Intercepting Threats to Our National Security (2023)
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2023 ANNUAL REPORT
TABLE OF CONTENTS
16
Intercepting Threats to Our National Security
Disrupting & Dismantling Transnational Criminal Organizations
17
Global Collaboration & Enforcement
Contributing to the Community
18
Protecting Our Seniors from Scams
Safeguarding Covid Relief Funds
Assisting in the Fight
19
14
Catching Criminals Utilizing False Claims & Credits
Detecting Fraudulent Tax Refunds
Rooting Out Corruption
Recovering Losses for Victims
20
Securing the Integrity of the Financial System
15
Cybercrimes & Tracking Funds Through Cryptocurrencies
Fighting Fentanyl & Exploitation on the Dark Web Marketplace
21
Field Office Map
65
Appendix
02
Message from the Chief
03
Organization Chart of CI
10
2023 Snapshot
11
Closing the Tax Gap
12
Combatting Fraud & Money Laundering
13
Navigation Menu
Table of Contents
2023 Snapshot Data
Field Office Map
Appendix
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
01
MESSAGE
FROM THE
CHIEF
I am so proud of the tremendous work done by the men and
women of IRS Criminal Investigation (CI). Financial crime
continues to evolve at a rate that challenges law enforcement
daily. We will never investigate our way out of any one
particular type of crime, so where we spend our time and
resources must be methodical in an effort to protect the
integrity of the financial system. Our relevance within the
enterprise is significant, and the deterrent effect provided by
showing the consequences for being willfully noncompliant
is real and impactful. This year, we focused on quality and
impact in our case selection, and I could not be prouder of the
investigations our agency brought to bear.
Tax and tax-related crimes continue to dominate the division’s
investigative inventory. Our priority must continue to be
tax, as we are the only agency that can investigate and
recommend violations involving federal income tax crimes.
These investigations create deterrence, which is critical to
encouraging tax compliance. The revenue collected by the
IRS each year funds nearly 96% of our government. Our
investigative mission is important, and there is no better
investment in government than investing in CI!
We continue to lead the way in our investigative efforts
involving digital assets, and we are reaping the benefits of
early investment in our cyber capabilities and training. Our
partnerships with the private sector created opportunities
for us to solve the most complex crypto-related crimes in the
world. We remain focused on stopping those who attempt
to exploit new technology for nefarious purposes, mitigating
illicit finance, and identifying national security risks. We
know that digital assets provide opportunities for responsible
financial innovation, and most people using cryptocurrency
do so for legitimate purposes. But, we also know that digital
assets pose a risk of facilitating money laundering, cybercrime
and ransomware, narcotics, human trafficking, terrorism,
proliferation financing, and tax crimes. Chain-hopping
and token swapping have become common digital assets
techniques used to make following the digital money trail
more difficult, but not impossible.
Our responsibility to be a meaningful player in the
international tax and law enforcement community remains
high. We are proud members of the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax
Enforcement (J5), which just celebrated five years together.
We deliver trainings to representatives from multiple countries
across the globe. In May 2023, CI delivered blockchain
analysis tools and cyber training to Ukrainian law enforcement
agencies. A couple of months later, we partnered with the UK
and The Netherlands to provide a second round of training to
Ukrainian law enforcement officers. The training focused on
cryptocurrency and blockchain tracing.
I’m proud to say that our role in national security continues
to be a priority for CI as well. In collaboration with agency
partners, we leverage our unique investigative authorities to
identify, disrupt, and defeat those who engage in activities
that degrade our financial integrity, distort markets, and
victimize our citizens. We continue to be a key player in
sanctions-related enforcement efforts through Task Force
Kleptocapture, which targets Russian oligarchs and other
would-be sanctions evaders. Building on past disruptions of
terrorist organizations like Hamas using cryptocurrency to
fundraise, CI continues to prioritize cases that have significant
impacts on preventing terrorist organizations from being able
to fund their activities.
While I look back on a year like 2023 full of our many
organizational successes, I also could not be more excited
with the work we have already begun doing in 2024.
I could not be prouder of the men and women in CI.
Jim Lee
Chief, Criminal Investigation
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
02
ORGANIZATION CHART OF CI
Click on a blue Section box to learn more.
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF
• Office of Communication
• Commissioner's Protection Detail (CPD)
• Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI)
GLOBAL
OPERATIONS (GO)
CYBER & FORENSIC
SERVICES
• Financial Crimes (FC)
• Narcotics and National Security
(N2S2)
• Asset Recovery & Investigative
Services (ARIS)
• Special Investigative Techniques
(SIT)
• International Field Operations
(IFO)
• Cyber Crime Operations (CC)
• Digital Forensics (DF)
• Center for Science & Design (CSD)
AAI
STRATEGY
• Applied Analytics (CIAA)
• National Coordinated
Investigative Unit (NCIU)
• Refund Fraud and Investigative
Support (RFIS)
• Data Management & Governance
(DMG)
• System & Operational Support
(SOS)
• Innovation
• National CI Training Academy
(NCITA)
• Workforce Development (WD)
• Human Resources (HR)
• Asset & Knowledge Management
(AKM)
• Assurance & Advisory (AA)
• Finance
TECHNOLOGY
OPERATIONS
FIELD
OPERATIONS
• Development
• Field Operations
• Western Area Field Operations
• Northern Area Field Operations
• Southern Area Field Operations
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
03
X CLOSE
OFFICE OF
THE CHIEF
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF
ORGANIZATION CHART OF CI
Click on a blue Section box to learn more.
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF
• Office of Communication
• Commissioner's Protection Detail (CPD)
• Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI)
Office of Communication
Commissioner’s Protection Detail (CPD)
The Office of Communication uses a variety of
mediums and events to build awareness about
CI and the work the agency does for both
internal and external audiences. The Office of
Communications releases products that focus
on informing, educating, and protecting U.S.
taxpayers on how to identify and avoid criminal
activity, as well as deterring and preventing
future tax and financial crimes.
