Tax/IRS Whistleblower Attorney (January Update)

Blow the Whistle on Tax Fraud or Other Crimes with the Help of an Experienced IRS Whistleblower Attorney

The United States loses $1 trillion in revenue to tax fraud and other tax law violations annually. This estimate from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) means that the “tax gap” far and away surpasses the national deficit each year. While the federal government has recently undertaken efforts to enhance the IRS’s enforcement resources, the IRS still relies heavily on whistleblowers to help it uncover violations of the Internal Revenue Code. As a result, whistleblowers play a critical role; and, if you have information (or believe you may have information) about tax evasion or tax fraud, it is important that you speak with an IRS whistleblower attorney about coming forward.

At Oberheiden P.C., we represent tax whistleblowers nationwide. If you have information (or believe you may have information) about any type of tax law violation, a whistleblower lawyer at our law firm can help you decide whether to come forward. If you decide to contact the IRS, we can then submit your whistleblower complaint and work with the IRS on your behalf. We have extensive experience representing whistleblowers; and, as several of our attorneys and consultants investigated and prosecuted tax crimes for the federal government before entering private practice, we are well-versed in how the IRS works to pursue recovery of unpaid taxes, interest, and penalties.

We Help IRS Whistleblowers Expose All Types of Federal Tax Law Violations

Tax violations can take many different forms. Whether civil or criminal in nature, violations of the Internal Revenue Code and other federal tax statutes add to the tax gap—and they ultimately shift more of the tax burden to those who dutifully pay their taxes on time.

Whistleblowers can help reduce the tax gap by holding violators accountable.

We help whistleblowers nationwide report all types of tax law violations to the IRS. This includes not only underreporting and underpayment of income tax liability, but numerous other violations as well. For example, if you have information (or believe you may have information) about any of the following, we encourage you to speak with a tax whistleblower lawyer at Oberheiden P.C. about your next steps:

• 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) tax exemption fraud
• Corporate income tax violations
• Cryptocurrency-related tax violations
• Employee Retention Credit (ERC) fraud
• Employment tax violations (including trust fund and FICA tax violations)
• Estate and gift tax fraud
• False or fraudulent business deductions (including business deductions for personal expenses)
• Fraudulent charitable deductions
• False or fraudulent micro-captive insurance arrangements and syndicated conservation easements
• Offshore tax fraud (including failure to disclose foreign financial assets and accounts)
• Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) fraud
• Use of abusive tax shelters

Again, these are just examples. No matter what information you have in your possession, no matter how you obtained it, and no matter what you believe it represents, we encourage you to contact us to discuss filing a whistleblower complaint with the IRS. In many cases, the information that whistleblowers uncover is just the tip of the iceberg, and working with the IRS can lead to the exposure of substantial unpaid tax liabilities.

Put our highly experienced team on your side

Dr. Nick Oberheiden

Founder

Attorney-at-Law

Lynette S. Byrd

Former DOJ Trial Attorney

Partner

Brian J. Kuester

Former U.S. Attorney

Hon. Kevin McCarthy

55th Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives (ret.)

Government Consultant

Mike Pompeo

Of Counsel

Former U.S. Secretary of State

John W. Sellers

Former Senior DOJ Trial Attorney

Linda Julin McNamara

Federal Appeals Attorney

Nicholas B. Johnson

Former Prosecutor

Roger Bach

Former Special Agent (DOJ)

Chris J. Quick

Former Special Agent (FBI & IRS-CI)

Michael S. Koslow

Former Supervisory Special Agent (DOD-OIG)

Ray Yuen

Former Supervisory Special Agent (FBI)

Determining if You Qualify as an IRS Whistleblower

Do you qualify as an IRS whistleblower? If you have information about a potential tax law violation that you have obtained through your employment, the answer is most likely, “Yes.”

But, there are some exceptions. For example, to qualify as an IRS whistleblower, you must generally be the first to come forward with the information that you have. Additionally, as outlined by the IRS, the following individuals do not qualify as IRS whistleblowers (though they may qualify for protection under other federal laws):

• U.S. Department of Treasury employees and others who obtained their information through their official duties as a federal government employee or as an employee/taxpayer of a federal contractor;
• Individuals who are required by federal law or regulation to disclose the information they have in their possession (or are precluded by federal law or regulation from making a protected disclosure); and,
• Individuals who obtained their information from others who do not qualify for whistleblower program protection.

As you can see, the universe of individuals who are ineligible to serve as IRS whistleblowers is fairly limited. As a result, if you work in the private sector and believe you may have information about tax evasion, tax fraud, or any other federal tax-related violation, we strongly encourage you to speak with an IRS whistleblower attorney at Oberheiden P.C. We can determine if you qualify—and, regardless of whether you qualify, we can help you make informed decisions about what to do next.

Submitting a Whistleblower Complaint to the IRS

The IRS has established specific procedures for filing whistleblower complaints, and whistleblowers must carefully follow these procedures to ensure that they remain eligible for protection. Once we determine your eligibility and you make the decision to file, we can then handle the process of filing your whistleblower complaint with the IRS on your behalf.

After we submit your complaint, the IRS will investigate to determine what additional evidence is available. This itself is a process that can take several months, if not longer. Our attorneys will remain in close contact with the IRS during this time, and we will keep you updated, informed, and involved as necessary along the way.

Once the IRS completes its investigation, you will learn what next steps (if any) the agency has decided to take. These next steps could range from imposing civil liability to working with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to pursue criminal charges. If your information leads to a financial recovery by the government, you may be entitled to whistleblower compensation—and, if you are, we can assist you with obtaining this compensation as well.

But, regardless of whether you may be entitled to whistleblower compensation from the IRS, the key is that you make an informed decision about coming forward—and that you follow the correct procedures if you decide to blow the whistle. Our attorneys are here to help, and you can work with a tax whistleblower attorney at Oberheiden P.C. at no out-of-pocket cost.

FAQs: Blowing the Whistle on Federal Tax Evasion or Tax Fraud with the IRS