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IRS lists Top 10 Scams of 2023: COVID relief fraud, lottery tax scams, with cryptocurrency making up 40%

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IRS lists Top 10 Scams of 2023: COVID relief fraud, lottery tax scams, with cryptocurrency making up 40%

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced the top 10 tax fraud cases of 2023 on December 12, 2023, with 4 cases involving cryptocurrency making the list.

IRS Top 10 Cases: Taxation, COVID, Cryptocurrency Fraud

The IRS's top 10 fraud cases include:

10. Tax Fraud

Frenchman Ayodele Arasokun defrauded the IRS of $2.2 million in tax refunds, involving wire fraud and multiple cases of identity theft.

9. Benefit Fraud

Los Angeles man Edward Kim fraudulently obtained nearly $5.5 million in COVID-related unemployment benefits through identity theft.

8. Cryptocurrency Tax Evasion

Oyster Pearl cryptocurrency project founder evaded taxes of nearly $5.5 million by having family members receive project earnings on his behalf.

7. Bitcoin Hacker

Jimmy Zhong stole 50,000 BTC on the dark web in 2012 and was recently apprehended.

$3 Billion Bitcoin Heist: Wealthy Crypto Mogul's Theft Traced Back to Dark Web Thievery

6. Lottery Tax Fraud

Ali Jaafar and his two sons acquired winning lottery tickets at discounted prices, allowing winners to avoid paying any taxes or child support before claiming their prize, resulting in $6 million in lost tax revenue for the IRS.

5. Illegal Copyright Infringement Scheme

Bill Omar Carrasquillo was involved in a large-scale copyright infringement scheme and was sentenced to 66 months in prison, a $30 million fine, and $15 million in restitution.

4. Bitcoin Money Laundering Scheme

Ian Freeman engaged in romance scams to gain over $10 million in profits and laundered money. He evaded taxes from 2016 to 2019 and was sentenced to 96 months in prison with the amount of restitution to victims pending.

3. OneCoin Co-Founder Sentenced to 20 Years

OneCoin co-founder Karl Sebastian Greenwood was arrested in Thailand in July 2018 and extradited to the U.S. in October, where he has been detained since. In addition to the 20-year prison sentence, he will also be required to forfeit $300 million.

Co-Founder of OneCoin Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison, Lead Suspect Ruja Ignatova Still at Large

2. CFO Sentenced to 7 Years for Tax Evasion

Mark Anthony Gyetvay, the CFO of the major natural gas company Novatek, was sentenced to 86 months in prison and 36 months of probation for tax evasion and making false statements to the IRS. He must pay over $4 million in restitution to the IRS.

1. Renewable Energy Tax Fraud

The IRS described this as one of the largest fraud cases in U.S. history. Five conspirators between 2010 and 2018 applied for over $1 billion in tax credits from the IRS through false production and sale of alternative fuel biodiesel, resulting in prison sentences ranging from 6 to 40 years and fines ranging from $338 million to $551 million.

IRS: We're Really Good at Following the Money Trail

The Director of the IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) division, Jim Lee, stated:

The 2023 top 10 cases involve billions of dollars in fraud. When I say our CI team is the best at following the money trail, I mean it. Our investigators have dismantled international tax schemes involving identity theft, investigated multi-level marketing schemes with cryptocurrency, and uncovered one of the largest renewable energy tax fraud schemes in history.