The Commissioner’s Protection Detail (CPD) is
a specially trained cadre of CI special agents,
who provide personal security and protection
to the IRS Commissioner. Since 1999, this
dedicated team is charged with protecting
the Commissioner during official business
operations. CPD provides protection of the
Commissioner within the National Capital
Region and while in travel status, including
foreign and domestic travel. As the leader of
the IRS, the Commissioner frequently attends
meetings, conferences, publicized hearings,
and speaking engagements in locations like the
TECHNOLOGY
White House, U.S. Capitol,
U.S. Treasury, and
other venues in Washington,
D.C., as well as
OPERATIONS
around the globe.
In FY 2023, the Office of Communication
continued to grow its social media accounts,
Chief
Deputy Chief
conducted more media interviews than
ever before, launched two new GovDelivery
James (Jim) Lee was selected as the Chief, CI
Guy Ficco was selected as the Deputy Chief,
GLOBAL
CYBER & FORENSIC
newsletters to highlight agency news, oversaw
in August 2020. In this role, Jim is responsible
CI in June 2022. Prior to his selection as
(GO) staff of nearly 2,900SERVICES
AAI
STRATEGY
the launch of a new employee
intranet, and
forOPERATIONS
overseeing a worldwide
Deputy Chief, Guy was the Executive Director
provided briefings to Capitol Hill staff.
CI employees, including approximately 2,000
of Global Operations, Policy and Support,
In a typical year, the• CPD
protects the
• Financial
(FC)offices and 11 foreign• Cyberwhere
CrimeheOperations
(CC)
• Applied Analytics (CIAA)
• National CI Training Academy
Development
special
agentsCrimes
in 20 field
oversaw the
agency’s international
Follow us for more information and to stay
Commissioner on approximately
500
countries,
whoand
investigate
involving tax, • Digital
footprint,
as (DF)
well as much of CI’s policies
• Narcotics
Nationalcrimes
Security
Forensics
• National Coordinated
(NCITA)
•
Field
Operations
updated on CI.
protective
movements,
20
domestic
trips,
money
laundering,
public
corruption,
cyber,
ID
as
they
relate
to
investigations.
Guy’s
other
(N2S2)
• Center for Science & Design (CSD)
Investigative Unit (NCIU)
• Workforce Development (WD)
and two to three international visits. CPD
@IRS_CI
theft,
narcotics,
and
terrorist-financing.
executive
positions
include
the
Special
Agent
• Asset Recovery & Investigative
• Refund Fraud and Investigative
• Human Resources (HR)
special agents are trained in protective service
in Charge (SAC) of the Philadelphia Field
PriorServices
to his selection
as
Chief,
Jim
served
as
(ARIS)
Support (RFIS)
• Asset & Knowledge Management
operations with an emphasis on operational
IRS Criminal Investigation
Office
and
Director
of
Special
Investigative
the
within CI,Techniques
as well as in other
• Deputy
SpecialChief
Investigative
• Data Management & Governance
(AKM)
planning, motorcade operations, protective
Techniques.
Guy
received
his
bachelor’s
executive positions, including Director of Field
IRS:CI
and preventing and responding to
(SIT)
(DMG)
• Assurance & Advisory intelligence,
(AA)
degree
from
Dominican
University
in
New
Operations (DFO)-North, DFO-South, Director of
attacks.
Protective
operations are a team effort
York,
is
a
Certified
Fraud
Examiner
(CFE),
and
•
International
Field
Operations
•
System
&
Operational
Support
•
Finance
www.irs.gov/compliance/
Strategy, and Executive Special Agent in Charge
and
require
detailed
advanced preparations
started
his
career
as
a
special
agent
in
the
New
criminal-investigation
(IFO)
(SOS)
(SAC)
of the Chicago Field Office. Jim received
aimed at identifying and mitigating potential
York
Field
Office.
his bachelor’s degree from Tiffin University in
• Innovation
risks, threats, and vulnerabilities.
Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement (J5)
Ohio and started his career as a special agent in
the Detroit Field Office.
CI’s top law enforcement priorities are
designed to promote tax compliance, address
emerging areas of fraud, and meet the needs of
the law enforcement community by supporting
national crime initiatives. CI’s Program
Strategy is comprised of three interdependent
programs: legal source tax crimes, illegal
source financial crimes, and narcotics related
financial crimes/counterterrorism. These
three areas are mutually supportive, and they
encourage utilization of all statutes within
CI’s jurisdiction, the grand jury process, and
enforcement techniques to combat tax, money
laundering, and currency crime violations.
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
Office (EDI)
The Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Office
(EDI) mission is to examine and address CI’s
employment practices, policies, and procedures
to ensure that every employee attains equal
opportunity in every facet of CI’s programs,
activities, and services. EDI’s role is to monitor
and evaluate the organization’s compliance with
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
(EEOC) and Treasury guidance to eliminate
barriers that hinder equal opportunity. EDI’s
guidance aims to achieve and sustain a diverse
and inclusive work environment that respects
and values FIELD
all aspects of an employee’s
OPERATIONS
diversity, including
ideas (how you think),
identity (who you are), and information (what
you know). •The
goal ofArea
the CI
EDIOperations
office is to
Western
Field
support leadership
with
building
an
inclusive
• Northern Area Field Operations
environment where employees are motivated
• Southern Area Field Operations
to put forth their best effort and are vested in
achieving the CI mission.
J5 Website
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
04
ORGANIZATION CHART OF CI
Click on a blue Section box to learn more.
