IRS Criminal Investigation

Transcription

1 IRS Criminal Investigation

2 Overview IRS Criminal Investigation IRS Strategic Plan FY2013 Year in Review Emphasis Areas

3 IRS Criminal Investigation 3,647 employees worldwide 2,554 Special Agents IRS Criminal Investigation is the only agency with jurisdiction over Title 26 violations The tax laws and tax convictions are our focus!

4 IRS Strategic Plan Strategic Plan Improve service to make voluntary compliance easier Enforce the law to ensure everyone meets their obligation to pay taxes Invest for high performance people and technology

5 FY 2013 Statistics FY 2012 FY 2013 Investigations Initiated Prosecution Recommendations Information/Indictments Total Convictions Total Sentenced Percent to Prison 81.5% 80.1% Average Months to Serve 44 44

6 Direct Investigative Time FY 2012 FY 2013 Legal Source 54.2% 54.9% Illegal Source 32.3% 32.2% Narcotics 12.4% 11.8% DIT for Identity Theft was 17.4%

7 Areas of Focus International Tax Fraud Refund Crimes QRP, RPP and ID theft Money Laundering/Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) Political/Public Corruption Counterterrorism and Sovereign Citizens Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Asset Forfeiture Voluntary Disclosure Fraud Referral Program

8 International Tax Enforcement Commissioner s commitment is to increase international compliance at every level in every division at IRS CI s focus identify taxpayers who commit tax evasion by using offshore accounts and abusive schemes Pursue all violations including tax and FBARs Use all investigative avenues Expanded international presence

9 International Statistics FY2012 FY2013 Initiations Prosecution Recommendations Indictment/Informations Convictions/Conviction Rate 110/90.2% 149/94.9% Sentenced Average Months to Serve 62 51

10 Refund Crimes Consists of: Abusive Return Preparers Questionable Refund Program Identity Theft

11 Return Preparer Program Unscrupulous Return Preparers: Build up their clientele by adding false deductions to decrease tax liability, resulting in refunds or a smaller balance due; Charge significant fees to assist clients in avoiding taxes; The preparers' clients may or may not have knowledge of the false expenses, deductions, exemptions and/or credits shown on their tax returns.

12 Return Preparer Statistics FY2012 FY2013 Investigations Initiated Prosecution Recommendations Indictments Convictions/Conviction Rate 178/97.3% 207/97.2% Sentenced Incarceration Rate 84.3% 78.0% Average Months to Serve 29 27

13 Questionable Refund Program Schemes to file fraudulent returns using false documents, and in some cases, identity theft. The investigative work done by CI is a major component in the IRS s efforts to combat tax related identity theft.

14 QRP Statistics FY2012 FY2013 Investigations Initiated Prosecution Recommendations Indictments Convictions/Conviction Rate 316/97.8% 746/96.0% Sentenced Incarceration Rate 85.5% 76.7% Average Months to Serve 35 35

15 Identity Theft Occurs when someone uses your personal information without your permission to file a tax return. Identity Theft can affect taxpayers in two ways: Refund-related Employment-related or Income-related

16 Identity Theft FY2012 FY2013 Investigations Initiated Prosecution Recommendations Indictments Sentenced Incarceration Rate 89.2% 80.6% Average Months to Serve Direct Investigative Time % 12.6% 17.4%

17 Money Laundering Tax Evasion in Progress Hide untaxed income (usually illegal sourced income) Gives the money the appearance of coming from a legitimate source

18 Money Laundering Statistics FY2012 FY2013 Investigations Initiated Prosecution Recommendations Indictments Sentenced Incarceration Rate 84.7% 85.4% Average Months to Serve 64 68

19 Bank Secrecy Act Bank Secrecy Act Joint effort with SB/SE SAR Review Teams CI is the largest user of BSA data

20 Bank Secrecy Act FY2012 FY2013 Investigations Initiated Prosecution Recommendations Indictments Convictions/Conviction Rate 369/90.9% 556/92.1% Sentenced Incarceration Rate 76.6% 70.6% Average Months to Serve 40 36

21 Political/Public Corruption Criminal Investigation (CI) investigates individuals who violate the public trust. The subjects of these investigations include both elected and appointed officials from all levels of government including, local, county, state, federal, and foreign officials. Public corruption investigations encompass a wide variety of criminal offenses including bribery, extortion, embezzlement, illegal kickbacks, entitlement and subsidy fraud, bank fraud, tax fraud, and money laundering.

22 Political / Public Corruption FY 2013 FY 2012 Investigations Initiated Prosecution Recommendations Indictments/Informations Sentenced Incarceration Rate* 91.2% 87.5% Average Months to Serve 36 32

23 Counterterrorism Garden City Lead Development Center Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTF)

24 Counterterrorism Statistics FY2012 FY2013 Investigations Initiated Prosecution Recommendations Indictments Convictions/Conviction Rate 13/92.9% 17/81.0% Sentenced Incarceration Rate 58.8% 61.9% Average Months to Serve 22 54

25 Voluntary Disclosure FY 2013 received 3,594 total disclosures for program, which began on January 9, CI focusing on: Promoters of offshore structures used to evade US taxation Banks willingly participating in such schemes Taxpayers who knowingly used such schemes, yet failed to make a disclosure

26 Fraud Referral Program Key source of high income tax fraud investigations Partnership with other IRS Business Operating Divisions to promote fraud awareness and facilitate fraud training

27 Sources of Investigations United States Attorney s Office Other Law Enforcement Agencies Referrals from Civil Divisions Independent Case Development

28 Investigative Tools Public Record Law Enforcement Information Networks Tax Returns and IRS Records Currency Transaction Reports and Suspicious Activity Reports Garbage

29 Investigative Tools Search Warrants Interviews Electronic Monitoring Forensic Laboratory Seized Computer Specialists Surveillance Undercover Operations Subpoenas and Summons

30 Questions?