Tax Fraud Conviction Federal Appeals

Tax fraud refers to the willful falsification or misrepresentation of tax form information in an attempt to avoid tax liability. Tax evasion is a form of tax fraud which usually entails an individual or corporation who fails to report their taxable income. However, there are several other forms of tax fraud which include overstating, reduction or exemption of income, claiming personal expenditure, claiming a non-existent dependent, filing tax under a social security number which is false, and keeping two or more sets of books. Tax violations in most cases could result in civil penalties such as paying a heavy fine along with other punishments. In some cases, the government even decides to prosecute it as a criminal offence leading to imprisonment. Return to our main federal crime appeals lawyers page to read more.

What Is Federal Tax Fraud?

Under the federal criminal code, tax fraud and tax evasion are different crimes. When people provide incorrect information on their tax return, like neglecting to report their full income or filing of false tax claim in the name of other people. Tax evasion refers to refraining from filing tax forms or interrupting the filing of taxable funds. Receiving money from other sources without labeling it as money orders or cash when it ought to be claimed as income is also a part of tax evasion. This includes failure of filing return, false claims for deductions and false statements on returns. Aggravated identity theft and money laundering charges also fall under the purview of tax fraud or evasion charges and carry a  compulsory minimum of continuous 2 years added to any other offences charged. Following is the list of some of the possible tax crimes:

• Money laundering
• false claims
• filing a fraudulent or false tax return
• false statements
• attempt to defeat or evade tax
• presenting fraudulent or false documents willfully
• intentional failure to pay or collect taxes
• aggravated identity theft
• interfering with the administration of tax laws
• abetting for adding tax fraud crime or tax evasion

Tax Fraud Appeals Attorneys: Tax Evasion Appeals and Successful Tax Fraud

Tax Fraud Offenses under 26 U.S.C. § 7201, 26 U.S.C. § 7206, 26 U.S.C. § 7207, 18 U.S.C. § 371

Federal tax fraud appeals lawyers understand the seriousness of the consequences of a Federal Tax fraud conviction. You could find relief from the conviction by hiring a knowledgeable and experienced tax fraud appeals attorney in any of the following cases:

• under 26 U.S.C. § 7202, tax fraud offence involving tax evasion,
• under 26 U.S.C. § 7206, under-reporting tax returns for inflation of deductions,
• under 18 U.S.C. § 371, planning to defraud the government with regards to tax claims,
• under 26 U.S.C. § 7207, making false statements or returns,
• any other form of federal Tax fraud offence.

U.S. Sentencing Guidelines § 2T1.1-2T4.1: You require a Federal Tax Fraud Lawyer who is aware of the Appropriate Sentences for Tax Fraud Convictions

It is important that you to contact an experienced and knowledgeable Federal criminal appeals lawyer as soon as possible if you feel that your tax fraud conviction was unfair or unjustified. You may have been subjected to severe penalties which exceed the appropriate limit by the sentencing judge who could have erroneously increased your Federal Tax fraud penalty.

The United States sentencing guidelines clearly list down the appropriate sentence imposed for the level of the crime. In 1987 certain tax fraud sentencing guidelines were modified in an effort to check the tax fraud crimes and eventually led to the increase in the fine ceilings and average prison terms.

Offense level increases by 2 levels or reaches level 12 (if the offence level is less than 12) in the cases where tax evasion crime exceeds 10,000 dollars. The Sentencing Guidelines Tax Table lists the penalty increases for higher tax payment and evasion losses. If the loss is of $2000 or less, the offence level rises to level 6. The loss of more than $2000, increases the level of offence to 8, over $5000 loss , raises the offence level to 10 and it reaches level 12 when the loss exceeds $12,500. An offence involving an amount of $400,000,000 or more increases the offence level to 36. Careless application of these sentencing guidelines could lead to severe damages to the conviction and one should not have to face unfair fines or prolonged prison sentences due to the errors made by the lower courts.

 

 

Enhancements for Penalties of Tax Fraud Convictions

A number of factors can affect the sentencing judge’s’ decision which could lead to a drastic enhancement in your sentence. For example, your sentence could be subjected to enhancement if the tax fraud offence involved an elaborate plan or “sophisticated means” to attempt tax fraud. A further enhancement of the penalty could also occur if your tax fraud was connected to another white-collar crime like embezzlement, money laundering, a RICO violation or larceny. There is also a possibility that the sentence imposed was enhanced in an unfair manner. Hence, do not refrain from taking advice from a tax evasion appeals lawyer to discuss the case and the chances of appealing against your tax fraud sentence. Contact us at 1-888-233-8895.

Federal Criminal Appeals Lawyers handling Tax Evasion Convictions

Overview of Tax Evasion: 26 U.S.C. § 7201

It is illegal under the Federal Law to intentionally attempt to defeat or evade taxes. Any individual who attempts to indulge in such an act would be held guilty of felony and can be subjected to a fine of $250,000 (for individual) or $500,000 (for corporation) in addition to 5 years imprisonment. Tax evasion generally involves income tax returns where a corporation or an individual excludes the income on a return, understates a tax return falsely or makes untrue deductions or claims. All these acts have to be intentional and the prosecution must prove that there is evidence of criminal intent in the criminal tax adjustments being made. A simple failure or delay of filing a tax return cannot be termed tax evasion. An obvious act of tax evasion includes filing a return which is false or altered entries, “spies evasion”, failure to file a Return Equals Evasion or filing false W-4’s among others.