X CLOSE
GLOBAL OPERATIONS (GO)
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF
• Office of Communication
Financial
Crimes (FC)
Narcotics and National Security Section (N2S2)
• Commissioner's Protection Detail (CPD)
Financial Crimes provides policy guidance and operational
The Narcotics and National Security Section contributes
• Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI)
support to field offices on tax crimes, illegal source
to the success of U.S. national security programs by
financial crimes, and money laundering violations. Financial
investigating the finances of transnational criminal
Crimes
oversees
a
host
of
investigative
priorities,
including
organizations involved in narcotics trafficking, human
GLOBAL
CYBER & FORENSIC
abusive
tax
schemes,
fraud
referrals,
and
Bank
Secrecy
trafficking, terrorism financing,
OPERATIONS (GO)
SERVICES
AAI economic espionage, and
Act violations. The unit also provides a liaison to work
money laundering. Liaison officers assigned to the section
directly with the Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes
provide coordination, deconfliction, advice, strategy, and
• Financial Crimes (FC)
• Cyber Crime Operations (CC)
• Applied Analytics (CIAA)
Enforcement Network (FinCEN), oversees CI’s Task Force
financial analysis to support a government-wide approach
•
Narcotics
and
National
Security
•
Digital
Forensics
(DF)
• National
Officer (TFO) Program, and administers IRS’s Voluntary
to address national security
threats.Coordinated
The unit also focuses
(N2S2)Program (VDP). In addition, Financial
• Center
& Design
Investigative
Unit (NCIU)
Disclosure
Crimesfor Scienceheavily
on (CSD)
narcotics and financial
investigations
related
• Assetstarted
Recovery
Investigative
• Refundby
Fraud
and Investigative
recently
CI’s&Body
Worn Camera (BWC) Program for
to high-priority targets identified
Organized
Crime
training
and deployment
to the field.
Drug Enforcement Task Forces
(OCDETF).
Services
(ARIS)
Support
(RFIS) These cases
often
involve
the
convergence
of
program
areas,
and the
• Special Investigative Techniques
• Data Management
& Governance
prosecutions have a significant impact on dismantling large
(SIT)
(DMG)
transnational criminal organizations.
• International Field Operations
• System & Operational Support
(IFO)
(SOS)
• Innovation
Asset Recovery and Investigative Services (ARIS)
International Field Operations (IO)
Asset Recovery and Investigative Services uses forfeiture
International Field Operations oversees CI’s international
authority as an investigative tool to disrupt and dismantle
presence. CI personnel overseas are dedicated to actively
criminal enterprises. The program deprives criminals of
identifying emerging financial crime threats and ensuring
property used in, or acquired through, illegal activities.
of our primary mission in tax
TECHNOLOGY the successful enforcement
FIELD
Following
forfeiture
of
seized
assets,
forfeited
funds
are
criminal
investigations
CI.
currently
has attaché posts
STRATEGY
OPERATIONS
OPERATIONS
routed to the Treasury Forfeiture Fund (TFF) managed
strategically stationed in 11 foreign countries: Mexico,
by the Treasury Executive Office for Asset Forfeiture
Canada, Colombia, Panama, Barbados, China, Germany,
• National CI Training Academy
• Development
• Western Area Field Operations
(TEOAF). Forfeited funds are often returned to victims
the Netherlands, England, Australia, and the United Arab
(NCITA)
•
Field
Operations
Northern
Field Operations
of criminal activity and are also used to reimburse law
Emirates. Attachés work•with
foreignArea
governments
to build
• Workforceagencies
Development
(WD) like enhanced training,
• Southern
Area
Field Operations
enforcement
for expenses
partnerships to further financial
crime
investigations.
In
• Human Resources
(HR)
equipment,
and costs associated
with conducting significant
FY 2023, International Operations deployed four cyber
investigations.
In addition,
the TFF shares a portion of
attachés on long-term details to Germany, Colombia,
• Asset & Knowledge
Management
forfeited
funds
with
other
federal,
state,
and
local
law
Singapore and Australia to work with foreign governments
(AKM)
enforcement agencies.
on cyber investigations and to evaluate the potential for
• Assurance & Advisory (AA)
permanent cyber post locations. CI’s International Training
• Finance
Special
Investigative Techniques (SIT)
Team (ITT) delivers trainings to representatives from
Special Investigative Techniques oversees CI’s undercover
activities encompassing tasks such as reviewing and
approving operations, as well as providing training to
personnel conducting undercover actions. CI maintains a
cadre of undercover agents that utilize sophisticated means
to initiate contact with individuals perpetrating tax crimes
and other financial crimes, in order to gain evidence needed
for prosecution of those crimes.
multiple countries across the globe. Training provides the
foreign governments in developing nations with necessary
tools to combat financial crimes and serves as a key part of
CI’s presence abroad.
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
05
ORGANIZATION CHART OF CI
Click on a blue Section box to learn more.
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF
X CLOSE
• Office of Communication
• Commissioner's Protection Detail (CPD)
• Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI)
CYBER & FORENSIC SERVICES
GLOBAL
OPERATIONS (GO)
Cyber Crimes (CC)
CYBER & FORENSIC
SERVICES
AAI
• Financial
(FC) have grown increasingly
• Cyber Crime Operations
(CC)Crimes headquarters
• Applied
Analyticsoversees
(CIAA) the
CI’s Cyber
component
Many
aspectsCrimes
of our lives
agency’s involvement in cyber-related
criminal investigations
dependent
on and
technology,
the same holds•true
for Forensics (DF)
• Narcotics
Nationaland
Security
Digital
• National Coordinated
provides
tools, resources,
and training
to(NCIU)
assist special
criminals’
(N2S2)activities. Nearly every case CI investigates
• Center for Scienceand
& Design
(CSD)
Investigative
Unit
agents around the globe with cyber investigations. This
involves the use of the internet, digital payments, and
• Asset Recovery & Investigative
• Refund Fraud and Investigative
includes tracking illicit finance and mitigating national
computer devices.
