Stockton
CEO Sentenced to 17 Years
in Prison for COVID-19 Related
Fraud and Other Offenses
Attila Colar is the former chief executive officer of All Hands on
Deck, a Richmond, California, company that held itself out as
providing a residential reentry home for probationers, parolees,
homeless persons, and those with mild mental illness. During
the investigative years, Colar went by several names, including
Dahood Sharieff Bey, Sharieff Pasha, David Lee, and Georgi
Petrakov. Colar engaged in multiple schemes to defraud,
including defrauding organizations that placed residents at his
company’s transitional housing facilities and defrauding several
lenders that were participating in the Paycheck Protection
Program (PPP). Starting in late 2018, Colar fraudulently
induced companies to refer parolees to his company using false
documents. He also filed 16 fraudulent loan applications with
lenders seeking over $34 million in government funding. Colar
was convicted on 44 felony charges relating to his actions,
including conspiracy, bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft.
In October 2023, he was sentenced to 204 months in prison
and five years of supervised release and was ordered to pay
nearly $1.2 million in restitution.
Learn more about this case.
Company President and Former
Counsel Sentenced to Prison
for Conspiracy and Tax Fraud
From 2009 to 2015, Joseph Nubla, president of Brisbane
Recycling Company, a rock-crushing business in Brisbane,
California, and Henry Ku, the company’s former counsel,
devised a check-writing scheme to avoid paying corporate
income taxes. Ku owned separate companies that were also
involved in the conspiracy. Nubla tried to dodge taxes by writing
checks to Ku totaling more than $18 million and then deducting
the checks as false deductions on Brisbane’s corporate returns.
Nubla then instructed Ku to return the money to him personally
in various ways, including money transfers, purchasing three
homes for Nubla, and by writing Nubla cashier’s checks totaling
$7 million. In 2014 alone, Nubla failed to report more than $5.8
million in income on his federal income tax return. In November
2023, Nubla was convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United
States and one count of tax evasion. He was sentenced to 36
months in prison. Ku was also convicted of conspiracy and was
sentenced to 30 months in prison.
Learn more about this case.
Dark Web Vendor Sentenced
to Eighteen Months in Prison for
Distributing Methamphetamine-
Pressed Adderall Pills
Tony Tan, of San Francisco, operated a dark web vendor site,
Adderall123, where he sold counterfeit Adderall pills laced with
methamphetamine throughout the United States. The counterfeit
Adderall pills were created and stamped in such a way as to
mirror legitimate Adderall pills. Over the years, Tan operated
Adderall123 on numerous dark web marketplaces, including
Empire, ASAP, White House Market, and Torrez. Tan executed
thousands of sales of the counterfeit Adderall pills in various
quantities and distributed the drugs using the U.S. Postal Service.
Tan was charged in March 2023 and plead guilty, acknowledging
the extensive scale of his operation, which included thousands of
sales across multiple dark web marketplaces. In January 2024,
Tan was sentenced to 18 months in prison and three years of
supervised release. He was ordered to forfeit $17,744 in currency
and various cryptocurrencies.
Learn more about this case.
Former San Francisco Resident
Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison
for Cryptocurrency Fraud Scheme
William Koo Ichioka, formerly of San Francisco and New York,
operated under the name “Ichioka Ventures” and conducted
a fraud scheme where he falsely promised investors 10% in
returns every 30 business days. However, instead of using the
funds as promised, he used their funds for luxury purchases
and expenses and to repay earlier investors. He fraudulently
raised tens of millions of dollars from over 100 persons and
entities. He admitted to sustaining losses, doctoring financial
documents, and failing to report income to the IRS. In January
2024, Ichioka was sentenced to 48 months in prison and
fined $5 million for his involvement in the scheme, which
primarily involved cryptocurrencies and other investment
vehicles. Additionally, he was ordered to pay over $21 million in
restitution to non-family investors and more than $40 million to
his family members.
Learn more about this case.
Former Hospitality Manager
Sentenced to Over 5 Years
Prison for Kickback Scheme
and Tax Evasion
Geoffrey Palermo, a former hospitality executive, worked as
a manager of a Hilton hotel in San Francisco. While there,
he devised a kickback scheme with contractors that inflated
invoices and deprived the hotel owners of $1.8 million, which
went to Palermo. After leaving the hotel, he managed an
auto repair business and obtained fraudulent Small Business
Administration loans by falsifying financial information. He also
admitted to withholding over $1 million in taxes from employee
paychecks that were never paid to the IRS. Palermo was
sentenced to 65 months in prison for wire fraud, failing to pay
taxes, and other charges related to the kickback scheme and
fraudulent loan applications. In addition to his prison sentence,
Palermo will serve three years of supervised release, with a
hearing scheduled for restitution and forfeiture.
Learn more about this case.
Oakland
OaklandFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
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. Nine 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 IRS-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.
Attorneys’ Offices and are involved
in local task forces, including
OCDETF, JTTF, cybercrimes, and
public corruption. Some of the top
IRS-CI cases are investigated by
special agents from the Oakland
Field Office.
View FO Photo Gallery
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Western Area
CALIFORNIA: Fresno, Modesto, Oakland, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose, San Rafael, Santa Rosa, Stockton
Oakland
OaklandFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
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. Nine 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 IRS-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.
Attorneys’ Offices and are involved
in local task forces, including
OCDETF, JTTF, cybercrimes, and
public corruption. Some of the top
IRS-CI cases are investigated by
special agents from the Oakland
Field Office.
View FO Cases
Special agents seize a vehicle as part of an investigation.
Special agent discusses opportunities with a student at a career fair.
Oakland field office member competes in the annual law enforcement Baker to Vegas race.
Special agents conduct a search warrant.
Acting Assistant Special Agent in Charge makes remarks during press conference.
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Western Area
ARIZONA: Glendale, Mesa, Phoenix, Tucson | NEVADA: Las Vegas, Reno | NEW MEXICO: Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Santa Fe | UTAH: Ogden, Salt Lake City
Leader Of Drug Trafficking
Organization Sentenced
to 15 Years in Prison
Peter Vega, of Rio Rico, Arizona, was the leader of a drug
trafficking organization that distributed methamphetamine and
fentanyl throughout the United States. Vega coordinated the
shipment of methamphetamine and fentanyl from Arizona to the
eastern United States using the U.S. Postal Service. Vega then
coordinated the laundering of the drug proceeds by funneling
money through multiple bank accounts held by third parties.
After he was indicted, Vega fled to Mexico, where he was
subsequently apprehended and extradited back to the United
States to face charges. In June 2024, Vega was sentenced to 180
months in prison followed by five years of supervised release
for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, conspiracy
to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and
conspiracy to launder a monetary instrument.
Learn more about this case.
Investment Advisor behind
$8 Million Fraud Scheme Lands
8-Year Prison Sentence
David Allen Harbour, of Scottsdale, Arizona, acted as a
self-styled investment advisor who defrauded numerous victims
between 2007 and 2021. Unbeknownst to the victims, Harbour
intentionally misled investors regarding the application of their
investment funds and charged finder’s fees up to 25 percent
of the investments. Harbour stole over $8 million throughout
the course of this scheme by luring his victims in with the lavish
lifestyle of a successful businessman and by showering potential
investors with gifts and travel opportunities. The stolen money
was diverted to fund Harbour’s lavish lifestyle, which continued
to lure in more potential investors. Extravagant expenditures
included private jet travel, speedboats, attending the London
Olympics, stays at luxury hotels, expensive jewelry, a private 40th
birthday concert by the Eagles, country club memberships, and
multi-million-dollar residences in Arizona, Idaho, and Mexico.
Harbour also pleaded guilty to tax evasion, agreeing he evaded
more than $4 million in taxes. In January 2024, Harbour was
sentenced to eight years in prison for wire fraud, transactional
money laundering, and tax evasion. The judge increased
Harbour’s sentence due to his efforts to pay off witnesses.
Learn more about this case.
Nevada Restauranteur
Sentenced to Over 3 Years
in Prison for Tax Evasion
Raul Gil, of Las Vegas, Nevada, owned and operated three Casa
Don Juan restaurants. From 2014 through 2018, Gil instructed
his manager/internal bookkeeper to underreport cash sales at
his restaurants by approximately $5.1 million. Gill then provided
these false records to his tax return preparer to prepare a return
grossly understating his income. During an IRS audit in July 2018,
Gil instructed his accountant and his bookkeeper to provide the
false records that matched the figures reported on the tax returns
to the IRS. During interviews with the IRS, Gil falsely stated the
fabricated daily cash reports and point-of-sale records were
accurate. In January 2024, Gil was sentenced to 37 months
in prison for skimming $5 million in cash sales and filing false
federal income tax returns with an overall tax loss of $1.6 million.
Learn more about this case.
Human Smuggling Organization
Leader Sentenced to 4 Years
in Prison
Tony Cardenas, of Phoenix, Arizona, was the leader of a
Phoenix-based human trafficking organization, moving
undocumented noncitizens from Central America and Mexico
to the Tohono O’odham Nation. These individuals were then
directed to nearby stash houses or taken to stash houses
in the Tucson and Phoenix areas. The human smuggling
organization used Phoenix as a distribution hub and then
held undocumented noncitizens there until final payment
was received. Once payments were made, these individuals
were driven to their final destinations throughout the United
States. A financial investigation by IRS-CI was able to identify
numerous coconspirators, who used their bank accounts and
money service businesses to channel over $1 million back to the
smuggling organization in Arizona. This investigation revealed at
least 17 individuals with ties to the Cardenas human smuggling
organization that have ultimately been convicted of human
trafficking and/or money laundering. In March 2024, Cardenas
was sentenced to 48 months in prison followed by three years of
supervised release for conspiracy to transport and harbor illegal
aliens for profit and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Learn more about this case.
St. George Businessman
Sentenced to Over 2 Years
in Prison for COVID-Relief Fraud
Over the course of two years, Bradford Fishback, of St. George,
Utah, fraudulently obtained government funds in the amount
of $685,845.05 from programs intended to help employees
and small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fishback
devised a scheme to defraud and obtain money by fraudulently
submitting requests for Employee Retention Tax Credits, which
resulted in him receiving $482,058.46 from the IRS. Fishback
also fraudulently submitted loan applications to the Small
Business Administration (SBA), including Paycheck Protection
Program (PPP) loan applications to obtain $77,629 in PPP
loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) applications
to obtain $137,573, and he submitted false applications
for unemployment benefits to the Nevada Department of
Employment, Training, and Rehabilitation, which resulted in
him receiving $45,831 in unemployment benefits. In May
2024, Fishback was sentenced to over two years imprisonment
followed by three years supervised release and ordered to pay
$685,845.05 in restitution for wire fraud, money laundering,
and false claims.
Learn more about this case.
Phoenix
PhoenixFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
THE PHOENIX FIELD OFFICE
covers the southwestern states
of Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico,
and Utah. The office covers a vast
geographic area that stretches
from the Sierra Nevada Mountains
in the west to the Rockies in the
east. From the Grand Canyon of
Arizona to the bright lights of Las
Vegas, the Phoenix Field Office
identifies and investigates a
wide variety of complex financial
crimes. 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 border of the
United States and Mexico,
the office provides significant
participation in high level
OCDETF cases.
View FO Photo Gallery
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Western Area
ARIZONA: Glendale, Mesa, Phoenix, Tucson | NEVADA: Las Vegas, Reno | NEW MEXICO: Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Santa Fe | UTAH: Ogden, Salt Lake City
Phoenix
PhoenixFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
THE PHOENIX FIELD OFFICE
covers the southwestern states
of Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico,
and Utah. The office covers a vast
geographic area that stretches
from the Sierra Nevada Mountains
in the west to the Rockies in the
east. From the Grand Canyon of
Arizona to the bright lights of Las
Vegas, the Phoenix Field Office
identifies and investigates a
wide variety of complex financial
crimes. 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 border of the
United States and Mexico,
the office provides significant
participation in high level
OCDETF cases.
View FO Cases
Special agents participate in Law Enforcement Torch Run.
Nevada special agents at Exploration Peak Park.
Western Area Director Field Operations and Acting Assistant Special Agent in Charge participate in FinCEN Exchange.
Special agent at search warrant.
Arizona special agents hike Camelback Mountain.
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Western Area
ALASKA: Anchorage | GUAM: Hagatna | HAWAII: Honolulu, Kona | OREGON: Bend, Eugene, Medford, Portland | WASHINGTON: Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, Vancouver
Former Hawaii Resident Sentenced
to Prison for Defrauding Investors
of $1.2 Million
Newton Kaleo DeLeon defrauded at least 45 investors
throughout Hawaii and California out of approximately $1.2
million. DeLeon solicited money from victim-investors by falsely
representing that the money they provided him was for his
flower lei business, “leiorders.com.” Instead, DeLeon spent
the money on his personal expenses, including gambling and
luxury items, such as a Chevrolet Tahoe. DeLeon falsely told
victim-investors that he needed investment funds to purchase
flowers and supplies for lei purchase orders that he had already
executed with third parties, including well-known casino hotels
in Las Vegas, Nevada. DeLeon provided investors with fictitious
and fabricated purchase orders, contracts, and other documents
that he created with unauthorized and false branded logos, and
he forged signatures to make it appear he had large business
lei orders with the third parties. DeLeon was sentenced to 57
months in prison for wire fraud and money laundering.
Learn more about this case.
Korean Air Lines Employee Diverted
Millions of Dollars in Bank Fraud
and Money Laundering Scheme
Sung Peel Hwang, aka Don Sung Peel Hwang, from the
Republic of Korea and a naturalized U.S. citizen, worked as an
administrator at the Guam Korean Airlines office. Hwang’s duties
included reporting the number of passengers and paying the
corresponding Passenger Facility Charge (PFC). As part of his
scheme, Hwang underreported the PFC and kept the difference
for himself. Over the course of the three-year scheme, Hwang
deposited over $3.5 million in funds from Korean Air Lines (KAL)
into his personal bank account and diverted over $600,000.00
in KAL funds for his personal use. Hwang was sentenced to 41
months in prison and ordered to pay $615,271.51 in restitution
for bank fraud and money laundering.
Learn more about this case.
Oregon Repeat Offender
Convicted of Human Trafficking
and Money Laundering
Johnell Lee Cleveland, of Tigard, Oregon, an individual with a
lengthy criminal history, was sentenced to federal prison for
transporting an adult victim across state lines for illegal sexual
activity and laundering the proceeds through a Portland-based
bottled water company. Less than 30 days following his release
from prison for prior drug, firearm, and fraud convictions,
Cleveland engaged in an insurance fraud scheme. Shortly
thereafter, Cleveland conducted other fraudulent activity,
including devising a scheme to fraudulently obtain COVID relief
program funds. In addition, Cleveland transported an adult
woman across state lines for illegal sexual activity, demanding
she travel frequently and engage in commercial sex. Meanwhile,
Cleveland kept all the money the woman earned and threatened
her with various punishments. To conceal and disguise the
nature of his victim’s proceeds, Cleveland used the money to
pay business expenses for a Portland-based bottled water
company and a monthly retainer with a modeling agency.
