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Tax / IRS Fraud
Every year, the government loses countless dollars on account of tax fraud. For combating the issue, both the Pittsburgh area and the IRS have adopted different whistleblower programs which offer good rewards to people who report businesses and individuals that owe tax liabilities.
Some of the common tax or IRS fraud schemes include:
- Evade the payment of sales taxes
- Falsely claim credits
- Hide or fail to report income, or exaggerate deductions or expenses
- Pay an employee under the table and/or misclassify him or her
- Invest in or promote fake tax shelters
- Hide income in offshore, secret accounts
Getting investigated for such a fraud can be a horrifying experience. Along with poring over your tax returns, the federal prosecutors, as well as the IRS, will also drop in at your office or home to question you regarding every facet of your expenses and income. Here you will require the assistance of the best Pittsburgh tax fraud lawyer. This is where Logue Law Group can help you. We have a detailed understanding of the law and possess the ability to stand up on your behalf to the federal authorities.
What is Federal Tax Fraud?
The federal law considers the below-mentioned cases illegal:
- Filing a false tax return which will under-report your income
- Filing false documents
- Not filing a return completely
- Avoiding the payment of the taxes which you owe, especially to the government
- Not collecting employment taxes
- Money laundering
The government often doesn’t know the difference between committing an error on your tax forms and fraud. The auditor will look for deliberate and willful misconduct and may mistake carelessness or errors as bad dealings. They will in particular look for actions like understating income, concealing assets, and failure in cooperating with investigations into illegal activities by the IRS.
In most cases, if the IRS happens to audit you, they will seek to collecting your back taxes along with penalties and interest. If, after the audit, they state that you committed tax fraud, then they are likely to impose a huge penalty or may even turn you over to a criminal investigator. A tax fraud attorney can assist Pittsburgh residents with protecting their rights if this process begins. And if you are investigated by the federal government for another crime, then they are likely to check your tax returns, as well. In fact, they will look for huge expenditures that exceed the reported income and should they manage to find it, they will consider that as a clue that indeed you were getting income from the various illegal sources. You can be in danger of tax fraud along with the activities which they allege that you have committed.
What Will be the Penalty?
Once convicted of Tax or IRS fraud, you may have to pay a fine of about $100,000. In the case of a corporation, this amount can go up to $500,000. Or, you could be sent to a federal prison for up to 5 years. The truth is, you will be required to pay the expenditure for prosecuting every separate tax crime. You will probably end up with a debt that is double or more the amount you originally owed.
Ways in Which a Pittsburgh Tax Fraud Attorney Can Help
Prosecutors are required to prove that you willfully and deliberately did something wrong. Your Pittsburgh criminal defense attorney will make sure that does not happen. He can show the judge and jury that you did not understand the law, or that you made a simple mathematical error.
Once charged with such a fraud, you will have to face a determined Pittsburgh prosecutor and inflexible laws. Here, our top Pittsburgh criminal defense lawyer can help you in determining all the choices and attain the finest result for your case.
To get in touch and schedule a free initial consultation with an experienced tax fraud lawyer in the Pittsburgh area, contact us online or call (412) 612-2210.