Services (ARIS)
Support (RFIS)
security risks posed by cybercrimes,
as well as tracking
The agency has two Cyber Crimes Units (CCU) – one
• Special Investigative Techniques
•
Datanarcotics
Management
& Governance
digital
assets
used
to
facilitate
trafficking,
money
positioned in the Los Angeles Field Office and the other
(SIT)
(DMG)
laundering,
terrorism
financing,
and
more.
in the Washington, D.C. Field Office. The CCUs are
• operational
International
Field
• System & Operational Support
the
arm
andOperations
focus on multijurisdictional
(IFO)
(SOS)
investigations
posing the most significant threats to the U.S.
tax and financial systems.
• Innovation
STRATEGY
Digital Forensics (DF)
TECHNOLOGY
OPERATIONS
FIELD
OPERATIONS
Center for Science and Design (CSD)
• National
CI Training
• Development
• Western
Area Field
Operations
Digital
Forensics
consistsAcademy
of Digital Forensic Field
Services
The Center for Science and
Design (CSD),
formerly
known as
(DFFS)
and the Digital Forensic Lab (DFL). DFFS
consists
of three
sections:
(NCITA)
• consists
Field Operations the National Forensic Laboratory,
• Northern
Area Field
Operations
of •seven
groups
of
field
forensic
examiners
nationwide
Scientific
Services,
Multimedia
and
Deception
Detection,
Workforce Development (WD)
• Southern Area Field Operations
that provide advanced forensic support to special agents
and Trial and Design Services. These sections forensically
• Human Resources (HR)
working criminal investigations. The DFL supports the
process and analyze a wide variety of evidence, deliver
• Asset
& Knowledge
Management
field
examiners
by providing
expertise for more complex
expert courtroom testimony, produce visual aids to simplify
(AKM) digital forensic research and development,
scenarios,
the presentation of complex evidence, provide electronic
• Assurance
& Advisory
(AA)
forensic
training,
acquisition
of forensic tools and solutions,
enhancements to audio, video, and images introduced as
and
development of forensic processes to keep pace with
evidence, and assist with polygraph examinations.
• Finance
technological advances.
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
06
ORGANIZATION CHART OF CI
Click on a blue Section box to learn more.
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF
X CLOSE
• Office of Communication ANALYTICS & INNOVATION
ADVANCED
• Commissioner's Protection Detail (CPD)
• Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI)
Applied Analytics (CIAA)
National Coordinated Investigative Unit (NCIU)
GLOBAL
CYBER
&
FORENSIC
Applied Analytics leverage big data and advanced analytical
The Nationally Coordinated Investigative Unit’s mission is to
OPERATIONS
SERVICES
AAI
capabilities
to make(GO)
CI more efficient. They analyze
data
use skilled staff, big data,
and strategic threat assessments
about CI operations and enhance lead generation efforts in
to identify individuals committing tax crimes. In FY 2023,
• field
Financial
Crimes (FC)
• Cyberfraud
Crime Operations
(CC) 269 investigative
• Applied
Analytics
(CIAA)
the
by developing
queries that identify potential
NCIU made
referrals
to CI field
offices.
among
tax return,
administration,
Act
• Narcotics
and tax
National
Security and Bank• Secrecy
Digital Forensics
(DF)
• National Coordinated
and Operational
Support
(SOS)
data.(N2S2)
In FY 2023, CIAA completed over 130 lead
generation
• Center
for ScienceSystems
& Design (CSD)
Investigative
Unit
(NCIU)
projects, supported 15 NCIU initiatives, and delivered over
Systems and Operational• Support
uses systems
and
• Asset Recovery & Investigative
Refund Fraud
and Investigative
5,500 business reports. The team also strives to raise
partners
with
business
units
at
IRS
to
identify
emerging
(ARIS) acumen by conducting trainings and
Support (RFIS)
CI’s Services
overall analytical
trends and quality investigative leads, assists with court
•
Special
Investigative
Techniques
•
Data Management & Governance
sharing data analytic capabilities across CI.
testimony, and helps detect, prevent and recover funds from
(SIT)
fraudulent tax refunds. (DMG)
• International Field Operations
• System & Operational Support
(IFO)
(SOS)
• Innovation
Refund Fraud and Investigative Support (RFIS)
Innovation (I)
TECHNOLOGY
FIELDcomplex challenges by
Refund Fraud and Investigative Support identifies emerging
Innovation helps CI overcome
STRATEGY
OPERATIONS
OPERATIONS
trends and schemes related to refund fraud and identity
sourcing, tracking, coordinating,
analyzing, and enabling
theft to support high-impact criminal tax and related
innovative research, process, and technology improvements
• National
CI TraininginAcademy
Development
• Western
Field Operations
financial
investigations
CI field offices across• the
country.
to solve critical needs and
improve Area
efficiencies.
In FY
It also
supports other national programs including
theOperations
Court
2023, Innovation supported
113 projects,
including
one
(NCITA)
• Field
• Northern
Area Field
Operations
Witness
Program,
the
Controls
and
Unpostables
Program,
where
technology
was
used
to
review
more
than
80,000
• Workforce Development (WD)
• Southern Area Field Operations
and the Electronic Filing Suitability Program.
handwritten checks for evidence in an investigation,
• Human Resources (HR)
demonstrating an accuracy rate of over 99.5%.
• Asset & Knowledge Management
(AKM)
Data Management & Governance (DMG))
• Assurance & Advisory (AA)
Data Management and Governance continuously seeks
• Finance
new data sources and converts that data into an actionable
format for CI special agents. The team digitizes records
through the Data Processing Center and leverages
technology and algorithms to filter large data sets. This
enhances CI’s ability to identify fraud and dedicate
resources to the most impactful criminal investigations.