Cleveland was sentenced to 108 months in prison followed by
seven years of supervised release.
Learn more about this case.
Minnesota Man Sentenced
to Over 8 Years in Prison
for Tax Fraud Scheme
Beau Gensmer, of Prior Lake, Minnesota, developed a scheme
to file 63 false tax returns that claimed fraudulently inflated tax
refunds on behalf of unwitting taxpayer clients. In furtherance
of his scheme, Gensmer hired two tax returns preparers,
including one based in Anchorage, Alaska. Gensmer knowingly
emailed the other two preparers false information, including
fraudulent business losses and charitable contributions. The
return preparers relied on the information he provided and, as
a result, prepared and electronically filed false returns for each
of his clients. Gensmer charged his clients a commission of
approximately 30 percent for each fraudulent refund. In total,
Gensmer caused a tax loss to the IRS of approximately $6.7
million. Gensmer was sentenced to 108 months in prison and
three years of supervised release, and he was ordered to pay
$4,716,732.35 in restitution to the United States for wire fraud
and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns.
Learn more about this case.
Payroll Services CEO Sentenced
to Prison for Withholding Millions
in Payroll Taxes
Robert Kohnle was the president, secretary, and chief executive
officer of Real Benefits Group Inc., which conducted business
under the name of Aliat. Aliat was a professional employer
organization that provided payroll and payroll-related services
for its clients. Beginning with the fourth quarter of 2016 through
the fourth quarter of 2022, Kohnle received funds from Aliat’s
clients that represented payroll tax withholdings, but he kept
the money rather than pay the IRS, as required by law. Instead,
Kohnle used the money to pay Aliat’s other expenses and
creditors, including himself. In total, Kohnle caused a tax loss
to the IRS of more than $22.6 million. Kohnle was sentenced to
27 months in prison and three years of supervised release, and
he was ordered to pay $14,092,693.42 in restitution for willfully
failing to pay employment taxes owed to the IRS.
Learn more about this case.
Seattle
SeattleFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
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. The Seattle
Field Office’s area of operation
spans four states and two
territories: Alaska, Hawaii,
Oregon, Washington, Guam,
and the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands. The
Seattle Field Office works with
U.S. Attorneys’ 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.
View FO Photo Gallery
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Western Area
ALASKA: Anchorage | GUAM: Hagatna | HAWAII: Honolulu, Kona | OREGON: Bend, Eugene, Medford, Portland | WASHINGTON: Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, Vancouver
Seattle
SeattleFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
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. The Seattle
Field Office’s area of operation
spans four states and two
territories: Alaska, Hawaii,
Oregon, Washington, Guam,
and the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands. The
Seattle Field Office works with
U.S. Attorneys’ 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.
View FO Cases
Special agents instruct students at Citizen Academy event.
Members of Seattle field office participate in team building event.
Special agents conduct a Citizen Academy for local students.
Special agent climbs Mount Kilimanjaro.
Special agents participate in Summer Youth Academy.
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2024 | IRS-CI ANNUAL REPORT
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Western Area
MISSOURI: Chesterfield, Lee’s Summit, Jefferson City, Springfield, St. Louis | ILLINOIS: Fairview Heights | IOWA: Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Des Moines | KANSAS: Overland Park, Wichita | NEBRASKA: Omaha | NORTH DAKOTA: Fargo | SOUTH DAKOTA: Rapid City, Sioux Falls
Russian National Sentenced
to 15 Years for $11 Million
Wire Fraud Conspiracy
Anton Vikharev, a Russian national and his coconspirators,
engaged in a scheme that caused over 7,000 fraudulent tax
returns to be filed for the tax years 2011 through 2016. Vikharev
used stolen names and Social Security numbers to claim over
$11 million in fraudulent refunds. The IRS paid over $2 million
in false tax refunds deposited into bank accounts under the
control of the coconspirators. Vikharev then withdrew the funds
from ATMs, laundered the cash, and sent the stolen money to
Russia via wire transfers. After the proceeds were laundered,
coconspirators wired at least $1 million to accounts in Russia.
Vikharev personally received $156,120 in proceeds wired
to Russian bank accounts under his control. In March 2024,
Vikharev was sentenced to 180 months in prison for his role in
this scheme and was ordered to pay $2,020,569 in restitution
and to forfeit $537,000.
Learn more about this case.
Two Former Missouri Health Care
Charity Executives Sentenced
for Roles in Multimillion-Dollar
Bribery and Embezzlement Scheme
Tommy and Bontiea Goss, former executives of a Springfield-
based charity, took part in a large-scale public corruption
scheme, where they embezzled millions and bribed multiple
elected officials in the State of Arkansas. Preferred Family
Healthcare Inc. was a charity responsible for providing a variety
of health services to individuals in Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas,
Oklahoma, and Illinois, including mental and behavioral health
treatment, substance abuse counseling, employment assistance,
aid to individuals with developmental disabilities, and medical
services. The Gosses and their coconspirators paid bribes and
kickbacks to Arkansas state elected officials in exchange for
favorable legislative and official action for the charity, including
influencing legislation that would impact the charity and direct
funds from the state’s General Improvement Fund. Tommy Goss
also embezzled funds from the charity, and he pleaded guilty
to one count of filing a false tax return. Tommy and Bontiea
Goss were sentenced to 72 months and 36 months in prison,
respectively. The couple was also ordered to pay $4.35 million in
forfeiture and restitution and pay $350,000 in fines.
Learn more about this case.
Medical Charity Founder
Sentenced to Prison for
$8 Million Fraud Scheme
Craig Anthony Reynolds, of St. Joseph, Missouri, operated
Medical Cost Sharing, a tax-exempt organization, which was
purported to be a Christian health care sharing ministry.
Reynolds and his coconspirators made false promises by
marketing the organization as a “Health Care Sharing Ministry”
to defraud hundreds of “ministry members.” They collected
more than $8 million in member “contributions.” However,
they paid only 3.1 percent in health care claims, so they could
personally profit and take most of the members’ contributions
for themselves. Medical Cost Sharing paid no claims at all for
almost two years, while collecting nearly $1.2 million in dues in
2021 and 2022. In June 2024, Reynolds was sentenced to 210
months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
He was also ordered to pay $8,058,933 in restitution to his
victims, the IRS, and the Missouri Department of Revenue.
Learn more about this case.
Former Illinois State Senator,
Gubernatorial Candidate Sam
McCann Sentenced to Prison for
the Fraudulent Use of Campaign
Funds and Tax Evasion
Former Illinois State Senator William Samuel McCann Jr.
engaged in a broad, five-year scheme to defraud by converting
more than $600,000 in campaign funds to his personal use.
McCann betrayed the public trust and continued his fraud even
after being confronted by federal law enforcement officers.
From April 2011 to November 2018, McCann and his political
committees received more than $5 million in campaign
donations. McCann used campaign funds to purchase personal
vehicles, pay personal debts, make mortgage payments, and
pay himself. During the third day of his bench trial, McCann
pleaded guilty to all nine counts of the indictment, which
charged him with seven counts of wire fraud, one count of
money laundering, and one count of tax evasion related to his
alleged misuse of campaign money for personal expenses.
In July 2024, McCann was sentenced to 42 months in prison,
followed by two years of supervised release, and was ordered
to pay $683,816.61 in restitution for fraudulent use of campaign
funds, money laundering, and tax evasion.
Learn more about this case.
Final Defendant in Large Scale
Family Drug Trafficking Organization
Sentenced to Over 22 Years in
Federal Prison
Anahi Plascencia Cardona was the last of six family
members to be sentenced as a result of their drug trafficking
operation that transported and distributed large amounts of
methamphetamine from California to Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
The six family members will serve a combined sentence of
over 80 years in prison. Cardona and her husband, Salvador
Magana Madrigal, recruited other members of Madrigal’s family,
including Madrigal’s mother, brother, aunt, and uncle, to assist
them in obtaining large amounts of methamphetamine from
California and distributing it in Sioux Falls. The family members
assisted in transporting the methamphetamine from California
by vehicle, counting shipments, and distributing the narcotic.
The group also conducted numerous financial transactions
transferring proceeds from the sales, while concealing the
nature and ownership of the money. At the time of their
arrest, Cardona and Madrigal had approximately $215,000
stored in the garage of their home. In total, the group obtained
and distributed over 150 pounds of methamphetamine and
100 pounds of marijuana. In December 2023, Cardona was
sentenced to 265 months in prison and five years of supervised
release for her role in the drug trafficking conspiracy.
Learn more about this case.
St. Louis
StLouisFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
As part of the Gateway to the
West, THE ST. LOUIS FIELD
OFFICE serves a territory that
spans the states of Iowa, Kansas,
Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota,
South Dakota, and 38 counties in
southern Illinois. With more than
90 special agents and professional
staff members assigned to 15
posts of duty, the St. Louis Field
Office serves a population of
more than 17 million people in ten
judicial districts. While tackling
tax fraud is a top priority, the
office also partners with other
law enforcement agencies in the
investigation of a wide variety of
financial crimes, including money
laundering, narcotics trafficking,
and identity theft. To build strong
community ties, the special
agents participate in outreach
activities at local colleges and
community organizations, which
helps to build a level of trust within
the community and to recruit a
diverse pool of talent. Recognizing
IRS-CI’s distinction as the finest
financial investigation team in the
world, the St. Louis Field Office
plays a critical role in several task
forces with the U.S. Attorneys’
Offices, including OCDETF.
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2024 | IRS-CI ANNUAL REPORT
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Northern Area
CONNECTICUT: Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven, Norwalk | MAINE: South Portland | MASSACHUSETTS: Boston, Springfield, Woburn, Worcester | NEW HAMPSHIRE: Manchester, Portsmouth | RHODE ISLAND: Warwick | VERMONT: Burlington
National Drug Kingpin Sentenced
to 12 Years in Prison Along with
7 Other Co-Conspirators
DaJuan Williams, of Detroit, supervised a nationwide drug
trafficking business distributing vast quantities of fentanyl,
methamphetamine, and other drugs. The drugs included
fentanyl pills created to resemble prescription medications.
Williams also supervised the laundering of drug proceeds via
cash deposits into bank accounts, then he transferred proceeds
using Cash App, Zelle, and Venmo. Williams conducted business
across the country, including Vermont, North Dakota, and
Montana, and he recruited workers at each location. Williams
reaped the benefits of this drug distribution network and lived a
lavish lifestyle. He withdrew cash and purchased cars, clothes,
jewelry, and houses, including the rental of a home in Hollywood
Hills for approximately $15,000 per month. In January 2024,
DaJuan Williams was sentenced to 144 months in prison
followed by four years of supervised release. Williams was
also ordered to pay a forfeiture of $600,034.09. To date, seven
co-conspirators have been sentenced to between 32 and 70
months in prison for their involvement in this scheme.
Learn more about this case.
Michigan Man Who Orchestrated
International Computer Fraud and
Online Drug Distribution Schemes
Sentenced to Decade in Prison
In 2015, Doyal Kalita, of Redford, MI, and co-conspirators,
organized an internet fraud scheme using deceptive pop-up
screens, falsely telling victims their computers were infected
with viruses and directing them to call for technical support.
Victims were connected to Kalita’s call centers in India and
Michigan and were scared or deceived into buying unneeded
products and services. Kalita and co-conspirators also launched
an online drug distribution scheme, selling prescription drugs,
including opioids and other controlled substances, and shipping
them from suppliers in India and Europe to Massachusetts and
elsewhere in the United States. They disguised these activities
by using Paypal and other merchant accounts that purported
to belong to fictitious companies. Kalita was sentenced to 10
years in prison and three years of supervised release. Kalita
was also ordered to pay $272,293 in restitution to victims and
forfeiture of $2,542,784. Co-conspirators Manish Kumar and
Robert Polanco were sentenced to 87 months and 38 months,
respectively. Two of Kalita’s other alleged co-conspirators
remain fugitives.
Learn more about this case.
Former Massachusetts State Police
Lieutenant and Sergeant Sentenced
for Involvement in a Fraudulent
Overtime Scheme
From 2015 through 2018, Lieutenant Daniel Griffin,
Sergeant William Robertson, and other state troopers for the
Massachusetts State Police (MSP) conspired to steal thousands
of dollars in federally funded overtime. Griffin falsified entries
on documents to conceal and perpetuate the fraud. Once the
allegations arose, Griffin, Robertson, and other co-conspirators
destroyed documents and denied doing so to continue to
conceal the crime. Griffin also spent significant time running
a security business while he was on the clock with MSP. From
2012 to 2019, Griffin collected almost $2 million in revenue
from this business and hid over $700,000 in revenue from the
IRS. He used hundreds of thousands of dollars in income to
fund personal expenses, such as car payments, private school
tuition, payments for a second home in Cape Cod, and golf club
purchases. In April 2024, Griffin was sentenced to 60 months
in prison and three years of supervised release. Griffin was
also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $329,163 and
a $176,700 fine. Robertson was sentenced to 36 months in
prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and
was ordered to pay restitution of $142,774 and forfeit $32,180.
Learn more about this case.
Head of Lowell Gang Sentenced
to 8 Years in Prison for Drug
Trafficking and Money Laundering
In August 2018, a surge in shootings and gang violence around
the Lowell, Massachusetts area led to an investigation into the
One Family Clique (OFC) and the gang leader Virak Prum. OFC
is an alliance between several gangs in and around Lowell with
ties to gangs in California and other states. Since 2019, Prum
and his co-conspirators, used the U.S. Postal Service to receive
and send illegal narcotics and cash proceeds. They provided
protection for physical shipments and maintained stash houses
in Lowell, which also served as venues for gang meetings
and other events. In January 2024, Prum was sentenced to
96 months in prison and three years of supervised release
for trafficking wholesale quantities of cocaine and laundering
millions of dollars in drug proceeds through casinos in Canada.
Learn more about this case.
Rhode Island Man Sentenced
to 8 Years in Prison for Defrauding
Investors and Tax Evasion
For almost a decade, Thomas Huling orchestrated a scheme
to defraud investors by promoting several investment projects,
including high-yielding bond trading platforms, a car emissions
reduction technology, and an online advertising and marketing
company. He solicited funds for these investments by promising
large returns with little or no risk. Instead, Huling used investor
money to fund a lavish lifestyle that included high-end vehicles,
membership and golf fees at multiple country clubs, gambling,
clothing, restaurants, travel, and improvements to his residence,
and he took great efforts to conceal the source of funds.
Between 2009 and April 2018, Huling reported no taxable
income and did not pay any income taxes. To hide his income,
Huling used nominee bank accounts, falsified the books and
records of his companies, placed personal assets in the name
of shell companies, and made false statements to IRS special
agents. In March 2024, Huling was sentenced to 96 months
in prison and three years of supervised release, and he was
ordered to pay $11,483,440 in restitution.