“Spies Evasion” under 26 U.S.C. 7201

“Spies Evasion” refers to the failure of filing a tax return along with another deliberate act of tax evasion. Deliberate Acts include making altered or false entries, destroying the records, keeping two sets of books, making forged invoices, hiding sources of income and other similar practices with the aim to mislead the authorities.

Prosecution of Tax Evasion: Evidence of Willfulness and Criminal Intent

The government should be able to prove the illegal tax adjustments included in the evidence against you and establish that the crime involved an intention to mislead the government, in order to accuse you of tax evasion. Such conducts include failure to give an accountant complete and accurate information, signing a return with the information that the return states an understated income, recent and prior acts similar to the offence, and so on.  You have a chance to appeal your tax fraud conviction if you feel that the court made an error in the judgment due to the failure of the prosecution to prove your willfulness or intent to commit tax fraud.

Federal Tax Fraud: Payment Evasion under 26 U.S.C. § 7201

After the discovery of the offender’s act of avoiding payment of taxes by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), if the offender attempts to hide the assets or money for which the tax was to be paid, it is called an offence of evasion of payment. Examples of payment evasions include the following:

 

• bankruptcy fraud,
• Hiding assets by using other people’s bank accounts,
• Giving false statements as a taxpayer to the IRS agent denying the ownership of a certain property
• Placing assets under the name of third parties and extensively using their credit cards to make payments, and
• Making cash transactions for all business and personal needs.

Federal Criminal Appeals Attorneys have the Knowledge to Handle Corporate Tax Fraud

The punishments for tax fraud offences are already very severe, but the penalty ceiling increases significantly when the tax fraud crime involves a corporation. The U.S law orders the corporations to file income tax returns on an annual basis and have other requirements for individual taxpayers by the IRS. Heavy penalties are imposed if these requirements are not met.

Where an individual is fined up to $100,000 for a tax fraud offence, a corporation can be fined 5 times this amount along with prosecution costs of each of the tax fraud offence. In addition to being costly, a corporate tax fraud could be detrimental to your company. If the survival of your business is threatened by a corporate tax fraud conviction, then you should immediately consult with a tax fraud appeals attorney for advice on the steps to be taken.

Employment Tax Fraud: Employment Tax Evasion Convictions understood by Federal Criminal Appeals

A wide range of offences could lead to convictions in employment tax fraud. Common instances where employment tax fraud can arise include hiring illegal immigrants, failing to pay employment taxes to the government, failure of payment of payroll taxes and indulging in under the table payments. The Internal Revenue Services (IRS) lays down the types of Employment Tax Evasion Schemes as follows:

• “Pyramiding: The fraudulent practice where a business withholds taxes from its employees but intentionally fails to remit them to the IRS
• Employment Leasing: The practice of contracting with outside businesses to handle all administrative, personnel, and payroll concerns for employees. Abuse happens when the employee-leasing companies fail to pay over to the IRS and the money is spent by the business or owners instead.
• Paying Employees in Cash: The method of tax evasion that not only results in lost revenue for the government but also a loss of employee benefits for the employee.
• Failing to file/Filing False Payroll Tax Returns: Preparing false payroll tax returns understating the amount of wages on which taxes are owed, or failing to file employment tax returns are methods commonly used to evade employment taxes.”

Offshore Accounts Fraud: Tax Evasion Appeals Lawyers required for grave Federal Tax Fraud Convictions

Corporations and citizens of the United States are legally bound to pay income taxes from their accounts abroad, even though the offshore financial activity is declared legal. Heavy fines are imposed on those individuals and corporations who attempt to hide their income and assets from the government.

Abusive Offshore Tax Avoidance Program

The Abusive Tax Scheme Program falls under the scope of offshore tax fraud which refers to those taxpayers who exploit the secrecy laws of jurisdictions abroad in an attempt to conceal assets and income prone to taxation by the U.S. government. Forms of schemes and entities used under Abusive Offshore Tax Schemes include LLCs and LLPs, foreign trusts, offshore private annuities, International Business Companies (IBCs), foreign partnerships and corporations, private banking and more.

 

Appeals for Money Laundering Tax Fraud Convictions

In case of a money laundering scheme if the money is not accounted for, it means that the taxes are not paid. To prevent the government from detecting the illegal source, illegal activity is often “laundered” and income stemmed from drug trafficking. The defendant could be convicted with a tax fraud offence upon the discovery of money laundering scheme.

Federal Tax Fraud: Why is it important to Contact a Tax Fraud Lawyer?

 

The federal appeal lawyers at the Brownstone Law firm are experienced and knowledgeable federal appellate attorneys. Our tax fraud appeal attorneys are hired by clients from across the United States to represent their case before every appellate federal court in the country. We can professionally handle your Federal appeals and are certified in every Appellate Federal court. The federal appeal lawyers at our firm handle both Federal Criminal Appeals and Federal Civil Appeals.

Connect with Robert Sirianni our federal appellate attorney at (888) 233-8895.

Your case will be reviewed by our firm’s tax fraud lawyer and they would provide you with the appropriate legal strategy and suggestions on how to proceed with your case. Get a free consultation at Brownstone Law firm by contacting our tax fraud lawyers at 1-888-233-8895. We are experienced in all appellate federal circuit courts and we represent clients in all federal circuit courts of appeal throughout the Nation. Contact us now to discuss your conviction or post-conviction appeal by completing the contact form.