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
07
ORGANIZATION CHART OF CI
Click on a blue Section box to learn more.
X CLOSE
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF
STRATEGY
• Office of Communication
• Commissioner's Protection Detail (CPD)
• Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI)
National CI Training Academy (NCITA)
Asset and Knowledge Management (AKM)
The National Criminal Investigation Training Academy
Asset and Knowledge Management ensures the CI
GLOBAL
CYBER & FORENSIC
(NCITA),
which is located at the Federal Law Enforcement
workforce has the necessary assets to accomplish CI’s
OPERATIONS
(GO)
Training
Center in Brunswick,
GA, plays a vital SERVICES
role in training
enforcement objectives,AAI
including equipment, vehicles,
the CI workforce. NCITA develops and delivers the Special
badges and credentials, radios, body armor, and real
• Financial
Crimes program
(FC)
Cyber Crime Operations
• Applied
Analytics
(CIAA) Act
Agent
Basic Training
to special agent •trainees.
estate.(CC)
It also oversees CI’s
Freedom
of Information
NCITA
also plays
major role
in developing and
delivering
(FOIA) and records management
as well as an
• Narcotics
andaNational
Security
• Digital
Forensics (DF)
• Nationalprograms,
Coordinated
advanced
training
for
special
agents
in
areas
like
use
of
internal
knowledge
management
portal
that
permits the CI
(N2S2)
• Center for Science & Design (CSD)
Investigative Unit (NCIU)
force, firearms instruction, defensive tactics, and building
workforce to crowdsource answers to questions to meet
• Asset Recovery & Investigative
• Refund Fraud and Investigative
entry. NCITA also provides professional education courses
enforcement goals.
Services
Support (RFIS)
for the
entire (ARIS)
CI workforce focusing on emerging trends and
•
Special
Investigative
Techniques
•
Data(AA)
Management & Governance
Assurance and Advisory
issues affecting law enforcement.
(SIT)
(DMG)
Assurance and Advisory independently
reviews, evaluates,
• International Field Operations
•
System &program
Operational
Support
and reports on CI field operations,
areas,
and
(IFO)
(SOS)
headquarter sections in a fair
and objective manner to
identify risks, emerging issues,
and best practices that
• Innovation
affect CI. The team assesses CI’s leadership effectiveness
and ability to manage and mitigate risk and evaluates CI
operations to ensure investigative alignment with agency
strategy and established policies.
Workforce Development (WD)
Human Resources (HR)
Workforce Development ensures that CI recruits and
Human Resources (HR) spearheads the development
TECHNOLOGY
FIELD
retains diverse and talented employees to meet
CI’s
and implementation of hiring
plans for CI, leveraging all
STRATEGY
OPERATIONS
OPERATIONS
evolving enforcement challenges. WD also helps support
relevant hiring authorities.
HR executes the Service-wide
and guide special agents and professional staff in
HR Program Policy, specifically tailored to address the
• National CICI’s
Training
Academy
Development
• Westernthey
Area
Field Operations
accomplishing
mission
of deterrence and •compliance.
distinct needs of CI. Additionally,
manage
employee
Through
Workforce Development, CI employees
haveOperations recognition, work-life programs,
andArea
performance
(NCITA)
• Field
• Northern
Field Operations
access
to resources
to keep them
management, and they ensure
special
agents
medical
• Workforce
Development
(WD) balanced, engaged,
• Southern
Area
Fieldmeet
Operations
and satisfied in their careers, as well as apprised of future
requirements. HR is responsible for enforcing compliance
• Human Resources (HR)
opportunities within the agency.
with federal employment laws, including the initiation of
• Asset & Knowledge Management
disciplinary actions when necessary.
(AKM)
Finance (F)
• Assurance & Advisory (AA)
• Finance
Finance formulates, develops, and executes CI’s financial
plan, utilizing sound financial management, laws,
regulations, the Internal Revenue Manual, and local and
IRS/Treasury policies. The Finance staff roles include
implementing various Service-wide programs and
processes, developing policy unique to the needs of CI, and
providing financial oversight on behalf of CI.
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
08
ORGANIZATION CHART OF CI
Click on a blue Section box to learn more.
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF
X CLOSE
• Office of Communication
• Commissioner's Protection Detail (CPD)
• Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI)
TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS (TECHOPS)
GLOBAL
OPERATIONS (GO)
Development
CYBER & FORENSIC
SERVICES
AAI
and Contracts
(PMAC) section
is responsible
the oversight
• Financial
Crimes (FC)
• Cyber Crime Operations
(CC)
• Applied
Analytics for
(CIAA)
TechOps’
Development
Branch sections work together
and governance of IT projects
and contracts.
The Technical
Narcotics
and National
Security
• Digital Forensics (DF)
• National
Coordinated
to •deliver
and maintain
CI’s infrastructure
and technical
Center (TOC) section
oversees
CI’s
infrastructure
applications.
(BSD) for ScienceOperations
(N2S2) The Business Systems Development
• Center
& Design (CSD)
Investigative
Unit
(NCIU)
and provides core IT services, such as remote and in office
section
identifies
and
manages
the
delivery
of
business
• Asset Recovery & Investigative
• Refund Fraud and Investigative
network capabilities, application and server administration,
improvement and information technology (IT) projects in
Services (ARIS)
Support
(RFIS) and core
enterprise computing center
management,
support of the CI Vision and strategic mission. BSD also
•
Special
Investigative
Techniques
•
Data
Management
smartphone and workstation management. & Governance
oversees many CI applications, including LCA/Palantir, CIMIS,
(SIT) and Diary. The Portfolio Management, Acquisitions,
(DMG)
AFTRAK,
• International Field Operations
• System & Operational Support
(IFO)
(SOS)
• Innovation
STRATEGY
Field Operations
TECHNOLOGY
OPERATIONS
FIELD
OPERATIONS
CI technology portfolio, software/hardware,
change
• National
CIOperations
Training Academy
Development
• Western Area Fieldand
Operations
TechOps’
Field
sections support CI•through
compliance
with
overall
IRS,
(NCITA) delivery, and technical support of•CI’s
Field
• Northern
Area
Field
Operations
the security,
IT Operations requests, and they ensure
Treasury,
and
federal
standards
and
regulations.