Learn more about this case.
Boston
BostonFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
THE BOSTON FIELD OFFICE
covers the six New England states,
including Connecticut, Maine,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire,
Rhode Island, and Vermont, each
of which has their own judicial
district. 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. The 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. The
Boston Field Office special agents
are vital members of several task
forces, including OCDETF, JTTF,
cybercrimes, securities fraud,
and healthcare fraud.
View FO Photo Gallery
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2024 | IRS-CI ANNUAL REPORT
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Northern Area
CONNECTICUT: Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven, Norwalk | MAINE: South Portland | MASSACHUSETTS: Boston, Springfield, Woburn, Worcester | NEW HAMPSHIRE: Manchester, Portsmouth | RHODE ISLAND: Warwick | VERMONT: Burlington
Boston
BostonFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
THE BOSTON FIELD OFFICE
covers the six New England states,
including Connecticut, Maine,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire,
Rhode Island, and Vermont, each
of which has their own judicial
district. 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. The 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. The
Boston Field Office special agents
are vital members of several task
forces, including OCDETF, JTTF,
cybercrimes, securities fraud,
and healthcare fraud.
View FO Cases
Special Agent in Charge speaks at FinCEN Exchange.
Boston field office members at a recruiting event.
Special agent seizes evidence from a search warrant.
Special agent loads evidence from a search warrant.
Special agents provide security at Boston Marathon.
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2024 | IRS-CI ANNUAL REPORT
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Northern Area
ILLINOIS: Chicago, Downers Grove, Matteson, Orland Park, Peoria, Rockford, Schiller Park, Springfield | INDIANA: Carmel, Evansville, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Merrillville, South Bend | MINNESOTA: Duluth, Rochester, St. Paul | WISCONSIN: Eau Claire, Green Bay, Madison, Milwaukee
California Lawyer Sentenced
to Four Years in Federal Prison
for Employment Tax Evasion
Matthew Browndorf, a California-based lawyer and owner of
several businesses throughout the United States, failed to pay
employment taxes, resulting in a total tax loss exceeding $5
million. Browndorf used the proceeds from his crimes to fund
a lavish lifestyle, featuring sports cars, private flights, club
memberships, and luxurious vacations. Meanwhile, Browndorf’s
employees were left to suffer the consequences of their wealthy
boss’s actions. Some employees were forced to move in with
relatives or borrow money from friends. Others underwent
serious medical procedures, unaware that Browndorf had failed
to appropriately remit their health insurance premiums, resulting
in a lack of coverage and the need to pay for their treatment
out-of-pocket. In November 2023, Browndorf was sentenced
to 48 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised
release. He was ordered to pay $830,000 in restitution.
Learn more about this case.
Wisconsin Attorney Sentenced
to Over 5 Years in Prison for
Fraud and Tax Evasion Schemes
Leslie Smith, a licensed attorney and the office manager for a
podiatry practice in Indianapolis, Indiana, committed numerous
fraud schemes, including healthcare fraud, wire fraud, and
tax evasion. Smith committed some of this conduct after she
was indicted on other charges. As part of her healthcare fraud
scheme, Smith submitted approximately 288 fraudulent claims
for reimbursement to Medicaid for oxygen monitoring devices
that were never ordered, which resulted in Medicaid paying
$559,197.67 in false claims. In total, $1,194,942.07 of funds
were deposited to her personal bank account from false claims.
After being charged in federal court with healthcare fraud, Smith
continued to break the law and fraudulently obtained COVID-19
mortgage assistance funds for the home of a dead relative.
She also sold a residence she jointly owned with another
individual without their knowledge by forging their signature on
documents. Smith failed to report approximately $1,299,179.01
in income from her various schemes on her tax returns. In
May 2024, Smith was sentenced to 66 months in prison for
healthcare fraud, tax evasion, and wire fraud. She was ordered
to pay $2,341,655 in restitution.
Learn more about this case.
Ringleader of Fentanyl Trafficking
Conspiracy Sentenced to Life;
Co-Conspirators Sentenced
to a Total of More Than 100 Years
in Prison
Keith J. Jones was the leader of an Indianapolis-based fentanyl,
methamphetamine, and cocaine trafficking organization
that distributed at least 300 pounds of methamphetamine,
20 kilograms of fentanyl, and 50 kilograms of cocaine in the
Indianapolis area from September 2020 through 2022. Kevin
M. Backstrom was the Los Angeles-based drug supplier for
the organization. The investigation resulted in the indictment
and conviction of twenty-two defendants for their roles in
the organization’s drug trafficking activity, including Jones
and Backstrom. Jones was sentenced to life in prison after
a conviction for engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise,
conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to
launder monetary instruments, nine substantive drug trafficking
counts, and two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted
felon. Backstrom was sentenced to 30 years in prison for
conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and conspiracy to
launder monetary instruments.
Learn more about this case.
Housing Authority Exec
and Others Sentenced
to Prison for Fraud Scheme
From approximately 2015 through 2019, Albert Smith, who
served as the Asset Manager Director of the Housing Authority
of South Bend (HASB), along with Tonya Robinson, the
Executive Director of HASB, and others, engaged in a fraud
scheme surrounding contract payments that stole federal
housing funds. As part of the scheme, HASB checks were
issued to four outside contractors who did not perform work
for the HASB. The checks were deposited by the contractors,
who then withdrew a portion in cash and hand delivered it
back to the co-conspirators. Smith and Robinson were involved
in creating hundreds of fraudulent documents to cover up
the scheme and conceal the money trail. In May 2024, Smith
was sentenced to 135 months in prison and two years of
supervised release and was ordered to pay $3,030,940 in
restitution. Robinson was sentenced to 108 months in prison
and two years of supervised release and was ordered to pay
$3,236,949.97 in restitution to the victims of the offense. Four
others were sentenced in connection with this scheme.
Learn more about this case.
Fraudulent Tax Return Preparer
Sentenced to Prison Term
From 2017 through 2021, Rodney “Hot Rod” Smith, a tax
return preparer and the owner of Xpert Tax Services, prepared
fraudulent tax returns for his clients. Smith falsified client returns
making them eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit, which
fraudulently increased their tax refunds. Smith’s scheme resulted
in an estimated tax loss of $3.3 million. In 2020, the IRS executed
a search warrant at Smith’s business, where he admitted to
special agents he knowingly violated federal tax laws. Smith
then continued his criminal conduct by preparing false returns
for clients in 2021. Smith was sentenced in February 2024 to 41
months in prison followed by a one-year supervised release, and
he was ordered to pay $216,643 in restitution.
Learn more about this case.
Chicago
ChicagoFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
THE CHICAGO FIELD OFFICE
covers several major cities and
areas dotting the coastline of
Lake Michigan, Lake Superior,
and the Mississippi River. The
Chicago Field Office has 21 posts
of duty with over 165 special
agents and professional staff
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 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. Attorneys’ Offices, and the
public to identify, investigate, and
refer quality cases for prosecution.
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2024 | IRS-CI ANNUAL REPORT
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Northern Area
KENTUCKY: Bowling Green, Lexington, Louisville | OHIO: Akron, Canton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Independence, Toledo
Payroll Processor Sentenced
to More Than 8 Years in Prison
for Check-Kiting Scheme
Najeeb Khan, of Edwardsburg, Michigan, owned and operated
Interlogic Outsourcing Inc (IOI), a payroll processing company
that provided services to approximately 6,000 clients. In
2014, Khan operated a check-kiting scheme, where he used
his company’s business bank accounts to fraudulently obtain
funds from various financial institutions, including KeyBank.
Khan used these funds to support the growth of his payroll
processing business and fund his lifestyle, which included
the purchase of automobiles, aircraft, and vacation homes.
Khan also failed to report income gained from the check-kiting
scheme on his annual tax returns. In November 2023, Khan
was sentenced to 97 months in prison and three years of
supervised release for bank fraud and tax evasion. Khan was
also ordered to pay over $150 million in restitution to the
victims of his bank fraud and to the IRS.
Learn more about this case.
Holland Woman Sentenced
to 7 Years in Prison for Stealing
Almost $3 Million in Tax Refunds
In January 2020, Teresia M. Jones, of Holland, Ohio, defrauded
the IRS through a wide-ranging tax refund scheme, where she
submitted fraudulent tax filings using stolen identities and
claimed millions of dollars in illegitimate tax refunds. Jones then
used these funds for personal spending, including the purchase
of real property and a Cadillac Escalade for over $150,000.
The Cadillac Escalade was forfeited to the government,
along with a Dodge Ram truck, two parcels of real property,
and approximately $328,000 seized from bank accounts. In
February 2024, Jones was sentenced to 84 months in prison
and two years of supervised release for wire fraud, aggravated
identity theft, and money laundering. Jones was also ordered to
pay restitution in the amount of $2,929,519.
Learn more about this case.
Drug Trafficker Sentenced
to 16 Years in Prison
From 2015 to 2018, Michael J. Moore, of Inglewood, California,
conspired with six women to distribute methamphetamine
and oxycodone into Ohio. In total, the group obtained and
distributed between 5,656 and 100,000 30-milligram
oxycodone pills, which were then sold for $20 to $30 per pill.
Moore and the others laundered the drug proceeds by opening
bank accounts at several financial institutions, making money
transfers, and concealing and flying cash on commercial flights.
Moore was involved in the shipping and distribution of at least
3,114 grams of methamphetamine that was approximately 98
percent pure. In February 2024, Moore was sentenced to 192
months in prison for conspiracy to launder the drug trafficking
proceeds and other drug charges.
Learn more about this case.
Employee Sentenced to 5 Years
in Prison for Embezzling More
Than $26 Million
Yi He, of Powell, Ohio was a long-time, trusted employee of
a furniture company that provides furniture to retailers like
Wayfair, Overstock, Kohls, Walmart, and Ashley Furniture.
Yi was solely responsible for payroll and payroll tax-related
duties for the company. From 2018 until 2022, Yi embezzled
more than $26 million from his employer. Among other
methods, Yi transferred money from the business’s bank
accounts to his personal accounts and covered up his actions
by removing the transaction from the bank account statements.
Yi failed to accurately report his income to the IRS, causing
a tax loss of approximately $6.8 million. In April 2024, Yi
was sentenced to 60 months in prison and was ordered to
pay restitution of over $33 million to his victims, including
$6,827,444 to the IRS.
Learn more about this case.
COVID Fraud Leads to Over
7 Years in Prison and $4.2 Million
in Restitution
From March 2020 through December 2020, Terrence L. Pounds
of Holland, Ohio, and his co-defendants devised a scheme to
steal over $4.2 million from the Small Business Administration
(SBA) in connection with the COVID-19 Pandemic relief funding.
Pounds submitted false applications for Economic Injury
Disaster Loans (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)
loans. Using his identity and the identities of his coconspirators,
Pounds made false statements on at least 12 loan applications
and attempted to obtain more than $9.5 million. The SBA
paid out roughly $4.2 million. Pounds used his share of the
proceeds from the scheme to purchase high-end vehicles,
including a BMW X4. Pounds was sentenced to 94 months in
prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and
money laundering. He was also ordered to pay $4,239,940.43 in
restitution to the SBA.
Learn more about this case.
Cincinnati
CincinnatiFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
THE CINCINNATI FIELD OFFICE
covers the states of Ohio and
Kentucky, which contain two
federal judicial districts in
each state. Serving a combined
population of over 16 million
Americans, 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. Our special agents
and professional staff provide
unparalleled financial expertise
to lead investigations against
the most egregious white-collar
criminals. Home to the Kentucky
Derby and the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame, the Cincinnati field office’s
territory covers a wide range of
communities, from large urban
areas to small rural towns. Together
with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, 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.
View FO Photo Gallery
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2024 | IRS-CI ANNUAL REPORT
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Northern Area
KENTUCKY: Bowling Green, Lexington, Louisville | OHIO: Akron, Canton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Independence, Toledo
Cincinnati
CincinnatiFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
THE CINCINNATI FIELD OFFICE
covers the states of Ohio and
Kentucky, which contain two
federal judicial districts in
each state. Serving a combined
population of over 16 million
Americans, 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. Our special agents
and professional staff provide
unparalleled financial expertise
to lead investigations against
the most egregious white-collar
criminals. Home to the Kentucky
Derby and the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame, the Cincinnati field office’s
territory covers a wide range of
communities, from large urban
areas to small rural towns. Together
with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, 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.
View FO Cases
Special Agent in Charge interviewed concerning filing season.
Special agents conduct defensive tactics training.
Special agents hold briefing before a search warrant.
Special agent participates in outreach event at local high school.
Special agent attends recruiting event.
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2024 | IRS-CI ANNUAL REPORT
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Northern Area
MICHIGAN: Ann Arbor, Detroit, East Lansing, Flint, Grand Rapids, Pontiac, Traverse City
Grosse Pointe Park Man Sentenced
for Money Laundering, Caused Tax
Loss of Over $3.3 Million
From 2008 to 2017, Matthew D. Adams was the owner of MDA
Property Services, and he used the company as a front to sell
illegal narcotics. Adams failed to report millions of dollars of
income generated from the sale of the narcotics on his income
tax returns for the years 2013 through 2016, and he failed to
file his 2017 tax return. In total, Adams received approximately
$5.3 million from his business. He deposited some of the checks
into his personal and business bank accounts, and he cashed
the remainder. Adams only informed his tax preparer about the
deposits in one of the bank accounts, which caused the preparer
to file fraudulent tax returns. Adams used over $1 million of
his unreported income to purchase real estate and spent over
$1.25 million on other expenses, such as multiple classic
and luxury cars, private flights, golfing, jewelry, gambling,
court-ordered child support, hotels, and a firearm. In March
2024, Adams was sentenced to 36 months in prison and three
years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $3,354,973
in restitution to the IRS.
Learn more about this case.
Unemployment Fraud Scheme Stole
Over $1 Million, Pennsylvania Man
Sentenced to 51 Months in Prison
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Adrian Fluellen used stolen
personal identifications to file hundreds of false unemployment
claims with Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. Fluellen then
received hundreds of Bank of America prepaid debit cards in the
names of those individuals, which were loaded with roughly $1
million in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance funds. Fluellen
successfully unloaded more than $930,000 from the cards via
cash withdrawals and purchases that included jewelry, drugs,
at least one vehicle, and a firearm. In April 2024, Fluellen was
sentenced to 51 months in prison and three years of supervised
release and was ordered to pay more than $900,000 in
restitution to the states of Michigan and Pennsylvania for wire
fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Learn more about this case.
Former President of Public School
Board Sentenced for Bribery and
Tax Evasion
From 2012 through 2018, Albert Morrison was the elected
president of the Madison District Public Schools’ Board of
Education. Morrison’s long-time friend, John David, was an
owner of a building maintenance and reconstruction company,
Emergency Restoration. During the years 2012 through
2018, David paid Morrison over $561,000 to use his position
as president to secure work for the restoration business.
