The U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday the first nationwide “tax fraud surge” that led to prosecutorial actions against 76 defendants in 45 days whose alleged crimes totaled an intended loss of over $490 million.
The enforcement action involved 35 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division, and IRS Criminal Investigation, according to a DOJ statement.
The DOJ said new charges against 31 defendants involved more than $350 million in estimated intended losses to the federal government, while trials, guilty pleas and sentencings involving 45 other defendants accounted for nearly $140 million in estimated intended losses.
“We must protect and restore the billions of dollars being stolen from the American people every year,” U.S. Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald said at a press conference. “We will continue to prosecute fraudsters who intentionally violate a known legal duty by lying to the IRS, cheating the federal government out of lawful revenue, and stealing money that would otherwise fund vital government programs.”…