The
User
equipment.
Cybersecurity
(CYBER)
is
responsible
for
• Workforce Development (WD)
• Southern Area Field Operations
Support (US) section provides IT support for the field
security
risk
management,
security
engineering,
and
• Human Resources (HR)
offices, headquarters, and international sites through
security operations, in the form of continuous monitoring
• Asset & Knowledge Management
the CI Help Desk and Field Service Computer Operations
of CI’s IT systems and resources. CYBER also provides
(AKM)
Administrators (COAs), by providing CI users with access to
security
risk analysis and advisory services, disaster
the network, a computer with a CI image, technical issue
• Assurance
& Advisory
(AA) policy management and
recovery
support,
and security
resolution, and answers to their hardware, software, and
• Finance
guidance.
Additionally, CYBER leads and facilitates incident
telecommunication questions.
response, insider threat, and data spill cleanup processes.
Client Management Support Services (CMSS) manages the
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
09
2023 SNAPSHOT
DIRECT INVESTIGATIVE
TIME SPENT
INVESTIGATION
SOURCES
Corporate Fraud
Public
Public Corruption
IRS:Civil
Cybercrimes
International
General Tax Fraud
Abusive Tax Schemes
Employment Tax
5%
General Fraud
NON-TAX
TAX
69.9%
2% State/Local Government
24%
Financial Crimes
Enforcement Network
U.S. Attorney’s Office
14%
NARCOTICS
11.3%
OCDETF Organized Crime
Drug Enforcement Task Force
19%
Identity Theft
28%
Other Federal Agencies
5.5B
$
31.6B
$
2,144
994
3,138
FY2022
2,077
938
3,015
FY2021
2,046
889
2,935
2,761
1,256
4,017
CI’s staffing levels are by fiscal year and reflect an actual count of employees based on
the Employee Master Database as of PP19.
2% Uncategorized
Other Identified
Financial Crimes
FY2023
FY2010
Refund Fraud
Tax Fraud
Identified
Professional Staff
Special Agents
7%
Money Laundering
16.8%
STAFFING
Warrants
Executed
1334
Referred For
Prosecution
1838
Conviction
Rate
88.4%
Convictions
1508
Petabytes Of
Digital Data
1.71
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
10
Voluntary compliance is the backbone of the U.S. tax
system. The IRS relies largely on taxpayers to report
their income, calculate the amount of tax they owe, and
remit that amount to the IRS through withholding or other
payments. The gross tax gap is the difference between
the amount of tax owed by taxpayers for a given year
and the amount of taxes paid on time for that same year.
IRS projected the gross tax gap at $688 billion for tax
year 2021 alone, which could result in approximately
$7 trillion in lost tax revenue over the next decade. As
one of the oldest federal law enforcement agencies, Cl is
the only federal law enforcement agency with jurisdiction
to investigate federal tax crimes. CI is committed
to reducing the tax gap by dedicating 70% of direct
investigative time to tax investigations.
CLOSING
THE TAX
GAP
Targets of tax fraud investigations include individuals
who deliberately underreport or omit income from their
tax returns, such as high-income individuals who have
a filing requirement but deliberately choose not to file
returns and pay taxes owed. CI holds these tax evaders
accountable, whether they are a TV personality who
evades paying their tax obligations, or a taxpayer who
embezzles funds or fails to report millions earned in
illegal Dark Web transactions.
With the increased use of digital assets in the mainstream
economy, there has been a rise in digital asset tax
investigations. These investigations consist of unreported
income resulting from failure to report capital gains
from the sale of cryptocurrency, income earned from
mining cryptocurrency, or income received in the form
of cryptocurrency, such as wages, rental income, and
gambling winnings. CI is also seeing evasion of payment
violations, where the taxpayer fails to disclose ownership
of cryptocurrency in an attempt to shield holdings.
“
The gross tax gap is the
Promoters of overseas tax shelters or schemes develop
sophisticated offshore structures, trusts, and bank
accounts to unlawfully conceal millions of dollars of
income from the U.S. Government. CI not only seeks
to hold U.S. taxpayers taking part in these schemes
responsible, but to pursue the promotors of the scheme,
even if the promoter is an international tax advisor
operating outside of the US border.
Businesses also contribute to the tax gap by concealing
profits from the IRS in an attempt to evade taxes owed. In
January 2023, William Chen, a New England restaurant
owner, was sentenced to prison for utilizing "zapper"
software to deliberately delete transactions from his
business’ point of sales system and underreporting millions
in gross receipts on his taxes. Even individuals who win
big in the lottery, try to wiggle out of paying their fair share.
In May 2023, Ali and Yousef Jaafar, father and son, were
sentenced in a “ten-percenting” scheme, where they
unlawfully claimed more than 14,000 winning lottery tickets
for others and laundered over $20 million in proceeds,
resulting in a federal tax loss of more than $6 million.
Some tax schemes have victims beyond the IRS.
Employment tax fraud significantly contributes to the
tax gap due to underreporting and underpayments.
Employment tax fraud not only steals money from
government coffers but also from hardworking employees.