Emergency Restoration was awarded over $3.1 million in
maintenance and construction projects from the Madison
District Public Schools. Morrison spent the bribe money on
personal luxuries, such as vacations in Florida and a boat slip.
He also failed to report this extra stream of income on his
personal income tax returns. In November 2023, Morrison was
sentenced to 45 months in prison and two years of supervised
release for tax evasion and conspiracy to commit federal
program bribery. He was also ordered to pay $118,200 in
restitution to the IRS.
Learn more about this case.
Girlfriend of California Drug Kingpin
Sentenced to Over Three Years in
Prison for Money Laundering
Teeauna White conspired with her boyfriend to conceal his
drug money by setting up multiple businesses and controlling
access to the bank accounts. Members of their drug organization
deposited drug proceeds into the bank accounts and delivered
hundreds of thousands of dollars in bulk cash to White.
Together, White and her boyfriend reaped the benefits of
the drug trade, using the money to fund their lavish lifestyle.
They purchased a Porsche Panamera, a Bentley, and a
Mercedes-Benz. White paid off their house in less than six
months by funneling cash from drug sales through a labyrinth of
bank accounts. They also used the drug money to buy expensive
jewelry, including diamond and gold pendants. White often
bragged on social media, posting pictures of her cars, jewelry,
and lavish vacations. In December 2023, White was sentenced
to 42 months in prison and three years of supervised release.
She was also ordered to pay a money judgment of $295,575 and
forfeit her interest in a laundered home to the United States.
Learn more about this case.
Dark Web Drug Trafficker Sentenced
to Over 10 Years in Prison
Victor Hernandez ran a dark web site using the moniker
“opiateconnect,” selling illicit drugs like cocaine and various
counterfeit drugs. These counterfeit pills were made to look
like Alprazolam, which is used to manage panic and anxiety
disorders, but they were in fact uncontrolled research chemicals
not intended for human consumption. The investigation led
to the execution of a search warrant at Hernandez’s house in
Detroit, where agents discovered a clandestine drug lab capable
of producing upwards of 20,000 pills per hour. They also
found firearms, a “tub” containing approximately 600 grams
of cocaine, thousands of pressed counterfeit Alprazolam pills,
$340,000 in cash, and more than $1 million in cryptocurrency.
In June 2024, Hernandez was sentenced to 130 months in
prison and four years of supervised release and was ordered
to pay a $3.1 million money judgment to the United States for
conspiracy to distribute illicit substances, conspiracy to launder
monetary instruments, distribution of counterfeit pills, and the
use of firearms in furtherance of a crime.
Learn more about this case.
Detroit
DetroitFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
THE DETROIT FIELD OFFICE’s area
of responsibility encompasses the
state of Michigan and its 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
border, Detroit’s 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
impacting Michigan, agents are
embedded in a variety of task forces
with our law enforcement partners,
such as the JTTF, public corruption,
and OCDETF, among others.
View FO Photo Gallery
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Northern Area
MICHIGAN: Ann Arbor, Detroit, East Lansing, Flint, Grand Rapids, Pontiac, Traverse City
Detroit
DetroitFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
THE DETROIT FIELD OFFICE’s area
of responsibility encompasses the
state of Michigan and its 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
border, Detroit’s 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
impacting Michigan, agents are
embedded in a variety of task forces
with our law enforcement partners,
such as the JTTF, public corruption,
and OCDETF, among others.
View FO Cases
Special agents assist in providing security for the NFL Draft.
Special agent presents at Institute of Management Accountants Student
Leadership Conference.
Special agents discuss Employee Retention Credit (ERC) with local
tax professionals.
Members of Detroit field office participate in 2024 Detroit Maltz Challenge.
Members of the Detroit field office participated in the Toy Express.
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Northern Area
Medical Clinic Owner
Sentenced to 10 Years
in Prison for Insurance Fraud
From approximately 2008 through 2021, Bradley Pierre, of
New York, engaged in multiple fraud schemes totaling over
$60 million in losses and $1.5 million in tax fraud. Pierre and
co-conspirators defrauded automobile insurance companies
by exploiting “no-fault” provisions in the state of New York and
New Jersey that allowed insurance companies to pay claims
directly to medical service providers. The group falsified
insurance claims and claimed the businesses were owned
by physicians. Pierre embezzled over $20 million from the
clinics, received over a million dollars in kickbacks for steering
prescriptions to pharmacies, and engaged in bribery and deceit
to obtain information about potential clients. The scheme
generated millions for the firm, and $4 million was returned
to Pierre in the form of “marketing” arrangements. Pierre hid
income from the IRS by concealing multiple bank accounts
and disguising personal expenditures as business expenses.
Pierre’s tax evasion resulted in $1.5 million taxes due to the IRS.
He was sentenced to 120 months in prison and three years of
supervised release, and he was ordered to forfeit $3.5 million
and pay $1.5 million in restitution.
Learn more about this case.
Instagram Influencer Sentenced
to 84 Months in Prison for
Overlapping Fraud Schemes
From 2019 to 2021, Jebara Igbara, aka, “Jay Mazini,” ran a
popular Instagram account, portraying himself as a successful
investor and businessman. Igbara operated an investment fraud
scheme via Halal Capital LLC, targeting members of the Muslim-
American community. He ran a Ponzi scheme and pocketed
money for personal expenses, luxury vehicles, and gambling.
Then, to pay his investors “returns,” he operated a second
scheme, advertising on social media he was willing to pay
above-market prices for various cryptocurrencies. He sent his
victims doctored images of wire transfer confirmations claiming
he had sent money for the cryptocurrency transactions, but he
never actually sent the payment. Igbara scammed investors
out of at least $8 million. In April 2024, Igbara was sentenced
to 84 months in prison for wire fraud, conspiracy, and money
laundering and was ordered to pay $10 million in forfeiture.
Learn more about this case.
Pharmacy Owners Ordered
to Pay More Than $18 Million
Related to Healthcare Fraud
Peter Khaim and his brother, Arkadiy Khaimov, were two
pharmacy owners engaged in a complex money laundering
conspiracy to launder the proceeds of a fraudulent health care
scheme involving over a dozen New York-area pharmacies that
they owned and controlled with other co-conspirators. The
brothers submitted millions of dollars in fraudulent claims to
Medicare during the COVID-19 pandemic. They concealed
over $18 million of their criminal proceeds by funneling money
through several shell companies. The proceeds were sent
from the sham pharmacy wholesale companies to Khaim,
Khaimov, their relatives, or their designees, in the form of
certified cashier’s checks and cash. They also sent proceeds to
companies in China for distribution to individuals in Uzbekistan.
In June 2024, Khaim was sentenced to 97 months in prison, and
his brother, Khaimov, was sentenced to 72 months in prison.
Both Khaim and Khaimov were ordered to pay more than $18
million in restitution and ordered to forfeit more than $12 million.
Learn more about this case.
Billionaire Chinese National
Sentenced for Straw Donor
Campaign Contribution Scheme
and Other Frauds
Hui Qin, a citizen of China who was listed on Forbes Magazine’s
List of Billionaires, operated SMI Culture, a Hong Kong-based
entertainment entity. Rather than disclose himself as the
actual donor, Qin agreed to reimburse individuals who made
contributions to several campaign committees on his behalf,
including state, local, and national campaigns. Straw donors
made approximately $11,600 in contributions on Qin’s
behalf, which caused the campaign committees to file false
contribution reports with the Federal Election Commission
in 2022. Additionally, Qin filed a false application to become
a legal permanent resident of the United States. Qin used an
alias to transfer more than $5 million from China to a U.S. bank
account, a portion of which was used to purchase a luxury
Manhattan apartment. In March 2024, Qin was sentenced to
seven months in prison after already serving seven months
incarceration. As part of his plea, he agreed to removal from the
United States immediately after sentencing.
Learn more about this case.
Former Law Enforcement Union
Official Sentenced to Prison for
Defrauding Union’s Annuity Fund
From 2012 to 2020, Kenneth Wynder Jr. and Andrew Brown
defrauded law enforcement officers union members. Wynder,
a former New York State Trooper, was the president of the Law
Enforcement Employees Benevolent Association (LEEBA), a
labor union for law enforcement officers employed by the City
of New York. Together, Wynder and Brown defrauded union
members by embezzling money intended to be used to fund
individual members’ retirement accounts. Wynder caused
the union to pay for his personal expenditures, including the
purchase of a Lexus and personal travel, and did not report
the additional income on his federal tax returns. During one
five-year period, Wynder and Brown embezzled more than
$500,000 from the individual retirement accounts, which
completely depleted the balance of certain members’ accounts.
Wynder also conspired with Steven Whittick, LEEBA’s former
treasurer and a former police officer for New York City’s
Department of Environmental Protection. Whittick previously
pled guilty to conspiring to commit tax evasion and making false
statements to law enforcement. Wynder was sentenced to 40
months in prison for the fraud scheme, personal income tax
evasion, and employment tax fraud. In January 2024, Brown
and Whittick were also sentenced to 18 and 28 months in
prison, respectively.
Learn more about this case.
NEW YORK: Albany, Bethpage, Bronx, Brooklyn, Buffalo, Holtsville, Manhattan, New Windsor, New York, Rochester, Staten Island, Syracuse, White Plains
New York
NewYorkFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
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 U.S.
Attorneys’ Offices in the country.
To tackle the various threats
affecting the taxpayers of New
York, our diverse special agents
and professional 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,
public corruption, COVID-19 fraud,
market manipulation, corporate
and securities fraud, healthcare
fraud, mortgage fraud, bank
fraud, and money laundering
from international narcotics
trafficking. The New York Field
Office has four specialty groups,
one dedicated to support the Joint
Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement
(J5), two Strikeforce groups, and
a group dedicated exclusively to
cybercrimes investigations.
View FO Photo Gallery
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Northern Area
NEW YORK: Albany, Bethpage, Bronx, Brooklyn, Buffalo, Holtsville, Manhattan, New Windsor, New York, Rochester, Staten Island, Syracuse, White Plains
New York
NewYorkFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
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 U.S.
Attorneys’ Offices in the country.
To tackle the various threats
affecting the taxpayers of New
York, our diverse special agents
and professional 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,
public corruption, COVID-19 fraud,
market manipulation, corporate
and securities fraud, healthcare
fraud, mortgage fraud, bank
fraud, and money laundering
from international narcotics
trafficking. The New York Field
Office has four specialty groups,
one dedicated to support the Joint
Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement
(J5), two Strikeforce groups, and
a group dedicated exclusively to
cybercrimes investigations.
View FO Cases
Assistant Special Agent in Charge speaks at press conference.
Special agents seize a vehicle pursuant to a healthcare fraud case.
Special agent carries evidence during search warrant.
Special agent securing subject of an arrest warrant.
NY field office leadership participates in Annual PushUp Challenge.
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Northern Area
NEW JERSEY: Cherry Hill, Edison, Freehold, Mays Landing, Newark, Paterson, Springfield, Trenton
Former Law Firm Partner
Sentenced to 10 Years in
Prison for Laundering
$400 Million of OneCoin
Fraud Proceeds
Mark Scott, a former partner at the prominent international
law firm Locke Lord LLP, laundered over $400 million in
proceeds from the massive international fraud scheme known
as “OneCoin.” In 2014, a fraudulent cryptocurrency, OneCoin,
started in Sofia, Bulgaria and was sold through a global
multi-level marketing network. From day one, the fraudulent
cryptocurrency had no actual value. OneCoin began operating in
the United States in or around 2015, and was one of the largest
fraud schemes ever perpetrated. Between the fourth quarter
of 2014 and the fourth quarter of 2016 alone, the scheme took
in more than $4 billion from at least 3.5 million victims. Scott
assisted OneCoin cofounder Ruja Ignatova by creating offshore
accounts and investment funds to launder proceeds from the
scheme. Scott earned more than $50 million for his services
and spent his proceeds on luxury watches and vehicles, a yacht,
and three multi-million-dollar seaside homes in Cape Cod,
Massachusetts. Scott was convicted on all counts and was
sentenced to 120 months in prison for money laundering. In
addition to the prison term, Scott was sentenced to three years of
supervised release and was ordered to forfeit a money judgment
in the amount of $392,940,000, several bank accounts, a yacht,
two Porsches, and four real-estate properties.
Learn more about this case.
Jersey City Attorney Sentenced
to 66 Months in Prison for Wire
Fraud, Aggravated Identity Theft,
and Tax Crimes
James R. Lisa, a Jersey City attorney, used his law license to
commit a multi-million-dollar fraud scheme, including providing
false documents to his clients and the IRS. In one case, he was
retained by a family to help repatriate millions of dollars that had
been transferred to offshore bank accounts and to help resolve
the related tax issues. In 2015, Lisa successfully repatriated
more than $6 million of the family’s funds but falsely advised
the family the funds remained offshore. In 2017, he provided $4
million of the funds to the family, but he said he was unable to
obtain the remaining $2 million. Lisa lied to the family, claiming he
had resolved the tax implications of repatriating the funds, when
he had not. He sent the family two sets of fraudulent documents
claiming to be an agreement with the IRS for the outstanding
taxes and penalties. He also provided these documents to the IRS
in connection with an IRS audit. In May 2024, Lisa was sentenced
to 66 months in prison for wire fraud, aggravated identity theft,
obstructing the IRS, and failing to file a federal tax return. He was
ordered to pay $2.05 million in restitution to his fraud victims and
$550,000 to the IRS. He will serve three years supervised release
once his prison term concludes.
Learn more about this case.
Union County Man Sentenced
to 5 Years in Prison for Operating
Multi-Million-Dollar Unlicensed
Check Cashing Scheme
From 2015 to 2019, Fernando Q. Martins, of Union Township,
New Jersey, operated an unlicensed check cashing business,
known as Community Check Cashing in Newark. Martins cashed
checks for customers in New Jersey and New York, allowing
them to hide the identity of the customers receiving the cash
by cashing checks written to shell companies. In his plea
agreement, Martins stipulated the loss amount was between
$250 million and $550 million. In February 2024, Martins was
sentenced to 60 months in prison and three years of supervised
release for operating an unlicensed check cashing business. He
was fined $50,000 and ordered to forfeit $765,185.
Learn more about this case.
Gang Member Sentenced
to 178 Months in Prison
for Racketeering Charge
and Related Crimes
Tyheim Terry, aka “Ty,” aka “Rollin’ Ty,” was a member of the
Rollin’ 60s Neighborhood Crips gang, a criminal enterprise
responsible for acts of violence and the distribution of controlled
substances in the District of New Jersey and elsewhere.
