Tax Fraud Focus of New
IRS Criminal Investigation Web Section

WASHINGTON - The Internal Revenue Service announced the establishment of a Web section designed to alert taxpayers and tax practitioners to tax scams and fraud schemes.

The Web site highlights priorities for IRS Criminal Investigation (CI). Currently, CI is focusing on abusive foreign and domestic trusts, employment tax evasion and non-filers that do not comply with the requirement to file tax returns. Case summaries of individuals recently convicted of committing those crimes are included on these pages.

“For those looking for reliable information to counter claims by scam artists and snake-oil salesmen, this is the place to go,” said IRS Commissioner Charles O. Rossotti.

"Money is the motivating factor in fraud schemes and tax evasion cases," said Mark E. Matthews, Chief, Criminal Investigation. "Our Special Agents are experts at tracing the money and following financial transactions and the results of their work can be seen on these pages."

The Web site puts together information on a variety of tax scams and fraud schemes into one location. The new Web pages are part of a larger effort by the IRS to educate the public on these issues.

"The tax practitioner community and the bar associations have asked the IRS for useful information that would help them advise their clients on schemes that seem to be ‘too good to be true.´ We hope that this Web page will assist them, as well as taxpayers who are concerned about questionable tax arrangements," Rossotti said.

The Web section can be found at http://www.treas.gov or by going to www.irs.gov and clicking on a new sidebar link titled, “Tax Scams and Tax Fraud Alerts; IRS Criminal Investigation.”

The IRS reminds taxpayers to take special precautions not to fall victim to tax scams. These schemes can take several shapes, ranging from promises of "secret" tax refunds to committing illegal acts to evade tax. If people think something may be unscrupulous, they can report suspected tax fraud to the IRS at 1-800-829-0433.

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