Employment tax fraud investigations include paying
employees in cash under the table, filing false payroll
tax returns, and failing to collect payroll tax from the
employees. CI also investigates employers who withhold
taxes from their employees’ paychecks but then use the
funds for personal expenses or to enrich themselves.
During the February 2023 sentencing of Kevin Shibilski,
the judge stated imprisonment was necessary to send a
deterrence message to two groups –business owners who
willfully fail to pay their employment taxes and people who
willfully fail to pay the IRS and use the tax funds for other
purposes. Their actions have consequences, and they will
go to federal prison.
Investigations that close the tax gap foster confidence
in the tax system and compliance with the U.S. tax laws.
difference between the
amount of tax owed by
taxpayers for a given
year and the amount of
taxes paid on time for
that same year.
”
TAX CRIMES
1409
INVESTIGATIONS INITIATED
665
PROSECUTIONS RECOMMENDED
655
SENTENCED
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
11
There are many faces to fraud, including tax, investment,
healthcare, securities, and corporate fraud. However, the
motive is always the same – money. CI’s premier financial
investigators investigate fraud and the resulting money
laundering that ensues.
COMBATTING
FRAUD &
MONEY
LAUNDERING
Corporate fraud involves criminal violations committed
by publicly traded or private corporations and their
senior executives. Some specific criminal acts involving
corporate fraud include falsifying, fabricating, or
destroying company records. Fraudsters often use false
information to complete tax returns, financial statements,
and reports for regulatory agencies or investors. In
June 2023, James Abrams, CEO of EthosGen LLC was
convicted of 48 counts after a jury trial. Abrams provided
forged documents and false information to induce
several investors to invest in his company. The false
documentation included forged teaming agreements,
intellectual property licenses, tax returns, and financial
statements that fabricated an existing customer base
and inflated EthosGen LLC’s historical revenues, business
activity, and profitability.
Fraudsters will look for opportunities to perpetrate a
scheme in all industries. In April 2023, Julian Omidi was
sentenced to seven years for defrauding Tricare and
private insurance companies by fraudulently submitting
nearly $120 million in claims under his 1-800-GET-THIN
business. Over the summer, Jose “Chanel” Teran and
Webster “Yenddi” Batista were sentenced to 10 years
collectively for running one of the largest music royalty
fraud schemes in history. Teran and Batista stole $23
million from YouTube for song royalties that belonged to
Latin artists in numerous countries.
“
Money laundering
occurs when criminals
attempt to disguise the
illicit nature of their
funds by introducing
it into the stream of
legitimate commerce
and finance.
”
Money laundering occurs when criminals attempt to
disguise the illicit nature of their funds by introducing
it into the stream of legitimate commerce and finance.
Criminals launder money through a wide variety of
enterprises like banks, money transmitters, stock
brokerage houses, casinos, and virtual currency
exchanges. The flow of illegal funds around the world is
estimated to be in the hundreds of billions of dollars. CI
special agents are experts at uncovering money trails
through traditional and virtual financial banking systems.
“
CI special agents are experts at uncovering
money trails through traditional and virtual
financial banking systems.
”
In September 2023, Karl Greenwood, cofounder of
OneCoin, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for
marketing and selling fake cryptocurrency to millions of
victims who invested over $4 billion worldwide. In that
same month, four men in Arkansas were convicted of
cheating victims out of more than $18 million that they
laundered through a web of international bank accounts.
In June 2023, Rachael Winslow was sentenced to over 11
years in prison for her role in an international conspiracy
to launder funds generated via boiler room fraud. Boiler
room victims were led to believe there was legitimate
investments in reputable companies, such as Facebook,
Chesapeake Energy, or Toys R Us. In fact, the investments
were worthless, and the boiler rooms defrauded the
victims of more than $14 million.
The use of professional money laundering or third-party
money launderers has expanded with technology.
Third-party facilitators place illicit proceeds into
businesses, financial institutions, brokerage firms, and
physical assets to conceal the nature of the illicit profits.
In December, Ian Freeman was convicted of a bitcoin
money laundering scheme. Freeman laundered over
$10 million in proceeds from romance scams and other
internet fraud by exchanging U.S. dollars for bitcoin.
To facilitate the money laundering, Freeman and his
co-conspirators opened and operated accounts at
financial institutions in the names of various churches and
described the deposits as donations to try to conceal the
true source of the funds.
In today’s technologically advanced world, criminal
activity often crosses borders and can involve global
financial crime. The crimes involve complex webs of
offshore holdings and anonymous transactions, but CI
traces the money each step of the way.
NON-TAX CRIMES
1267
INVESTIGATIONS INITIATED
1173
PROSECUTIONS RECOMMENDED
824
SENTENCED
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
12
Today’s sophisticated schemes demand a highly skilled
team made up of instructors, analysts, scientists, data
experts, and professional staff to decipher complex
financial crimes and support and train special agents
for the fight.
ASSISTING
IN THE
FIGHT
CI special agents are sworn federal law enforcement
officers who begin their training at the National Criminal
Investigation Training Academy (NCITA), located
at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
(FLETC) in Brunswick, Georgia. After passing rigorous
practical exercises and academic standards, special
agents graduate from the nine-week FLETC Criminal
Investigation Training Program (CITP) and continue
onto Cl's specialized 16-week Special Agent Basic
Training (SABT). NCITA instructors train special agents to
investigate cases and complete investigative steps, such
as interviewing, gathering evidence, applying methods
of proof, and making recommendations for prosecutions.
NCITA provides special agents the knowledge and skills
needed as criminal investigators. NCITA also plays a vital
role in advanced training and comprehensive continuing
professional education courses to special agents and
professional staff, which focus on emerging trends and
issues within the law enforcement environment.
Nearly one-third of CI’s staff consist of professionals
who work alongside special agents and provide support,
guidance, and aid in accomplishing CI’s mission.
