Experienced Massachusetts Lawyer Handling the Investigation of Foreign Bank Accounts
In recent years, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has begun examining more closely the foreign bank accounts of U.S. citizens to determine if income from these sources has gone unreported. Certain banks in specific countries have been targeted to date, with all foreign banking institutions that hold accounts for U.S. citizens being open to future scrutiny.
At the law office of Theodore L. Craft, Esq., LLM, clients can trust their most complex tax and banking matters to our principal attorney, Ted Craft. With over 35 years of experience handling civil and criminal tax matters, Mr. Craft is an effective advocate and aggressive in his defense of clients. Ted is a highly skilled tax lawyer serving clients mainly in Boston, Massachusetts and surrounding communities. Clients throughout the state that or who have foreign bank accounts which have been the source of unreported income may come under investigation in the normal course with the spread of IRS "programs" profiling the typical taxpayer who may, if they qualify, participate in a compliance initiative the purpose of which is to bring them into compliance without the full measure of penalty imperatives being imposed because of their cooperation.
The investigation of foreign bank accounts has resulted from the success of the IRS's initiative further to examination of credit cards and other banking transactions, such as purported loans, originating from overseas or offshore banks. Individuals were using credit cards issued by a foreign or offshore bank or financial institution [the terms "foreign" and "offshore" are synonymous as used here] for expenses, often paying the bills with funds from an offshore account. Thus, everything was supposed by the taxpayer to be behind a "firewall." IRS suspicions about the issuer of the cards, what source of funds was used to pay the credit card bills and whether money in the foreign/offshore bank was being "hidden" there, out of the view, or so some taxpayers thought, of IRS scrutiny.
This started an avalanche of investigations. The IRS obtained summonses against major credit card companies and identified the banks that were issuing these cards. Records were obtained and due to certain U.S. and international laws, the documents had to be produced. The review of these documents led to numerous U.S. citizens being accused of hiding assets and other illegal tax activities that funded these overseas bank accounts.
Civil and criminal accusations included:
- Depositing of the proceeds from money laundering
- Hiding money from a spouse or the IRS
- Creation of false documents or account statements
- Tax evasion
We examine all the elements of the charges levied against our clients and we highlight any violations of Fourth and Fifth Amendment by the IRS or other organization investigating foreign accounts. We represent clients with overseas and offshore account matters, where potential violations occurred, but were not authorized by the client or any of their agents.
Voluntary Disclosure: Questions and Answers
For more information regarding false deduction schemes, tax scams and other fraud issues, please read further under Criminal Tax Investigations, or see postings on a site called http://www.quatloos.com/, the online Cyber Museum of Scams and Frauds.
If you are facing the investigation of a foreign bank account, contact the office of Theodore L. Craft, Esq., LLM today at 781-665-6872 to further discuss your situation with Mr. Craft.
Concentration in all tax issues with the Internal Revenue Service
Formerly with the IRS Office of Chief Counsel
Theodore L. Craft, Esq., LLM,
Attorney At Law and Tax Counsel
49 Myrtle Street
Melrose, MA 02176
Telephone: 781-665-6872 | 617-523-7600 | 1-888-TAX-RISK
Fax: 781-662-2430
Email
Boston tax attorney Theodore L. Craft serves clients throughout greater Boston and surrounding towns and throughout Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire. Communities represented include Newton, Cambridge, Weston, Wellesley, Winchester, Waltham, Burlington, Peabody, Salem, Marblehead, Danvers, Cape Cod and the Islands.
Suffolk County • Middlesex County • Worcester County • Norfolk County • Plymouth County
