The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a landmark nationwide tax-fraud surge operation, which has resulted in 76 convictions of individuals who defrauded the federal government of more than $490 million.
“The Fraud Division is resolved to protect American taxpayers from criminal actors on every frontier of fraud, including tax fraudsters seeking to steal the wealth of America,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. “Today’s results send a clear message to fraudsters: those who intentionally lie to steal the money of the American people should expect to answer for their conduct in federal court.”
Successful Convictions Across 28 States
According to McDonald, cases ranged across several states, including Florida, Alaska, Maine, and Minnesota.
During the operation, the DOJ convicted several defendants through two trial victories, guilty pleas, and numerous sentencing convictions of criminal fraudsters.
Surge's Bread & Butter Cases: Tax Return Preparer Fraud
One of the operation’s most prominent cases involved tax return preparer fraud.
“One of the bread and butter cases of tax enforcement efforts are return preparer cases,” McDonald said. “Dirty return preparer crimes are particularly corrosive to public trust because they undermine ordinary American citizens’ trust in our tax system.”
Two Convictions in Florida
In Florida, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) division and the DOJ’s Fraud Division secured two convictions against individuals who filed false tax returns.
The DOJ charged business owner Jose Da Costa Gomez with conspiracy to defraud the U.S., filing false returns, wire fraud conspiracy, and wire fraud.
Da Costa Gomez and his family members allegedly used his company funds to pay tens of millions of dollars in personal expenses. His business also allegedly evaded Florida sales and use taxes through shipping schemes.
The DOJ also sentenced a Florida man to 36 months in prison for filing a false return on behalf of a trust he controlled as part of a $4.2 million fraud scheme.
