Aug 30, 2024 | federal investigations
On August 29, 2024, the Department of Justice announced Roy L. Layne, an Arizona resident, pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud and filing a false refund claim with the IRS. Layne’s plea is connected to allegations that he submitted false applications for COVID-19...
Aug 12, 2024 | False Claims Act, federal investigations, Fraud Investigations
Last week, the DOJ announced two separate False Claims Act (FCA) settlements alleging the avoidance of import duties. Both were the result of qui tam whistleblower lawsuits. First, on August 8, 2024, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of...
Jun 27, 2024 | Criminal Matters, federal investigations, SEC Investigations, White Collar Crime
This week, the Supreme Court issued a flurry of important decisions, including two major decisions related to white collar criminal enforcement, both which deal significant blows to the government. Snyder v. United States – Supreme Court Significantly Limits Scope of...
Jun 13, 2024 | federal investigations
On May 31, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced two convictions in an alleged “wide-ranging scheme” involving the use of stolen identities and fraudulent tax returns used to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of $111 million. The government claims that...
Dec 4, 2023 | federal investigations
Tax return preparer fraud is one of the IRS’ Dirty Dozen Tax Scams, and the government continues its efforts to eradicate it. On November 13, 2023, the Department of Justice announced a federal court was permanently enjoining a Houston-area tax return preparer and her...
Dec 4, 2023 | federal investigations
In a landmark trial concluding on November 16, two prominent California-based corporate executives, Simon Chu and Charley Loh, faced charges of conspiracy and failure to report information related to defective residential dehumidifiers. Significantly, this case is the...
