The Justice Department announced a nationwide tax fraud crackdown Wednesday involving 76 defendants and more than $490 million in estimated intended tax losses, including new charges against 31 individuals accused of schemes targeting American taxpayers.
The first-ever National Tax Enforcement Surge brought together 35 U.S. attorneys' offices and IRS criminal investigators over approximately six weeks. The operation resulted in 23 new charging actions involving more than $350 million in alleged intended tax losses, while another 45 defendants were involved in trials, guilty pleas and sentencings associated with nearly $140 million in estimated intended losses.
"Every dollar stolen through tax fraud is a dollar taken from the American people," Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a news release "What we uncovered during this concentrated surge is only the tip of the iceberg. The Department of Justice is committed to expanding our investigations and exposing schemes designed to evade accountability, because there is no safe haven for fraudsters."