On Feb. 21, 2021, Terry worked with others, including members
of the gang, to attempt to carjack a victim. On April 5, 2021,
Terry worked with other members of the gang to shoot another
victim. On April 11, 2021, Terry brandished a firearm and
carjacked a third victim. Terry was sentenced to 178 months
in prison and three years of supervised release for his role in a
racketeering conspiracy.
Learn more about this case.
Middlesex County Man Sentenced
to 33 Months in Prison for Role in
COVID-19 Fraud Schemes Totaling
Over $2.1 Million
Arlen G. Encarnacion, of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, fraudulently
obtained over $2.1 million in federal Paycheck Protection
Program (PPP) loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL).
Encarnacion submitted 11 fraudulent PPP loan applications
and three fraudulent EIDL applications on behalf of purported
businesses. Each application contained false representations,
including bogus federal tax return documentation and false
information about the number of employees and wages
paid. Encarnacion was sentenced to 33 months in prison for
conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. He
must serve three years of supervised release and was ordered
to pay restitution of $2.18 million.
Learn more about this case.
Newark
NewarkFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
THE NEWARK FIELD OFFICE is
made up of seven posts of duty
in New Jersey, a territory that
covers 21 counties, including 564
municipalities comprised of 252
boroughs, 52 cities, 15 towns,
241 townships, and 4 villages.
New Jersey is home to more than
9,800 farms covering 790,000
acres, and the state is known as
the “Garden State” because of the
fruitfulness of its farmland. 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 investigations continue
to bear fruit by holding individuals
who knowingly commit tax fraud or
other financial crimes accountable.
View FO Photo Gallery
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Northern Area
NEW JERSEY: Cherry Hill, Edison, Freehold, Mays Landing, Newark, Paterson, Springfield, Trenton
Newark
NewarkFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
THE NEWARK FIELD OFFICE is
made up of seven posts of duty
in New Jersey, a territory that
covers 21 counties, including 564
municipalities comprised of 252
boroughs, 52 cities, 15 towns,
241 townships, and 4 villages.
New Jersey is home to more than
9,800 farms covering 790,000
acres, and the state is known as
the “Garden State” because of the
fruitfulness of its farmland. 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 investigations continue
to bear fruit by holding individuals
who knowingly commit tax fraud or
other financial crimes accountable.
View FO Cases
Special agents participate in the New Jersey Law Enforcement Torch Run.
Special agents ride to honor Special Agent Patrick Bauer during Police Unity Tour Bike Ride.
Newark field office participates in Take Your Child to Work Day.
Assistant Special Agent in Charge interviewed with Philadelphia News Affiliate NBC10.
Special agent presents at Anti-Money Laundering Conference.
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Northern Area
DELAWARE: Newark | PENNSYLVANIA: Bethlehem, Cranberry Township, Erie, Harrisburg, King of Prussia, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Scranton
Connoquenessing Resident
Sentenced to 51 Months
in Prison for $1.67 Million
Embezzlement Scheme
and Filing False Tax Returns
From 1994 until July 2021, Constance Stobert of
Connoquenessing, Pennsylvania, worked as a controller for
a business, called Mechanical Operations Company (MOC).
Between January 2014 and July 2018, Stobert stole at least
$1,678,893 from MOC to pay her personal expenses. Among
other activities, Stobert wrote checks from MOC’s business
banking accounts to make personal credit card payments and
used MOC’s credit cards to withdraw cash at ATMs in casinos in
Pittsburgh and Las Vegas. Stobert also admitted to filing false
tax returns for the 2016 through 2019 tax years, failing to report
the money she embezzled from MOC which resulted in a tax loss
to the government of $545,990. In January 2024, Stobert was
sentenced to 51 months in prison and three years of supervised
release on her convictions for wire fraud and making false
statements on her tax returns.
Learn more about this case.
Former California Resident
Sentenced to 10 Years
in Prison on Drug Trafficking
and Money Laundering Charges
Christian Maldonado, a former resident of Stockton, California,
packed at least 280 pounds of methamphetamine for shipment,
which was then shipped from the Stockton area to the Western
District of Pennsylvania. Maldonado also received parcels
containing over $1 million in U.S. currency as payment for the
methamphetamine. At the time of Maldonado’s arrest, authorities
seized 17 firearms, jewelry, a large amount of marijuana, and
$212,907 from his residence. In November 2023, Maldonado
was sentenced to 120 months of imprisonment followed by three
years of supervised release for violating federal narcotics and
money laundering laws related to a nine-month Title III wiretap
investigation into drug trafficking in Jefferson, Clearfield, and
Allegheny counties of Western Pennsylvania.
Learn more about this case.
Former Universal Companies
Executive Sentenced to 7 Years
in Prison for Conspiracy to Defraud
the U.S., Fraud, and Tax Crimes
In March 2024, Abdur Rahim Islam, the former chief executive
officer of two charities, Universal Community Homes (UCH)
and Universal Education Companies (UEC), was convicted on
charges that he stole more than a half-million dollars from UCH
and UEC. Islam also bribed the president of the Milwaukee
public schools board of directors and cheated on six years of
personal income taxes. Islam and his co-defendant, former
Universal Chief Financial Officer Shahied Dawan, conspired
to defraud the federal government by impeding, impairing,
obstructing, and defeating the lawful functions of the IRS.
Islam and Dawan paid themselves unauthorized bonuses
and fraudulent “expense reimbursement” checks, which
included payments for purely personal expenses, such as trips
to Caribbean resorts with various women, family vacations,
first-class travel upgrades, Broadway shows, and countless
meals at restaurants with friends and family members. In July
2024, Islam was sentenced to 84 months imprisonment. He
was also ordered to forfeit $609,651.31, to pay restitution to
Universal in the amount of $609,651.31 plus attorneys’ fees,
and to pay restitution of $309,581.66 to the IRS.
Learn more about this case.
Johnny Doc, Former Philly
Labor Leader, Gets 6 Years
for Bribery and Theft
John Dougherty, aka “Johnny Doc”, was convicted for crimes
arising from his embezzlement of funds belonging to Local 98 of
the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (“Local
98”) and multiple crimes involving his payment of bribes
to a co-defendant. Dougherty used the politically powerful
electricians’ union as his “personal bank account” and a source
of jobs for family and friends. Dougherty used the union’s
money to buy groceries, restaurant meals, tickets to concerts
and sporting events, and other personal items. He also paid
contractors for work on his house, his relatives’ houses, and
a neighborhood bar he owned, and he arranged for friends
and family members to be on the union payroll. Dougherty
was convicted of conspiracy to embezzle funds, 33 counts of
embezzlement, 24 counts of wire fraud, and other charges. He
was also convicted on three counts of filing false federal income
tax returns. In 2021, a separate jury convicted Dougherty of
bribing a City Council member to do the union’s bidding. In July
2024, Dougherty was sentenced to 72 months imprisonment
for bribing a City Council member and stealing nearly $600,000
from the union he ran for nearly three decades. He was ordered
to forfeit $353,941.35. Restitution has yet to be determined.
Learn more about this case.
Woman Sentenced to 12 Years
for Key Role in Drug Ring,
Fraudulently Obtaining
COVID-19 Relief
Denise Brown was a leader of the organized, multi-state, illegal
narcotics distribution organization, “Jamar Jackson,” which
distributed large quantities of dangerous drugs, including heroin
and fentanyl obtained from Mexico. She was the day-to-day
manager of drug-packaging operations in Bear and King of
Prussia, Pennsylvania. In September 2020, Brown was arrested
at her home, where law enforcement officers found thousands
of packets of fentanyl-laced heroin, bulk quantities of heroin and
fentanyl, and over $120,000 in cash. In addition to her role in the
drug trafficking organization, Brown filed a fraudulent COVID-19
relief application and obtained $10,000 from the Small Business
Administration (SBA). In January 2023, Denise Brown was
sentenced to 144 months in prison for her role in a conspiracy
to distribute heroin and fentanyl and 60 months for submitting a
false COVID-19 relief claim to the SBA. Brown was also ordered
to pay $10,000 in restitution to the SBA. Several others were also
charged for their part in the drug trafficking organization.
Learn more about this case.
Philadelphia
PhiladelphiaFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
THE PHILADELPHIA FIELD OFFICE
covers the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania and the State of
Delaware. The Special Agent
in Charge sits in the city of
Philadelphia, home to several
historical sites, such as the Liberty
Bell, Declaration House, and the
Rocky Statue. With nine posts
of duty, the field office serves a
broad geographic area. Within its
area of responsibility, the field
office serves four judicial districts,
each with its own U.S. Attorney’s
Office. The Philadelphia Field
Office works 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 include 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 SAR
review teams, healthcare fraud,
cybercrimes, JTTF, and OCDETF.
View FO Photo Gallery
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Northern Area
DELAWARE: Newark | PENNSYLVANIA: Bethlehem, Cranberry Township, Erie, Harrisburg, King of Prussia, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Scranton
Philadelphia
PhiladelphiaFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
THE PHILADELPHIA FIELD OFFICE
covers the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania and the State of
Delaware. The Special Agent
in Charge sits in the city of
Philadelphia, home to several
historical sites, such as the Liberty
Bell, Declaration House, and the
Rocky Statue. With nine posts
of duty, the field office serves a
broad geographic area. Within its
area of responsibility, the field
office serves four judicial districts,
each with its own U.S. Attorney’s
Office. The Philadelphia Field
Office works 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 include 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 SAR
review teams, healthcare fraud,
cybercrimes, JTTF, and OCDETF.
View FO Cases
Special agents participate in community event.
Philadephia field office holds Citizens Academy event.
Special agents conduct firearms training.
Special agents conduct building entry training.
Philadephia field office participates in Faith and Blue Event.
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Southern Area
ALABAMA: Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile, Montgomery | GEORGIA: Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Decatur, Macon, Savannah | LOUISIANA: Baton Rouge, Lafayette, New Orleans, Shreveport | MISSISSIPPI: Gulfport, Hattiesburg, Jackson, Oxford
Former Executive Director
Sentenced for Embezzling
Federal Grant Funds
Doris Gilmore, of Montgomery, Alabama, used her position as
the executive director of the Alabama Association for Career
and Technical Education (ALACTE) to embezzle federal grant
funds received by the association. Gilmore was responsible
for budgeting, approving payments, and payroll. She was also
responsible for the preparation of the entity’s tax returns and
Forms W-2. Although Gilmore admitted to embezzling ALACTE
funds during 2020 and failed to pay over payroll taxes to
the IRS during the first quarter of 2022, statements made in
court indicate the activity may have been going on for more
than a decade. In December 2023, Gilmore was sentenced
to 37 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised
release. She was also ordered to pay more than $2.8 million in
restitution to the ALACTE and $802,508.88 to the IRS.
Learn more about this case.
Montgomery Woman Sentenced
for COVID-19 Era Paycheck
Protection Program Loan Fraud
Zsa Zsa Bouvier Couch, of Montgomery, Alabama, was found
guilty of bank fraud, making false statements to a federally
insured bank, and money laundering related to a fraudulent
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) scheme. The jury found
Couch guilty of seeking more than $1.6 million by falsely
inflating the number of her employees and her average monthly
payroll on her PPP loan applications. Couch ultimately received
more than $600,000 in CARES Act funding, which she was not
entitled to. She used the illicit funds to purchase luxury vehicles,
and she distributed the money among herself, her husband, and
other family members. Couch was sentenced to 45 months in
prison followed by three years of supervised release.
Learn more about this case.
Co-Conspirators Convicted
of Multiple Bank and Wire
Fraud Schemes
Ryan P. Mullen, of Jayess, MS, and Duane Dufrene, of Destrehan,
LA, used fictitious entities and falsified tax returns and other
financial documents to purchase properties, including a
residence, a bed and breakfast, and two hotels. They then
sold these properties using inflated appraisals and used the
proceeds to purchase at least 20 high-end vehicles. The
loss from their fraudulent purchase and flip scheme totaled
approximately $6.5 million. In a separate case, they conspired
with other individuals to engage in a scheme to defraud a
merchant cash advance company in Georgia by using shell
corporations, which resulted in a loss of roughly $6.4 million.
Mullen was sentenced to 160 months in prison and three years
of supervised release. Dufrene was sentenced to 24 months in
prison and three years of supervised release. They were ordered
to pay $6.4 in restitution. The amount of restitution for their
second conviction will be determined at a future hearing.
Learn more about this case.
Georgia Man Laundered Over
$4.5M Obtained from Business
Email Compromise and Romance
Fraud Schemes
From at least 2019 through July 2021, Malachi Mullings opened
20 bank accounts in the name of a sham company, The Mullings
Group, LLC. Mullings used those accounts to launder millions
of dollars of fraud proceeds generated by business email
compromise (BEC) schemes targeting a health care benefit
program. As an example, Mullings laundered $310,000 that
was fraudulently diverted from a state Medicaid program,
when the funds had been intended as reimbursement for a
hospital. Mullings also perpetrated romance scams directed
at numerous individuals, including the elderly. In one scheme,
Mullins obtained $260,000 from a romance scam preying on an
elderly victim, and he used the funds to purchase a Ferrari. With
his co-conspirators, Mullings engaged in financial transactions
designed to conceal the proceeds and used a portion of the
funds to purchase luxury items, such as vehicles and jewelry.
Mullings was sentenced to 120 months in prison and ordered to
pay restitution to his victims.
Learn more about this case.
Alabama State Representatives
and a Former Assistant Defraud
Jefferson County Community
Service Fund
In 2015, the Alabama legislature passed an act authorizing
the Jefferson County Commission to levy and distribute a one
percent sales tax and a one percent use tax to benefit the public
welfare and provide education benefits to children. The act
created the Jefferson County Community Service Fund and was
subsidized by approximately $3.6 million annually from the new
taxes. From March 2019 through April 2023, Alabama State
Representative John Rogers and his former assistant, Varrie
Kindall, conspired with Fred Plump, a former representative,
to defraud and obtain money from the fund. During each fiscal
year, Rogers, with Kindall’s assistance, recommended that most
of the allotment of the fund money be paid to a youth baseball
league, where Plump served as the executive director. In turn,
Plump agreed to pay kickbacks to Rogers and Kindall, which
equaled approximately $200,000. After learning about the
federal investigation, Rogers and Kindall attempted to obstruct
justice by offering a witness grant money as a bribe if the
witness gave false information to federal agents. Rogers was
sentenced to 13 months in prison for his role in the scheme,
while Kindall was sentenced to 36 months in prison. Plump was
sentenced to 12 months in prison for wire fraud, conspiracy, and
obstruction of justice.
Learn more about this case.
Atlanta
AtlantaFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
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, 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, to identify,
investigate, and refer quality cases
for prosecution.
View FO Photo Gallery
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Southern Area
ALABAMA: Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile, Montgomery | GEORGIA: Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Decatur, Macon, Savannah | LOUISIANA: Baton Rouge, Lafayette, New Orleans, Shreveport | MISSISSIPPI: Gulfport, Hattiesburg, Jackson, Oxford
Atlanta
AtlantaFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
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, 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, to identify,
investigate, and refer quality cases
for prosecution.
