Category Archives: criminal tax law

According to Law360, the son of a businessman convicted in the Panama Papers tax evasion scandal has pled guilty to three counts and been sentenced to time served, according to a judgment filed in federal court.

Joachim Alexander von der Goltz also was sentenced to pay $230,000 in restitution for three counts of conspiracy to commit tax evasion, making false statements and failing to report foreign bank accounts, said the judgment, filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Von der Goltz participated from 2000 to 2016 in a scheme to defraud the U.S., according to court documents. He had failed to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts or FBARs from 2001 through 2016 and filed a fraudulent return in 2016, court documents said. Von der Goltz in 2003 concealed the U.S. residence and assets of a taxpayer who owned an overseas account.

Von der Goltz has paid the full amount of his restitution, according to court documents. He also will have to serve three years and one year of probation on different counts, running concurrently, the judgment said.

Von der Goltz is the son of private equity manager Harald Joachim von der Goltz, who was sentenced in September to a four-year prison term for his role in the Panama Papers investigation.

Harald von der Goltz in 2020 admitted to concealing his assets from the Internal Revenue Service with the help of Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. Millions of the firm's documents were leaked to the news media in 2016, providing a glimpse into how the world's powerful people hide their wealth offshore.

Harald von der Goltz pled guilty to nine criminal counts, including tax evasion, fraud and making false statements. He was sentenced to four (4) years in prison, fined $30,000 and ordered to pay $3.4 million in restitution to the U.S. A federal judge in December delayed the start of his sentence until March to give him a chance to receive the coronavirus vaccine.

 Contact the Tax Lawyers at

Marini & Associates, P.A. 

for a FREE Tax HELP Contact us at:
www.TaxAid.com or www.OVDPLaw.com
or Toll Free at 888 8TAXAID (888-882-9243) 

Read more at: Tax Times blog

Jami Kopacz SOURCE: TWITTER

A Florida man was sentenced on March 5, 2021 to 21 months in prison for filing a false tax return. 

Jami Kopacz, of Fort Lauderdale, pleaded guilty to filing a false corporate tax return on Dec. 16, 2020. According to court documents and statements made in court, Kopacz worked as a paid escort for clients across the United States. Kopacz received payments directly from his escort clients, and from a private business for whom he worked as an independent contractor. 

From 2015 to 2018, Kopacz used his corporation, JK Training LLC, to receive income, and then filed false corporate tax returns (Forms 1120S) that substantially underreported the company’s gross receipts and total income. 

Kopacz, described as a “paid escort” by authorities, was the manager and sole shareholder of JK Training LLC, which was located at 901 NE 3rd St. in Fort Lauderdale. Both he and his business received cash, checks and wire transfers from clients, according to a factual statement filed with his plea agreement. Kopacz’s company also received payments from a private business for whom he worked as an independent contractor and escort. 

The false reporting of income on JK Training’s corporate tax return flowed to Kopacz’s individual tax return.

But for tax years 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018,
Kopacz acknowledged in the factual statement that he
filed false IRS returns by “knowingly” under-reporting
his corporate and personal income.

The amount of unreported income grew higher during the four-year span, resulting in a failure to pay back taxes of $27,208 in 2015, $34,920 in 2016, $101,875 in 2017 and $114,322 in 2018 for a total IRS loss of $278,325, according to federal prosecutor Christopher Browne. 

“Specifically, the defendant failed to report large amounts of cash and check payments he had received from clients,” said the factual statement, which was signed by Kopacz and his defense attorney, Richard Lubin, along with Browne and Justice Department tax attorney Grace Albinson.

In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Court Judge Roy K. Altman ordered Kopacz to pay $278,325 in restitution to the IRS. 

 Contact the Tax Lawyers at

Marini & Associates, P.A. 

for a FREE Tax HELP Contact us at:
www.TaxAid.com or www.OVDPLaw.com
or Toll Free at 888 8TAXAID (888-882-9243) 

Read more at: Tax Times blog

According to DoJ, a federal grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, returned an indictment on March 3, 2021, charging a Virginia man with failing to file Reports of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBARs) and filing false documents with the IRS. 

According to the indictment, Azizur Rahman of Herndon, had a financial interest in and signature authority over more than 20 foreign financial accounts, including accounts held in Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Singapore, and Bangladesh. From 2010 through 2016, Rahman allegedly did not disclose his interest in all of his financial accounts on annual FBARs, as required by law. Rahman also allegedly filed false individual tax returns for the tax years 2010 through 2016 that did not report to the IRS all of his foreign bank accounts and income. 

Rahman is also charged with filing a false “Streamlined Submission” in conjunction with the IRS Streamlined Domestic Offshore Procedures. Those procedures allowed eligible taxpayers residing within the United States, who failed to report gross income from foreign financial accounts on prior tax returns, failed to pay taxes on that gross income, or who failed to submit an FBAR disclosing foreign financial accounts, to voluntarily disclose their conduct to the IRS and to pay a reduced penalty if their conduct was non-willful. 

The Indictment Alleges That Rahman’s Streamlined Submission Did Not Truthfully Disclose All The Foreign Bank Accounts in Which He Had an Interest, and Falsely Claimed That His Failure To Report All Income, Pay All Tax, and Submit All Required Information Returns, Such As FBARs, Was Non-Willful.

If convicted, Rahman faces a maximum sentence of three (3) years in prison for each of the counts related to filing false tax documents. 

Rahman also faces a maximum sentence of five (5) years in prison for each count relating to his failure to file an FBAR or filing a false FBAR. 

Read more at: Tax Times blog

Tax return preparers with a valid power of attorney can save their clients time and money by using the IRS Online Payment Agreement (OPA) tool to request a payment plan (installment agreement) on their client’s behalf.

OPA can also be used to apply for an installment agreement for a 2020 Form 1040 balance of up to $50,000 before receiving a bill or notice. The advantages of using OPA include:

• Lower user fees (if applicable) compared to other application methods
• Instant notification of approval
• No need to call or write the IRS
• Expanded hours of system availability, including evenings and weekends

Requests for payment plans submitted through electronic tax software are processed similarly to mailing in a paper Form 9465, Installment Agreement Request. 

It can take 30 days or longer for the IRS to respond to payment plan requests submitted by mail or through tax software. Generally, tax preparers will save their clients time and money (subject to lower user fees) by using OPA to apply for the same payment plan instead.

 Contact the Tax Lawyers at

Marini & Associates, P.A. 

for a FREE Tax HELP Contact us at:
www.TaxAid.com or www.OVDPLaw.com
or Toll Free at 888 8TAXAID (888-882-9243) 

Read more at: Tax Times blog