rs-criminal-tax-defense Archives - Page 3 of 3

Generally, What Is the Firm’s Strategy in Criminal Cases?

May 25, 2026July 14, 2020 by Brotman Law

Key Takeaways

So strategy is the key word in that sentence.
We are very strategic and very deliberate with how we handle criminal tax cases.
We want to steer the case from being a criminal matter to going back to being a civil matter or being eliminated entirely so we take a very protective approach.

So strategy is the key word in that sentence. We are very strategic and very deliberate with how we handle criminal tax cases. We have the advantage as a firm having a very broad knowledge of tax and in a very broad knowledge of how criminal tax cases get developed and prosecuted, so when we go into a situation, obviously it’s very fact-specific but we’re looking at avenues constantly to defer criminal charges at every opportunity. We want to steer the case from being a criminal matter to going back to being a civil matter or being eliminated entirely so we take a very protective approach. We’re building up defenses, we’re working to insulate the client from any particular liability and then we’re also going on offense. The best defense sometimes is a good offense so we don’t necessarily want to litigate the entire case in the investigation stage and share facts that the criminal unit may not have been aware of but we also want to throw up roadblocks to get in their investigation, to deflate things that they may think, to challenge things that they’re building the case on, to sabotage the evidence that they have, to convince them that our guy isn’t the guy that they should be going after, that they need to target somebody else or at the very least just leave us alone. So there’s constant deliberation in all this process and I’m working to prevent the best strategy possible in any criminal investigation.

Have a Tax Question or Notice?

If you’re dealing with an IRS audit, collection action, California state tax matter, or any other tax issue, we can review your situation in a free 15-minute consultation.

Schedule a Free Call → Or call: (619) 378-3138

Why Should I Hire Brotman Law to Defend Me in My Criminal Tax Matter?

May 25, 2026July 14, 2020 by Brotman Law

Key Takeaways

When you go through a criminal tax case, there are a lot of different phases.
Criminal tax cases are marathons and not sprints.
They can be multi-year investigations, they’re a huge commitment they’re a huge threat because of the success rate of the US Attorney’s Office.

When you go through a criminal tax case, there are a lot of different phases. Criminal tax cases are marathons and not sprints. They can be multi-year investigations, they’re a huge commitment they’re a huge threat because of the success rate of the US Attorney’s Office. There is a 90% conviction rate, so you have to be on guard. They don’t take Criminal Investigations on the IRS side unless they think they’re going to be successful in a conviction and the biggest problem for clients is not just the jail time; the criminal investigative process can take so much out of a client because there are so many other negative effects between the impact that it has on a client’s family and on their children, the impact that it has on a client’s business and their professional relationships, and all those things are potentially at risk even if there is an ultimate exoneration in the case. So from our end our firm really has a lot of experience in dealing with these types of cases. We know tax in all phases of the civil side and we know it in all phases of the criminal side and so when we take on a matter, there’s a lot of strategy that goes in that process. There’s a strategy in terms of how we’re going to handle this from a legal perspective, there’s a strategy involved in terms of how we’re going to handle this from a resource perspective and it’s a fight now. Make no mistake about it; these are the biggest stakes that we face in any one of our matters, because there’s a real possibility that at the end of the day our client is going to end up in jail and we take that very seriously so we’re going to do everything that we can on our end to mitigate any consequence. We’re looking constantly for avenues to turn the case civil, to make it go away, to reduce things down to the lowest level possible – we’re constantly throwing up blocks in the investigative process. We’re constantly working with the US Attorneys and the agents to take the air out of their case and we’re fighting as hard as we can on behalf of our clients. I think it’s our tenacity that really separates us as a firm because we have the experience in going through these cases. We can empathize with our clients and we fight on their behalf, because it’s personal to us so that’s the thing I think that really separates us. What I would invite you to do is if you’re watching this and you want to know more, come sit down and talk with us. Come meet me. Come meet our senior team. Let me lay out the facts of your case and let’s figure out if it’s a good fit. If it’s not a good fit, I promise we’re not going to take the case but what I can say is if we get a sense of what the conduct is, we get a sense of what the risks are and we can develop a strategy to help mitigate those risks, I promise you that whether or not you make the decision to retain us, you’re going to be better served by walking out of our office. If you’re not better served by sitting down with us then I haven’t done my job as an attorney and I don’t tolerate that so I think those are all the reasons why we make the best criminal tax team and why you should think about retaining us as a firm.

