Submitting fraudulent loan documents to a federally insured bank is a federal crime. This is true regardless of whether the submission results in the issuance of a loan. The federal bank fraud statute (18 U.S.C. Section 1344) is extremely broad, allowing for prosecution of any one who “knowingly executes, or attempts to execute, a scheme or artifice . . . to defraud a financial institution.”

With the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Inspector General finding that at least 17 percent of all Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans were fraudulent and the New York Times calling the Employee Retention Credit a “magnet for fraud,” IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS CI) is aggressively targeting fraud under both of these COVID-19 relief programs. While these programs are no longer available (although businesses can retroactively claim the ERC until 2025), IRS CI is looking back at individuals’ and businesses’ PPP and ERC applications—and pursuing criminal fraud charges when warranted.

If you are wondering whether your employer will tell the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) about your income, the answer is almost certainly, “Yes.” While some unscrupulous companies may choose not to report anything to the IRS, most companies report their employees’ income not only because it is required, but also because it allows them to reduce the amount they owe.

For international partnerships, facing a federal tax audit is a complicated and high-risk proposition. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is heavily focused on enforcing partnership tax compliance, and under its BBA Centralized Partnership Audit Regime, it is taking a rigorous and structured approach to examining partnerships’ returns.

When it comes to dealing with the IRS, all taxpayers need to be careful. Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation out there, and if taxpayers rely on bad advice, they can find themselves facing an expensive tax audit—or even a criminal tax fraud investigation.