View FO Cases
Atlanta field office hosts Citizen Academy event for students.
Atlanta field office at the 2024 Allstate HBCU Legacy Bowl Career Fair.
Treasury Secretary Yellen with Atlanta Special Agent in Charge hold fentanyl-focused roundtable in Atlanta.
Assistant Special Agent in Charge continues legacy as IRS-CI special agent like her mother.
Assistant Special Agent in Charge gives a radio interview.
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Southern Area
NORTH CAROLINA: Charlotte, Greensboro, Raleigh, Wilmington | SOUTH CAROLINA: Charleston, Columbia, Greenville, Myrtle Beach | TENNESSEE: Chattanooga, Jackson, Johnson City, Knoxville, Memphis, Nashville
Two Tax Shelter Promoters
Sentenced for Billion-Dollar
Tax Scheme
Since 2013, Jack Fisher, a certified public accountant, and
Attorney James Sinnott, along with many others, received
more than $41 million in payments from the sale of units in a
syndicated conservation easement scheme. Fisher and Sinnott
designed, marketed, and sold an abusive tax shelter, which
was based on fraudulently inflated charitable tax deductions
that exploited tax provisions meant to preserve land, wildlife,
and our heritage. To accomplish their scheme, Fisher and
Sinnott backdated documents, obtained artificially inflated land
valuations, and provided false information to the IRS. In total,
Fisher, Sinnott, and their co-conspirators sold more than $1.3
billion in fraudulent tax deductions to wealthy taxpayers that
resulted in a tax loss of more than $450 million. In January 2024,
Fisher was sentenced to 25 years in prison and ordered to pay
approximately $457 million in restitution. Sinnott was sentenced
to 23 years in prison and ordered to pay approximately
$443 million in restitution. Six additional defendants have
plead guilty to criminal conduct relating to the scheme.
Learn more about this case.
Tennessee Business Owner
Sentenced for Bank Fraud, Wire
Fraud, and Tax Fraud
From 2015 and 2021, Scotty Thomas Lumley failed to pay over
taxes he withheld from his employees’ paychecks to the IRS.
In 2017, to avoid the payment of a tax debt, Lumley told the
IRS the only vehicle he owned was a GMC 3500 with a negative
value. However, he also owned a 2012 Ferrari 458 Spider, which
he sold the following year for $187,000. In 2017 and 2018,
Lumley obtained a series of fraudulent loans in connection with
businesses he owned by falsely claiming his personal net worth
was more than $30 million. Lumley also failed to disclose his
outstanding tax liability of more than $119,000. In total, he
tricked lenders into providing him with more than $3.5 million
in loans. Lumley later provided one bank with additional false
personal financial statements purporting to show his net worth
had risen to more than $42 million. In November 2020, after
becoming aware of a federal criminal investigation into the
above conduct, Lumley flew to Morocco and did not return
until he was extradited in February 2023. In July 2024, he
was sentenced to 47 months in prison and was ordered to pay
$1,198,833.62 in restitution.
Learn more about this case.
Man Sentenced to 9 Years in Prison
for Role in One of the Largest
Medicare Fraud Schemes in History
Andrew Chmiel was the subject of a multijurisdictional
investigation originating in South Carolina, called “Operation
Brace Yourself”. In 2019, the investigation resulted in the
execution of more than 80 search warrants in 17 federal
districts. Chmiel controlled at least 10 durable medical
equipment (DME) companies in the United States, which he and
his co-conspirators used to submit false claims to Medicare for
devices that were not medically necessary and/or were obtained
through the payment of kickbacks and bribes. The operation
revealed that the DME companies used an offshore call center to
purchase completed doctors’ orders billable to Medicare. Once
a Medicare beneficiary called the advertised number, they were
convinced they needed a brace. The call center then contacted
a telemedicine company for a prescription, even though the
device was not medically necessary and the patient was never
examined. Throughout the healthcare fraud scheme, Chmiel’s
companies billed Medicare more than $200 million, $95 million
of which was paid by Medicare. In March 2024, Chmiel was
sentenced to nine years in prison. Additionally, two of Chmiel’s
corporations were also sentenced to 12 months’ probation and
ordered to pay almost $99 million in restitution.
Learn more about this case.
North Carolina Man Sentenced
to 7 Years for Mortgage,
COVID-19 Fraud
Between 2019 and 2021, Reynold Eugene Mullen, and his
girlfriend, Tiffany Dawn Russell, used “washed” credit reports
and fabricated bank statements to obtain four mortgages for
the purchase of properties in Florida and North Carolina. In
total, they received $1,374,000. Between March 2020 and July
2021, Mullen and Russell also submitted fraudulent Economic
Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program
(PPP) applications on behalf of entities either owned entirely, or
in part, by them. Mullen and Russell provided false information
on the applications, including the monthly payroll amounts, the
entities’ number of employees, and other fraudulent tax return
information. As a result, Mullen and Russell obtained more than
$1.6 million in EIDL and PPP proceeds. They used the fraud
proceeds to purchase six properties and pay for plastic surgery
for Mullen. In July 2024, Mullen was sentenced to 84 months in
prison. Russell was previously sentenced to 63 months in prison
and five years of supervised release for her role in this scheme.
Learn more about this case.
North Carolina Woman in Charge
of $1.9 Million Debt Collection
Scheme Sentenced to Prison
From 2015 to July 2020, Carissa Eugenia Brown executed a
fraudulent debt collection scheme defrauding hundreds of
victims across the United States. Brown contacted individuals
who had been sued by various creditors for their outstanding
debt and claimed she was authorized to collect the debt on
behalf of those creditors. Brown claimed she could settle the
outstanding debt for a reduced amount if the victims accepted
the offer and paid the reduced amount in full or made payments
to Brown’s companies. Brown often mailed official-looking
documents to the victims, which included fictitious settlement
agreements. The victims paid Brown only to later learn she was
not authorized to collect the debt, and they still owed the actual
creditor. Hundreds of individuals paid Brown and her companies
more than $1.9 million, which placed them in the untenable
position of either having to pay their debts twice or face the
financial consequences for failing to pay the true creditor. In
November 2023, Brown was sentenced to 54 months in prison
and was ordered to pay $1,708,920 in restitution.
Learn more about this case.
Charlotte
CharlotteFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
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 OCDETF.
View FO Photo Gallery
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Southern Area
NORTH CAROLINA: Charlotte, Greensboro, Raleigh, Wilmington | SOUTH CAROLINA: Charleston, Columbia, Greenville, Myrtle Beach | TENNESSEE: Chattanooga, Jackson, Johnson City, Knoxville, Memphis, Nashville
Charlotte
CharlotteFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
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 OCDETF.
View FO Cases
Special agent gears up prior to a search warrant.
Special agent escorts a subject during an arrest warrant.
Assistant Academic Director of NCITA participates in a money laundering panel discussion.
Special agents host Citizen Academy at The Citadel.
Special agent receives tactical training in a stairwell.
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Southern Area
ARKANSAS: Fayetteville, Fort Smith, Little Rock | OKLAHOMA: Muskogee, Oklahoma City, Tulsa | TEXAS: Amarillo, Beaumont, Dallas, Farmers Branch, Fort Worth, Irving, Lubbock, Tyler
Texas Tax Preparer Sentenced
for $2.6 Million Fraud Scheme
Anthony “Tony” Floyd filed approximately 400 fraudulent tax
returns for clients, resulting in a tax loss of over $2.6 million
to the IRS. Floyd’s fraudulent returns included fabricated
Forms W-2, fictitious charitable contributions, and nonexistent
dependents, often for individuals working in catering, lawn care,
and interior decorating. He rarely met his clients in person,
instead communicating with them through email and text
messages. Floyd often submitted fraudulent returns without
reviewing them with the taxpayers. He then diverted all or
most of the refunds to his own accounts. In August 2024, Floyd
plead guilty on the morning his trial was set to begin. He was
convicted of aiding in the preparation of false returns and was
sentenced to 77 months in prison, an upward departure from
the sentencing guidelines. He was ordered to pay over $1.9
million in restitution.
Learn more about this case.
Bookkeeper Sentenced to 10 Years
After Embezzling Over $29 Million
Beginning in at least 2012, Barbara Chalmers abused her position
as the bookkeeper for a charitable foundation and several other
companies run by a Dallas family. Chalmers used her signatory
authority over the family’s bank accounts to write herself at
least 175 checks, which she deposited into her personal bank
accounts. To conceal her fraudulent conduct, she provided
false paperwork to tax preparers, misstating the year-end
cash-on-hand numbers for the various accounts from which she
was embezzling. She used more than $25 million of the stolen
money to fund a construction business for which she was the
president. She also used $6 million to pay off her credit card
debt. Chalmers was sentenced to 120 months in prison and three
years of supervised release for money laundering. She was also
ordered to pay $44.8 million in restitution to her victims.
Learn more about this case.
Jenks Woman Sentenced and
Ordered to Repay More Than
$1.2 Million in Restitution
Lauren Michelle Owen used her position of sole financial officer
to steal over $750,000 from her employer. Owen was hired in
2010 and worked her way up from secretary to sole financial
officer, where she was heavily involved in maintaining the books
and records of the company. She wrote unauthorized checks to
herself, inflated her wages, and paid her personal credit cards
using company funds. In November 2021, Owen lost her job and
quickly devised a plan to defraud the Small Business Association
(SBA) after Congress passed the CARES Act in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic. She falsified an application for a loan
on behalf of Platinum Assets, LLC, a company she owned and
controlled. She also lied on the application stating that she had
never been criminally charged when she had previously been
arraigned in state court for embezzlement. The SBA deposited
more than $384,000 in Owen’s bank account, which she used
to purchase a 40-foot yacht and a Chevrolet Corvette and to pay
off a loan on a vehicle. From 2016 through 2020, Owen failed
to report this additional income to the IRS on her tax returns.
In November 2013, she was sentenced to 27 months in prison
and five years of supervised release for bank fraud, wire fraud,
and tax evasion. Owen was also ordered to pay more than $1.2
million in restitution.
Learn more about this case.
Former Pelco President Sentenced
and Ordered to Pay More Than
$3.6 Million in Restitution
From 2014 to 2019, Phillip Albert was President of Pelco
Structural LLC, a steel pole manufacturing company in
Claremore, Oklahoma. During that period, Albert directed
the payroll service company to pay him a salary of over $2.6
million. However, Albert instructed the payroll company to
falsely characterize the payments as reimbursements rather
than income, which caused the payroll company to not withhold
federal income taxes or report the payments as wages on
Albert’s W-2. Albert, who was previously employed as a tax
return preparer, did not report the payments on his income tax
returns for those years. Albert was sentenced to 30 months in
prison and one year of supervised release for tax evasion, and
he was ordered to pay $1,000,232 in restitution to the IRS.
Learn more about this case.
Retail Theft Ringleader Sentenced
to Over 5 Years in Prison
Linda Been of Tulsa, Oklahoma, led a large retail theft operation
involving at least 23 co-defendants. Been paid what they
referred to as “boosters” to steal property from various retail
stores, including Walmart, Sam’s Club, CVS, and Walgreens. She
then sold and shipped the stolen property to various operations
outside of Oklahoma, where they would be sold online. Been
recruited the boosters, coached them on what to shoplift, and
paid them for their efforts. If a booster was arrested, Been
either paid their bond or put money on their jail account to
ensure the person would not cooperate with law enforcement.
She was indicted along with her 23 co-defendants, as a result
of a national investigation targeting a retail theft ring and its
conspiracy to distribute stolen property throughout the country.
In May 2024, Been was sentenced to 64 months in prison and
three years of supervised release, and she was ordered to pay
$43,197.76 in restitution.
Learn more about this case.
Dallas
DallasFieldOffice2@ci.irs.gov
THE DALLAS FIELD OFFICE covers
a broad geographic area that
includes 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
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. The
Dallas Field Office has excellent
working relationships with the
U.S. Attorney’s Office and other
law enforcement partners. Special
agents are essential members
of several priority task forces,
including OCDETF, HIDTA, FCTF,
and JTTF.
View FO Photo Gallery
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Southern Area
ARKANSAS: Fayetteville, Fort Smith, Little Rock | OKLAHOMA: Muskogee, Oklahoma City, Tulsa | TEXAS: Amarillo, Beaumont, Dallas, Farmers Branch, Fort Worth, Irving, Lubbock, Tyler
Dallas
DallasFieldOffice2@ci.irs.gov
THE DALLAS FIELD OFFICE covers
a broad geographic area that
includes 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
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. The
Dallas Field Office has excellent
working relationships with the
U.S. Attorney’s Office and other
law enforcement partners. Special
agents are essential members
of several priority task forces,
including OCDETF, HIDTA, FCTF,
and JTTF.
View FO Cases
Special agents coduct firearms training.
Dallas field office Special Agent in Charge is interviewed.
Special agents conduct building entrance training.
Members of Dallas field office participate in recuiting event at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base.
Special agent searches a vehicle during a warrant.
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Southern Area
TEXAS: Austin, Brownsville, Corpus Christi, El Paso, Houston, Laredo, McAllen, San Antonio, Waco
‘Gucci Goddess’ Sentenced
to 15 Years in Prison for
Defrauding Military Dependents
From 2016 through 2023, Janet Yamanaka Mello engaged in
a scheme to defraud the U.S. Army. Mello, a former civilian
employee for the Department of the Army, formed and used a
business, Child Health and Youth Lifelong Development (CHYLD),
to collect funds from the 4-H Military Partnership Grant
program, but she did not perform any of the promised services.
Mello used her position as a financial program manager for the
Army to steal over $108 million from the grant program, funds
which were intended for military dependents and their families.
During a six-year period, Mello awarded herself 49 separate
grants, and she spent the proceeds on designer clothing,
purses, jewelry, vehicles, and real estate. She also failed to
report this income on her federal tax returns, omitting millions.
Mello pleaded guilty to five counts of mail fraud and five counts
of filing a false tax return. She was sentenced to 180 months
in prison and ordered to pay nearly $141 million in restitution,
including nearly $32 million to the IRS.
Learn more about this case.
Former SBA Administrator
and Non-Profit Organizers
Sentenced to Prison
Hector Barreto, of San Juan Capistrano, California, and Miguel
Gutierrez, of San Antonio, TX, operated a charity, called the
Latino Coalition Foundation. Barreto, who served as the Small
Business Administration (SBA) Administrator under George W.