Have a Tax Question or Notice?

If you’re dealing with an IRS audit, collection action, California state tax matter, or any other tax issue, we can review your situation in a free 15-minute consultation.

Schedule a Free Call → Or call: (619) 378-3138

What Do I Do If I Have an IRS Collection Agent (Revenue Officer) Come to My Home/Place of Business?

May 25, 2026July 11, 2020 by Brotman Law

So IRS revenue officers are field collection agents and they spend about fifty percent of the time in the field going after taxpayers and/or chasing their assets. So if a revenue officer shows up your home or place of business, understand you’re not obligated to talk to the revenue officer.

Key Takeaways

So IRS revenue officers are field collection agents and they spend about fifty percent of the time in the field going after taxpayers and/or chasing their assets.
The best thing you can do in that case is to get the revenue officer’s card and any paperwork that they have to hand to you, and then go see an attorney as soon as possible so that you can deal with the situation.
The IRS views you as a serious collection risk. That’s why they’ve signed and sent an individual field agent to come see you.

Will I Go to Jail If I Owe Money to the IRS?

May 25, 2026July 10, 2020 by Brotman Law

Owing money to the IRS will not send you to jail. The IRS is a collection agency, not a prosecution machine — and the overwhelming majority of people with tax debt never face criminal charges of any kind.

That said, the distinction between owing taxes and committing a crime is real and worth understanding. Not paying a tax bill is a civil matter. Lying to the IRS about what you owe is potentially a criminal one. Those are two different situations, governed by two different parts of the tax code, and the IRS handles them very differently.

The Legal Difference: Failure to Pay vs. Tax Evasion

Failing to pay taxes is a civil penalty under IRC § 6651. Tax evasion is a federal crime under IRC § 7201.

Under IRC § 6651(a)(2), the IRS imposes a failure-to-pay penalty of 0.5% per month on unpaid tax, up to a maximum of 25%. That’s expensive — but it’s a financial consequence, not a criminal one. The IRS assesses it by mail and collects it through the normal civil process.

Tax evasion under IRC § 7201 is different. It requires the government to prove willful conduct — that you knew you owed taxes and deliberately tried to avoid paying or reporting them. Conviction carries a potential sentence of up to five years in federal prison plus substantial fines. But conviction requires a criminal prosecution, a grand jury, a trial, and proof beyond a reasonable doubt. The bar is high. Most people with tax debt never come anywhere near it.

How Rare Criminal Prosecution Actually Is

The IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) division opened approximately 2,500 criminal cases in its most recent fiscal year, out of more than 150 million individual returns filed.

That’s a prosecution rate of roughly 0.0017%. CI focuses its resources on fraud cases with clear evidence of willful conduct: false returns, hidden offshore accounts, unreported income from illegal sources, structured cash transactions designed to avoid reporting thresholds. A taxpayer who fell behind on their tax bill and got in over their head is not the CI target profile.

The IRS prefers to collect money. Criminal prosecution is expensive, slow, and it collects nothing. The IRS has strong financial incentives to work through the civil collections process first.

What Actually Happens When You Owe Back Taxes

When you have unpaid taxes, the IRS follows a standard civil collections sequence: notices, then a lien, then collection action.

The process typically starts with a CP501 balance due notice, followed by a CP503 second notice, and then a CP504 — which is the IRS’s intent to levy. If you still don’t respond or pay, the IRS can file a Notice of Federal Tax Lien (which attaches to your property) and issue levies against your wages, bank accounts, or other assets. All of this is civil. None of it is criminal.

You have rights at each stage. You can request a Collection Due Process (CDP) hearing under IRC § 6330 to challenge the collection action or propose an alternative resolution. The IRS cannot levy while a CDP hearing is pending.

Behaviors That Shift Civil Cases Toward Criminal Investigation

The conduct that draws criminal attention is not falling behind — it is actively lying or concealing.

Specific patterns that tend to attract CI referrals: filing returns that materially understate income; holding assets through nominees to hide them from the IRS; maintaining unreported foreign accounts in violation of FBAR requirements; diverting payroll trust fund taxes for personal use; and structuring bank deposits to avoid the $10,000 currency transaction reporting threshold. These involve affirmative deception, not just unpaid bills.

If you have any of these facts in your background — even old ones — that changes the conversation and you should talk to a criminal tax attorney before doing anything else with the IRS.

