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Tim’s Tax News on the Tenth – December 2024

Timothy M. Hughes • December 10, 2024

IRS Releases Fiscal Year 2024 Criminal Investigation Annual Report

The Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (“IRS-CI”) recently released its Fiscal Year 2024 (October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024) Annual Report that details significant cases involving crimes ranging from tax fraud to cybercrime, enhanced domestic and foreign partnerships and investigative statistics for the 2024 Fiscal Year.

The 2024 report highlights several firsts for the IRS – the first sentencings tied to syndicated conservation easement schemes, the first sentencings and guilty plea of a U.S. taxpayer solely for not paying taxes on gains from cryptocurrency sales, the first time Treasury agencies have led a task force and public outreach series to combat fentanyl trafficking, and a historic financial settlement by the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange for violating anti-money laundering and sanctions laws.

In Fiscal Year 2024, IRS-CI initiated more than 2,667 criminal investigations, obtained 1,571 convictions, and reclaimed its 90% conviction rate. The agency’s investigative work identified over $9.1 billion in fraud from tax and financial crimes, obtained court orders totaling $1.7 billion in restitution to the IRS, and seized criminal assets totaling approximately $1.2 billion.

Other significant items in this year’s annual report include:

IRS-CI extended the agency’s international footprint by launching a new attaché post in Nassau, Bahamas, and a Cyber attaché post in Singapore.
The International Training Team delivered more than 30 trainings to over 930 participants from more than 70 countries. These trainings play a critical role in global partnerships and investigations.
Combatting cybercrime continued to be a focus for the agency. In Fiscal Year 2024 alone, IRS-CI initiated 111 new cybercrime investigations, and defendants in these cases continue to receive prison sentences averaging more than five years.

If you would like more details, please do not hesitate to call our office. Our office has been successful in helping taxpayers with IRS and IDOR collection problems for over 30 years. If you have a tax or debt problem, please contact me at 847-705-9698 or thughes@lavellelaw.com and find out how we can help you.

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