Bush, controlled the charity’s bank accounts, and had operational
control of the entity. The pair solicited donations on behalf of
the charity, which were purportedly to be used to establish an
apprenticeship program to help low-income youth get critical
job training and skills. Instead, Barreto and Gutierrez stole much
of the funds for themselves and used the donations for their
personal gain. They made payments to themselves, used the
charity’s credit cards for personal expenses, and made payments
to friends and family members. They falsified the charity’s Forms
990, a federal tax return for charitable organizations, and filed the
false forms with the IRS. The false tax returns helped hide their
theft of charitable funds. Barreto was sentenced to 20 months
in prison and was ordered to pay $944,693.51 in restitution and
a fine of $100,000. Gutierrez was sentenced to 10 months in
prison and five years of probation. He was also ordered to pay a
$100,000 fine and restitution of $1,194,439.51.
Learn more about this case.
Cypress Man Sentenced
to Prison for Hiding Over
$4 Million in Foreign Earnings
From 2013 to 2018, Peter Joseph Tignini, formerly of Cypress,
TX, earned over $4.7 million working in the United Arab
Emirates and Qatar. For tax years 2013 through 2017, he
filed false tax returns, claiming his income was approximately
$100,000 annually. The amount Tignini reported each year was
near or below the amount that U.S. citizens who live and work
abroad for most of a year can exclude from their taxable income
on their U.S. tax returns. In addition to his false returns from
2013 through 2017, Tignini did not file a return for the 2018 tax
year. In total, Tignini caused a tax loss to the IRS of $1,169,348.
Following an interview with federal law enforcement, Tignini
attempted to cover up his fraud by altering documents,
attempting to delete documents, and causing his attorneys to
provide the false documents to the Department of Justice and
the IRS. In February 2024, Tignini was sentenced to 41 months
in prison for tax evasion and three years of supervised release,
and he was ordered to pay nearly $1.17 million in restitution.
Learn more about this case.
Former City Commissioner
Sentenced for Role in
Bribery Conspiracy
John Cuellar, the former City Commissioner for Weslaco, Texas,
and Gerardo Tafolla, the former Weslaco City Commission
Representative, accepted bribes from Arturo C. Cuellar Jr.,
Ricardo Quintanilla, and others, in exchange for official actions
favorable to engineering companies seeking large contracts with
the city. From approximately March 2008 through December
2015, Arturo Cuellar, a former Hildalgo County commissioner,
received nearly $1.4 million from two engineering companies.
He then used a company he controlled to facilitate payments of
more than $400,000 to his cousin, John Cuellar. In exchange
for these payments, John Cuellar took several actions to benefit
the engineering companies, including helping to award contracts
worth approximately $39.5 million to rehabilitate Weslaco’s
water treatment facilities. During the scheme, Quintanilla
received approximately $85,000 and used that money to bribe
Tafolla for his official actions to benefit the companies receiving
the water treatment contracts. John Cuellar and Tafolla were
each sentenced to 30 months in prison for their role in the
scheme, while Arturo Cuellar and Quintanilla were previously
sentenced to 20 years and 16 years, respectively.
Learn more about this case.
Three Conspirators Sent
to Prison for Stealing Nearly
$4 Million in IRS Refunds
In approximately January 2022, Kuljinder Hunjan and Whitley
Carter conspired to steal a $2,932,446.84 IRS refund check
from a couple in Houston. Hunjan and Carter obtained
the refund check from the mail, used fake identification
documents with the victims’ personal information to open
accounts at Regions Bank, and deposited the victims’ refund
check. Bank surveillance footage helped authorities identify
Hunjan and Carter, and Hunjan’s fingerprints were also found
on the check. Carter, Hunjan, and co-conspirator Benjamin
Thomas were also linked through phone calls and CashApp
transactions. In April 2022, authorities arrested Thomas
while he was driving a stolen Lamborghini. At that time, they
discovered two debit cards in his possession which were linked
to the fraudulently created accounts that were used to receive
the proceeds of the nearly $3 million refund check. Thomas
and Hunjan were sentenced to 90 months and 42 months in
prison, respectively, while Carter was sentenced to 30 months
in prison. All three co-conspirators were ordered jointly liable
and must pay more than $4 million in restitution.
Learn more about this case.
Houston
HoustonFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
The boundaries of THE HOUSTON
FIELD OFFICE encompasses
unique and culturally diverse
locations, including the Rio
Grande Valley, the coastline of
Corpus Christi, the beautiful
Gulf Coast beaches, and the
oil producing communities in
the Permian Basin. 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, JTTF, OCDETF,
HIDTA, public corruption, human
trafficking, Paycheck Protection
Program, and healthcare fraud.
Partnerships with the U.S.
Attorney’s Offices in the Western
and Southern districts of Texas are
critical, as is the interagency work
done with other federal, state, and
local law enforcement agencies.
View FO Photo Gallery
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Southern Area
TEXAS: Austin, Brownsville, Corpus Christi, El Paso, Houston, Laredo, McAllen, San Antonio, Waco
Houston
HoustonFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
The boundaries of THE HOUSTON
FIELD OFFICE encompasses
unique and culturally diverse
locations, including the Rio
Grande Valley, the coastline of
Corpus Christi, the beautiful
Gulf Coast beaches, and the
oil producing communities in
the Permian Basin. 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, JTTF, OCDETF,
HIDTA, public corruption, human
trafficking, Paycheck Protection
Program, and healthcare fraud.
Partnerships with the U.S.
Attorney’s Offices in the Western
and Southern districts of Texas are
critical, as is the interagency work
done with other federal, state, and
local law enforcement agencies.
View FO Cases
Houston field office participates in a press conference.
Supervisory Special Agent meets with students at recruiting event.
Media profile an SHSU alumnus now a special agent.
Special Agent in Charge participates in a press conference.
Supervisory special agents meet with Netherlands counterparts to discuss cybercrime.
53
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X

Southern Area
FLORIDA: Miami, Plantation, Port St. Lucie, West Palm Beach | PUERTO RICO: Guaynabo | U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS: St. Thomas
Florida Attorney Earned More
Than $10 Million Selling “Ultimate
Tax Plan”, Ultimately Sentenced
to Eight Years in Prison
From 2013 through 2021, attorney and certified public
accountant Michael Meyer, of Davie, Florida, promoted a
fraudulent tax shelter, called “The Ultimate Tax Plan.” Meyer
and his co-conspirators marketed the scheme as a way for
high-income clients to reduce their taxes by false deductions.
Meyer earned more than $10 million from the scheme and
used it to purchase a multi-million-dollar estate and several
luxury vehicles. The IRS conducted several audits of Meyer’s
charities and found that “The Ultimate Tax Plan” was an
economic sham. Meyer signed documents acknowledging the
scheme and agreed to close the bogus charities. However,
Meyer then created new “charities” and continued to promote
his illegal shelter to wealthy taxpayers. In April 2024, Meyer
was sentenced to 96 months in prison for conspiring to
defraud the United States and tax evasion, was ordered to
pay $12,136,014.34 in restitution, and will serve three years
supervised release.
Learn more about this case.
Dark Web Drug Vendor
Sentenced to Prison for Trafficking
Methamphetamine and Fentanyl
Beginning in 2020, Tenzin Orgil worked to distribute large
amounts of narcotics via various dark web marketplaces, as
well as the peer-to-peer encrypted chat platform, Wickr. He
was based in California, and he mailed illegal narcotics via the
U.S. Postal Service to customers all over the United States.
Between 2020 and 2021, law enforcement officers in South
Florida conducted undercover purchases from Orgil via the dark
web or Wickr, resulting in the seizure of 2.54 grams of fentanyl
in the form of counterfeit oxycodone pills and 4.965 kilograms
of 100 percent pure methamphetamine. In May 2024, Orgil was
sentenced to 168 months in prison for participating in a drug
trafficking enterprise that included the sale of methamphetamine
and fentanyl on the dark web and the manufacture of ecstasy and
methamphetamine in clandestine laboratories.
Learn more about this case.
Cryptocurrency Exchanger
Sentenced to Prison for
Running Unlicensed Money
Transmitter Business
Raul Rodriguez, aka Rraultiovigia, converted cash into bitcoin and
other digital currency, and vice versa, in exchange for a fee. For
over five years, Rodriguez provided these services to the public
through an online digital currency exchange platform known as
“LocalBitcoins.com”. In March 2013, the U.S. Department of
the Treasury announced that virtual currency exchangers were
required to register as a money transmitting business. Despite
these requirements, Rodriguez operated an unregistered and
unlicensed money transmitting business for over five years,
and he exchanged at least $5 million in digital currency. At one
point, he was the highest-volume trader of digital currency on the
LocalBitcoins.com platform in the State of Florida. In April 2024,
Rodriguez was sentenced to 57 months in prison for operating an
unlicensed money transmitting business.
Learn more about this case.
West Palm Beach Man
Sentenced for Illegal
Gambling, Money Laundering,
and Fostering Prostitution
From April 2008 to November 2022, Dion De Cesare of West
Palm Beach, Florida, owned two social clubs, Whispers All Girls
Staff and NXT, that provided prostitution services to clients.
De Cesare collected the proceeds from those businesses and
laundered them through third-party bank accounts and through
the payment of mortgages and expenses related to several of
his properties in West Palm Beach. From May 2015 to October
2022, he operated an online sports gambling business through
a website whose server was located in Costa Rica. De Cesare
laundered the gambling proceeds by having the gamblers send
their debt payments to third party individuals and entities for his
benefit. From 2011 to 2017, De Cesare also owned Renegades,
a restaurant and nightclub in West Palm Beach. During various
times, he failed to pay personal and payroll taxes. In December
2023, De Cesare was sentenced to 71 months in prison
for various charges, including conspiracy to commit money
laundering and tax evasion. De Cesare was ordered to pay
restitution to the IRS in the amount of $1,046,224.19.
Learn more about this case.
Former Chairman of 1 Global
Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison
for Running $250 Million Securities
Fraud Scheme
Carl R. Ruderman, of Aventura, Florida, was the chairman
of 1 Global, a commercial lending business, that made the
equivalent of “pay day” loans to small businesses at high
interest rates. Ruderman and others made false and misleading
representations to investors and potential investors as to the
profitability of 1 Global’s business in marketing materials and
periodic account statements. Ruderman, without investors’
knowledge, diverted 1 Global investors’ money to fund his lavish
lifestyle. During the operation of the business, questions arose
as to whether 1 Global was offering or selling a security and
whether the investment offering was required to be registered
with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In 2016,
Ruderman had one of his attorneys write letters containing false
information, which allowed 1 Global to skirt federal securities
laws. In 2024, Ruderman was sentenced to 60 months in prison
for carrying out a $250 million securities fraud conspiracy
scheme. As agreed in his plea agreement, Ruderman was
also ordered to pay a forfeiture money judgment exceeding
$285 million. Four of Ruderman’s co-conspirators, including
two lawyers who provided Ruderman with false legal services
to skirt federal securities laws, previously pleaded guilty and
were sentenced for their roles in the fraud scheme. The four
co-conspirators were also from South Florida.
Learn more about this case.
Miami
MiamiFieldOffice2@ci.irs.gov
THE MIAMI FIELD OFFICE covers
the Southern Judicial District of
Florida and the Judicial Districts
of Puerto Rico and the U.S. 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 areas
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 task forces, including OCDETF
and other priority task forces
at the U.S. Attorney’s Offices,
including identity theft, financial
crimes, healthcare fraud, and
disaster fraud.
View FO Photo Gallery
54
2024 | IRS-CI ANNUAL REPORT
X

Southern Area
FLORIDA: Miami, Plantation, Port St. Lucie, West Palm Beach | PUERTO RICO: Guaynabo | U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS: St. Thomas
Miami
MiamiFieldOffice2@ci.irs.gov
THE MIAMI FIELD OFFICE covers
the Southern Judicial District of
Florida and the Judicial Districts
of Puerto Rico and the U.S. 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 areas
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 task forces, including OCDETF
and other priority task forces
at the U.S. Attorney’s Offices,
including identity theft, financial
crimes, healthcare fraud, and
disaster fraud.
View FO Cases
Special agent presents on cryptocurrency.
Special Agent in Charge makes remarks at FinCEN Exchange.
Special agents conduct firearms training.
Special agents conduct building entry training.
Special agents present to over 100 law enforcement partners on crypto tracing.
55
2024 | IRS-CI ANNUAL REPORT
X

Southern Area
FLORIDA: Fort Myers, Gainesville, Jacksonville, Orlando, Pensacola, St. Petersburg, Sarasota, Tallahassee, Tampa
RICO Conspirators Sentenced
to Prison for Nationwide Computer
Intrusions and Tax Fraud
Michael Jean Poix, Alain Jean-Louis, and Jeff Propht-
Francisque, along with numerous other conspirators, used the
darknet to purchase server credentials for computer servers of
accounting and tax preparation firms across the country. They
committed computer intrusions to extract tax return data for
thousands of the firms’ clients. The coconspirators then used
the stolen information to file thousands of false returns, using
over 9,000 stolen identities. They also registered with the IRS
to obtain Preparer Identification numbers (PTINs) to file false
returns in bulk. The enterprise claimed more than $45 million in
false tax refunds, and the actual tax loss to the IRS exceeded $7
million. In December 2023, Michael Jean Poix was sentenced
to 130 months in prison and was ordered to pay $130,771 in
restitution, Alain Jean-Louis was sentenced to 102 months in
prison and ordered to pay $2,554,907 in restitution, and Jeff
Propht-Francisque was sentenced to four years in prison and
ordered to pay $2,574,235 in restitution for their involvement in
the RICO Conspiracy for cyber intrusion and tax fraud.
Learn more about this case.
Former Florida Attorney
Sentenced to 14 Years in
Prison for Racketeering
Between December 2015 and January 2018, Florida attorney
Phillip Timothy Howard, along with associates and employees
of his Tallahassee law firm, defrauded clients of funds from
an NFL class-action lawsuit. Howard used several Tallahassee
investment companies under his control to facilitate his scheme
and to steal from clients. Howard enticed clients to invest
retirement funds in his companies, assuring them their money
was secure, but he never informed them that almost none of
the investment funds yielded a return. He also did not disclose
that client investment funds had been commingled with funds
used to operate his law firm and were used to issue payroll for
his staff and to pay his personal mortgages. Howard and others
fraudulently obtained over $4 million through racketeering,
wire fraud, and money laundering. In November 2023, Howard
was sentenced to 168 months in prison and three years of
supervised release and was ordered to pay over $12.6 million in
restitution for racketeering.
Learn more about this case.
Former Jacksonville Jaguars
Employee Sentenced to More
than Six Years for Embezzling
in Excess of $22 Million
Amit Patel embezzled over $22 million from the Jaguars
by using his position as the team’s virtual credit card (VCC)
program administrator to make hundreds of purchases and
transactions with no legitimate business purpose. Patel covered
up his actions by submitting fraudulent accounting records to
the team’s accounting department. Patel disguised personal
expenditures that funded a lavish lifestyle for himself and his
friends as business expenses. Patel’s illicit purchases included
a Tesla Model 3 sedan, stays in luxury hotels, chartering private
jets, concert and sporting event tickets, and a condominium
in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. In March 2024, Patel was
sentenced to 78 months in prison for committing wire fraud
and engaging in an illegal monetary transaction. Patel was also
ordered to forfeit over $22 million and to pay full restitution to
the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Learn more about this case.