What to Do If You Owe Back Taxes

The civil resolution options for back tax debt are real and the IRS uses them regularly.

Form 9465 — Installment Agreement Request — is the most common path. The IRS typically approves streamlined installment agreements for balances under $50,000 without requiring detailed financial disclosure. For larger balances or hardship situations, an Offer in Compromise (OIC) settles the debt for less than the full amount owed if you can demonstrate that the IRS cannot collect more. Currently Non-Collectible (CNC) status pauses collection when you genuinely cannot pay your basic living expenses and the tax bill. None of these require a courtroom.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will I go to jail for not filing my taxes?

Willful failure to file is a federal misdemeanor under IRC § 7203, carrying up to one year in prison — but criminal prosecution for non-filing is rare and typically reserved for people who repeatedly and deliberately fail to file while earning significant income. If you have unfiled returns, filing them late is almost always better than continuing to ignore them. The IRS has a voluntary compliance framework that generally results in civil penalties, not prosecution.

Can the IRS put you in jail for owing back taxes?

No. The IRS cannot imprison anyone. Criminal prosecution is handled by the Department of Justice on referral from IRS Criminal Investigation. The IRS’s own tools are civil: liens, levies, wage garnishments, and collection enforcement. Owing taxes — even a lot of them — does not by itself trigger a criminal referral.

What is the difference between tax fraud and tax evasion?

Tax evasion (IRC § 7201) is the criminal offense — willfully failing to pay or report taxes you owe, with the intent to evade. Tax fraud is a broader term that includes both civil fraud (IRC § 6663, a 75% penalty on underpaid tax) and criminal conduct. Civil tax fraud does not require prosecution; the IRS assesses it as a penalty. Criminal fraud or evasion requires a conviction in federal court.

If you’re dealing with back taxes and trying to figure out your options, our IRS tax debt resolution page covers installment agreements, Offers in Compromise, and when each makes sense — or book a free 15-minute call to talk through your specific situation.

Have a Tax Question or Notice?

If you’re dealing with an IRS audit, collection action, California state tax matter, or any other tax issue, we can review your situation in a free 15-minute consultation.

Schedule a Free Call → Or call: (619) 378-3138

How to Prevent Corporate Fraud

May 25, 2026January 11, 2014 by Brotman Law

This is the fourth part in my series discussing corporate fraud. For more on this topic please read

Key Takeaways

This is the fourth part in my series discussing corporate fraud.
Ultimately, all institutions should have a comprehensive fraud prevention program tailored to meet the needs of the organization. Fraud prevention programs should also include three prongs to make them healthy enough to deter fraud.
Whistleblower protections and training programs are another way to accomplish this task. Setting up a successful hotline and encouraging employees to speak out when they see or think they have discovered tool can serve as a valuable deterrent.

Types of Fraud

May 25, 2026January 11, 2014 by Brotman Law

However, financial statement manipulation is simply on the edge of the fraud landscape. Much more common are asset misappropriations. The three basic types of asset misappropriations are skimming, larceny and fraudulent disbursements. Skimming and larceny occur when cash is taken directly from the employer, the difference between the two being that skimming occurs before the cash has a chance to be reported. Fraudulent disbursements are a way of scamming the corporation into giving the fraudster payments. Fraudulent disbursements are one of the more popular method of fraud and are implemented in a number of different ways. False billing and payroll schemes are the most common according to the text. Shell companies or ghost employees are often used to make the organization distribute payment with minimal expose outside of the immediate system. In more some of the more complicated cases, corruption in all forms is prevalent. Bid rigging, kickbacks and bribes are all forms that corruption can flourish in the corporate environment. The best way to combat this is through a combination of increased security measures working in conjunction with one another to best prevent organization fraud. While the two organizations should have some overlap and maybe some shared responsibility, one is not a substitute for the other. Both are critical to maintaining the proper level of internal controls necessary to prevent fraud

Key Takeaways

However, financial statement manipulation is simply on the edge of the fraud landscape. Much more common are asset misappropriations. The three basic types of asset misappropriations are skimming, larceny and fraudulent disbursements.
External fraud is also an increasing threat to corporate security and stability. External fraud can include pyramid or ponzi schemes, credit card fraud, and information or security fraud.
In addition to credit card fraud, information security is becoming more prevalent as well. Many businesses do not have efficiently run IT security or have strong policies implemented to deter both internal and external attacked.