Insurance Agent Sentenced
to 15 Years in Prison for Defrauding
Elderly Investors and Tax Evasion
Phillip Roy Wasserman, of Sarasota, Florida, a former lawyer
and licensed insurance agent, and his coconspirator, lied to and
concealed material information from elderly victims to convince
them to invest money in what resembled a Ponzi-scheme.
Wasserman convinced victims to invest money into his new
insurance venture, “FastLife.” He used new victims’ money
to make “Ponzi-style” payments to earlier victims in the
FastLife venture, as well as other hedge fund and real estate
fund ventures. Wasserman spent a significant amount of the
victims’ money to finance a lavish lifestyle that included a luxury
personal residence, a beach house on Casey Key, sport and
concert event tickets, vehicles, jet skis, jewelry, gambling, home
improvements, and a host of other expenses for his personal
benefit and the benefit of family members. Additionally,
Wasserman took numerous steps to evade payment of more
than $900,000 in taxes, concealed mounting business debts,
and tried to influence witnesses throughout the investigation.
In February 2024, Wasserman was sentenced to 180 months
in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud,
substantive counts of wire fraud and mail fraud, and evasion
of payment of income taxes. Wasserman was also ordered to
forfeit $6,896,586.47.
Learn more about this case.
Owner of Orlando Company
Sentenced to 24 Years in
Prison for $57 Million Investment
Fraud Scheme
Avinash Singh operated an Orlando-based company, Highrise
Advantage LLC. From February 2013 to September 2020,
Singh received more than $57 million from over 1,100 victims
who believed they were making investments in retail foreign
currency contracts (forex) through Highrise. Singh made
fraudulent claims citing his proven track record of success as
a forex trader to “guarantee” that his victims would not lose
any funds for any trading losses. Rather than invest his victims’
money, he used funds from one investor to pay amounts owed
to another investor. Singh misappropriated at least $45 million
of the victims’ “investments” in the form of payments to other
investors and spent millions of dollars on personal expenses,
including the purchase of real estate, retail purchases, phone
bills, events, dining, and reserving music studio space to record
music with his band. Singh was sentenced to 288 months in
prison for wire fraud and money laundering and was ordered to
forfeit $57 million in proceeds and real property.
Learn more about this case.
Tampa
TampaFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
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.
Attorneys’ Offices for the Middle
and Northern Districts of Florida.
View FO Photo Gallery
56
2024 | IRS-CI ANNUAL REPORT
X

Southern Area
FLORIDA: Fort Myers, Gainesville, Jacksonville, Orlando, Pensacola, St. Petersburg, Sarasota, Tallahassee, Tampa
Tampa
TampaFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
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.
Attorneys’ Offices for the Middle
and Northern Districts of Florida.
View FO Cases
Special agents conduct firearms training.
Special agent conducts building entry training.
Special Agent in Charge participates in press conference.
Supervisory Special Agent holds a team meeting.
Special Agent in Charge provides remarks to the press.
57
2024 | IRS-CI ANNUAL REPORT
X

Southern Area
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Washington | MARYLAND: Baltimore, Frederick, Landover, Rockville, Salisbury | VIRGINIA: Hampton, Norfolk, Richmond, Roanoke, Vienna | WEST VIRGINIA: Bridgeport, Charleston, Parkersburg
Nigerian National Sentenced
to More than 12 Years in Prison
for Cyber Scams
Bamidele Omotosho, a Nigerian citizen and resident, conspired
with others to purchase stolen access credentials and personal
identifying information (PII) of U.S. citizens, including names,
dates of birth, and Social Security numbers, on xDedic, a darknet
criminal marketplace that has since been seized and shut down.
Omotosho and his coconspirators used the stolen credentials and
PII to commit at least six different fraudulent schemes totaling
over $7.5 million in intended losses and over $2 million in actual
losses. In 2017 and 2018, Omotosho and his coconspirators
purchased unauthorized access to computer networks for
multiple accounting firms throughout the United States, including
in Texas and Florida. With that access, Omotosho and his
coconspirators obtained PII for accounting firm clients, which
they used to file fraudulent tax returns with the IRS. In July 2024,
Omotosho was sentenced to 151 months in prison for conspiracy
to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering,
and computer intrusion. The court also ordered Omotosho to pay
$2,051,108.70 in restitution to victims of his offenses.
Learn more about this case.
West Virginia Man Sentenced
to Over 10 Years for Elder
Financial Fraud
Samuel Kristofer Bunner, formerly of Ranson, West Virginia,
defrauded a victim of $1,906,229 by selling his real estate,
emptying his investment and bank accounts, and opening a credit
card in his name. Bunner befriended an elderly man suffering from
dementia at the local VFW where Bunner worked, and he convinced
him to sign over Power of Attorney rights. Bunner used the money
taken from the victim for his benefit, including purchasing homes,
campers, cars, and hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of
consumer goods. In June 2024, Bunner was sentenced to 121
months in prison and five years of supervised release. He was also
ordered to pay $1,906,229 in restitution to his victim.
Learn more about this case.
Virginia Man Sentenced
to More than 6 Years in
Prison for Tax Scheme
James C. Jones Jr., a resident of Virginia, owned and operated
Lifeline Ambulance Service Inc. He was responsible for paying
the IRS approximately $200,000 in Social Security, Medicare,
and income taxes withheld from his employees’ wages, but
he did not pay. When the IRS attempted to collect those
taxes, Jones lied, claiming he did not have the assets to pay
the amount he owed. In fact, Jones owned several Caribbean
beachfront condominiums, multiple foreign bank accounts, and
a classic “muscle” car collection. From 2013 through 2018,
Jones repeatedly tried to stop the IRS’s collection efforts by
filing false tax returns that did not report the rental income from
his Caribbean properties and claimed false deductions. Jones
was subpoenaed by the Department of Justice for foreign bank
account records, but he falsely reported he did not have any.
Jones’s conduct caused a tax loss to the IRS of at least $1.5
million. In May 2024, Jones was sentenced to 78 months in
prison for evading the payment of employment taxes, filing false
tax returns, and obstructing the IRS.
Learn more about this case.
Georgetown Restauranteurs
Sentenced to Prison for Tax
Offenses and Theft of COVID-19
Relief Funds
Gholam “Tony” Kowkabi, and Karen Kowkabi, of Vienna, Virginia,
owned three restaurants: Ristorante Piccolo in Georgetown
and Catch 15 and Tuscana West in Washington, DC. From
1998 to 2018, the Kowkabis’ total unpaid tax balance was
$1,351,038.51, including federal income taxes, employment
taxes, and penalties. Gholam Kowkabi attempted to evade
paying the taxes by concealing assets and obscuring large sums
of money taken from the businesses by purchasing property in
the name of a nominee entity and by making false entries in the
businesses’ books and records. From May 2020 to July 2021,
the Kowkabis obtained more than $1.6 million in COVID-19
relief funds, including $474,000 from Paycheck Protection
Program loans, an Economic Injury Disaster Loan for $499,900,
and a Restaurant Revitalization Fund grant for $631,823.28.
In December 2023, Gholam Kowkabi and Karen Kowkabi
were sentenced to 57 months in prison and 24 months of
probation, respectively, for their willful failure to pay more than
$1.35 million of taxes. Gholam Kowkabi was also sentenced
for stealing more than $738,000 from the emergency small
business relief funds his Georgetown restaurant received during
the COVID-19 pandemic.
Learn more about this case.
Maryland Man Sentenced to
42 Months in Prison for a
$20 Million Kickback Scheme
Elliott Dennis Kleinman, of Bel Air, Maryland, and Eugene
DiNoto, also of Bel Air, Maryland, were employees of a
family-owned global business headquartered in New York, with
manufacturing facilities in Belcamp and Abingdon, Maryland. As
facility managers, Kleinman and DiNoto oversaw the purchasing
and storing of drums for use at the manufacturing facilities and
had authority to review drum invoices and authorize payments
to vendors. Beginning in 2012, Kleinman and DiNoto used
their management positions to execute a fraudulent billing
scheme for illegal kickbacks from various drum vendors. From
2017 to 2019, Kleinman received $1,034,911 in kickbacks
for his role, but he did not report the payments as personal or
business income, resulting in a loss to the U.S. government of
approximately $291,143. In December 2023, Kleinman was
sentenced to 42 months in prison, followed by three years
of supervised release, and was ordered to pay restitution of
$19.3 million and to forfeit nearly $2.04 million for conspiracy to
commit wire fraud and tax evasion in connection with a kickback
scheme that defrauded his employer of more than $20 million.
Learn more about this case.
Washington DC
WashingtonDCFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
THE WASHINGTON DC FIELD
OFFICE (WDCFO) is an executive
led field office and one of the largest
in IRS-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
healthcare 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.
View FO Photo Gallery
58
2024 | IRS-CI ANNUAL REPORT
X

Southern Area
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Washington | MARYLAND: Baltimore, Frederick, Landover, Rockville, Salisbury | VIRGINIA: Hampton, Norfolk, Richmond, Roanoke, Vienna | WEST VIRGINIA: Bridgeport, Charleston, Parkersburg
Washington DC
WashingtonDCFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
THE WASHINGTON DC FIELD
OFFICE (WDCFO) is an executive
led field office and one of the largest
in IRS-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
healthcare 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.
View FO Cases
Assistant Special Agent in Charge makes remarks during a press conference.
Washington field office leadership at the local CBS affiliate WUSA9.
Special agent participates in a podcast.
Special agent demonstrates surveillance van to students.
Special Agent in Charge briefs students at Citizen Academy event.
59
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X

Appendix Page 1 of 2
This appendix includes investigation data appearing in the annual report as well as
extended information regarding incarceration rates.
Follow us for more information and to stay updated on CI.
@IRS_CI
irs.gov/ci
IRS Criminal Investigation
Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement (J5)
IRS-CI
J5 Website
Corporate Fraud
2024
2023
2022
Investigations
Initiated
23
34
34
Prosecution
Recommendations
16
31
25
Informations/
Indictments
14
26
23
Sentenced
22
19
28
Incarceration
Rate
77%
79%
89%
Average Months
to Serve
44
22
46
Employment Tax
2024
2023
2022
Investigations
Initiated
209
221
223
Prosecution
Recommendations
113
115
168
Informations/
Indictments
106
128
142
Sentenced
104
103
101
Incarceration
Rate
72%
84%
70%
Average Months
to Serve
17
20
18
Financial Institution Fraud
2024
2023
2022
Investigations
Initiated
32
28
29
Prosecution
Recommendations
21
25
26
Informations/
Indictments
27
20
20
Sentenced
30
16
32
Incarceration
Rate
47%
81%
81%
Average Months
to Serve
18
45
41
Healthcare Fraud
2024
2023
2022
Investigations
Initiated
60
44
76
Prosecution
Recommendations
36
36
68
Informations/
Indictments
34
32
69
Sentenced
58
56
56
Incarceration
Rate
62%
80%
80%
Average Months
to Serve
25
39
29
FY Combined Results
2024
2023
2022
Investigations
Initiated
2667
2676
2558
Prosecution
Recommendations
1794
1838
1837
Informations/
Indictments
1669
1676
1670
Sentenced
1582
1479
1490
Incarceration
Rate
76%
79%
77%
Average Months
to Serve
44
48
42
Abusive Return Preparer Program
2024
2023
2022
Investigations
Initiated
190
201
175
Prosecution
Recommendations
91
108
93
Informations/
Indictments
83
92
112
Sentenced
84
134
129
Incarceration
Rate
80%
72%
69%
Average Months
to Serve
20
23
19
Abusive Tax Schemes
2024
2023
2022
Investigations
Initiated
92
103
74
Prosecution
Recommendations
55
36
58
Informations/
Indictments
37
40
35
Sentenced
36
26
32
Incarceration
Rate
83%
77%
88%
Average Months
to Serve
47
36
52
Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)
2024
2023
2022
Investigations
Initiated
542
511
544
Prosecution
Recommendations
381
350
352
Informations/
Indictments
347
319
338
Sentenced
316
235
267
Incarceration
Rate
73%
77%
71%
Average Months
to Serve
29
32
24
60
2024 | IRS-CI ANNUAL REPORT

Appendix Page 2 of 2
This appendix includes investigation data appearing in the annual report as well as
extended information regarding incarceration rates.
Non-Filer
2024
2023
2022
Investigations
Initiated
221
251
260
Prosecution
Recommendations
131
141
152
Informations/
Indictments
127
115
115
Sentenced
101
116
116
Incarceration
Rate
75%
83%
78%
Average Months
to Serve
25
28
35
Public Corruption
2024
2023
2022
Investigations
Initiated
44
37
26
Prosecution
Recommendations
38
18
24
Informations/
Indictments
34
15
27
Sentenced
26
38
38
Incarceration
Rate
77%
82%
84%
Average Months
to Serve
32
37
39
Questionable Refund Program
2024
2023
2022
Investigations
Initiated
109
93
66
Prosecution
Recommendations
43
39
58
Informations/
Indictments
18
40
51
Sentenced
57
65
65
Incarceration
Rate
84%
72%
80%
Average Months
to Serve
52
42
28
Terrorism
2024
2023
2022
Investigations
Initiated
21
14
48
Prosecution
Recommendations
15
12
37
Informations/
Indictments
15
12
33
Sentenced
28
9
9
Incarceration
Rate
57%
67%
44%
Average Months
to Serve
17
127
13
Money Laundering
2024
2023
2022
Investigations
Initiated
1080
955
962
Prosecution
Recommendations
805
805
796
Informations/
Indictments
693
675
701
Sentenced
515
479
418
Incarceration
Rate
81%
84%
83%
Average Months
to Serve
67
74
71
Narcotics
2024
2023
2022
Investigations
Initiated
627
528
592
Prosecution
Recommendations
523
480
495
Informations/
Indictments
514
451
475
Sentenced
468
418
353
Incarceration
Rate
82%
85%
81%
Average Months
to Serve
83
89
82
Identity Theft
2024
2023
2022
Investigations
Initiated
106
137
101
Prosecution
Recommendations
74
96
97
Informations/
Indictments
67
98
88
Sentenced
87
81
101
Incarceration
Rate
89%
80%
85%
Average Months
to Serve
58
50
38
International Operations
2024
2023
2022
Investigations
Initiated
174
147
163
Prosecution
Recommendations
139
128
161
Informations/
Indictments
152
117
143
Sentenced
149
128
130
Incarceration
Rate
82%
85%
77%
Average Months
to Serve
59
63
52
61
2024 | IRS-CI ANNUAL REPORT

Publication 3583 (Rev. 12-2024) Catalog Number 29201R Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service www.irs.gov

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IRS Criminal Investigation Annual Report — Fiscal Year 2024

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