Professional staff are on the front lines of case work
and behind the scenes of every CI activity, whether it is
an investigative analyst ensuring intelligence is accurate,
administrative staff keeping the trains moving, computer
specialists making sure CI has the necessary equipment,
or our scientist and digital forensic team certifying
evidence and linking that evidence to the criminals.
“
CI is honored
to have a highly
talented and
diverse workforce
that is dedicated to
bringing criminals
to justice.
”
Digital Forensics supports special agents in the collection
and analysis of digital evidence. During the last year, CI’s
team seized over 1.7 petabytes of digital data from over
3,300 computer devices in support of investigations.
Digital Forensics possesses the expertise to recover
relevant evidence, including data that may have been
encrypted, password protected, or hidden by other
electronic means.
“
CI special agents are sworn federal
law enforcement officers who begin
their training at the National Criminal
Investigation Training Academy...
”
Since 1972, CI’s Center for Science and Design (CSD)
has aided investigations through forensic testing and
technical services. CSD’s scientific services include the
ability to forensically process and analyze a wide variety
of evidence, such as latent prints (finger and palm print
development and comparison), questioned documents,
ink chemistry, and DNA. In addition, CSD provides
electronic enhancements, polygraph examination, and
facial recognition. CSD’s design team simplifies the
presentation of complex evidence for juries through
compelling illustrations.
Workforce Development provides continuing education
and career path opportunities to assist employees
in meeting their career goals and finding career
satisfaction. This section provides easy access to
resources to help all employees stay balanced and
engaged in their work and home life.
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Office (EDI) ensures
that CI’s processes and programs are impartial and
fair and that they provide equal possible outcomes for
every individual. EDI creates and sustains a diverse,
equitable, and inclusive environment that respects and
accommodates every employee’s background, including
race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, and
other protected statuses that make us all unique.
CI is honored to have a highly talented and diverse
workforce that is dedicated to bringing criminals to
justice. CI continually strives to maintain its status as
a top-notch employer by supporting all its employees,
providing developmental opportunities, generating
paths to career advancement, and investing in each
individual’s success.
STAFFING
994
PROFESSIONAL STAFF
2144
SPECIAL AGENT STAFFING
3138
TOTAL CI STAFFING
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
13
CATCHING
CRIMINALS
UTILIZING
FALSE CLAIMS
& CREDITS
Tax cheats pull out all the stops to compromise the
integrity of the U.S. tax system. Whether it is someone
who claims false tax credits or a team of individuals
promoting and facilitating abusive tax schemes, it is CI’s
job to catch the criminals who try to steer clear of paying
their fair share. CI investigates promoters and the clients
who willfully violate tax laws by participating in abusive
tax schemes.
Tax credits that sound too good to be true are usually tax
schemes pushed by promoters using improper methods
to avoid paying taxes. Promoters peddle large tax
deductions by abusing legitimate credits, such as fuel tax
credits. Fuel tax credits (FTCs) are meant for off-highway
business and farming use and are not available to most
taxpayers. The FTC has been around for over 50 years,
yet unscrupulous tax return preparers continue to abuse
the credit. Individual tax returns requesting FTCs have
significantly increased this filing season. In fiscal year
2023, CI initiated investigations involving more than
$164 million of potentially fraudulent FTCs and seized
funds totaling $1.49 million from these schemes.
In April 2023, five individuals were sentenced from six
to 40 years in prison for their roles in a $1 billion biofuel
tax conspiracy, one of the largest fraud schemes in U.S.
history. The individuals conspired to appear as though
they were producing and selling biodiesel to fraudulently
claim more than $1 billion in refundable renewable fuel
DETECTING
FRAUDULENT
TAX
REFUNDS
tax credits. As a result of the scheme, IRS paid out more
than $511 million in credits to Washakie Renewable
Energy, a Utah biodiesel company owned by Jacob and
Isaiah Kingston.
Similarly, promoters tout abusive tax schemes under
syndicated conservation easements. In September
2023, Jack Fisher and James Sinnott were found guilty
of a fraudulent tax shelter scheme involving syndicated
conservation easements, where they and others received
more than $41 million in payments. Fisher and Sinnott
designed, marketed, and sold over $1.3 billion in abusive
syndicated conservation easement tax shelters. They
grossly inflated the value of the easements so their
high-income clients could claim fraudulently inflated
tax deductions.
Other fraudsters make false claims on government grant
programs. In December 2022, Christopher Condron
was sentenced to seven years in prison for defrauding
the U.S. Treasury of more than $50 million in tax-free
energy grants as part of the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009. For nearly four years, Condron
and his co-conspirators submitted fraudulent grant
applications, falsely claiming entities had acquired, put
into service, or started construction of energy property
and sought reimbursement under the Act for costs they
never actually incurred.
Tax-related crimes make up the lion’s share of CI special
agents’ investigations. Few crimes impact all American
taxpayers like tax crimes, because tax revenue is
the lifeblood of the government. It is estimated that
fraudulent tax refunds cost Americans tens of millions
of dollars each year.
By investigating bad actors who submit questionable
refunds, file returns using stolen identities, use dishonest
tax preparers, or claim false tax losses or dependent
information, CI helps ensure the integrity of the tax
system. CI special agents use their financial investigative
expertise to uncover and quantify the seriousness of
these schemes.
Questionable refund schemes often involve individuals
who file numerous fraudulent tax returns for others,
but sometimes they are based solely on false information
submitted by a single taxpayer. CI special agents
uncovered a years-long scam by Francis Burns, who
filed five false tax returns asking for refunds totaling
more than $80 million. He claimed to be filing returns
on behalf of an estate or a trust that did not exist. The
returns contained fake Forms 1099s that falsely claimed
significant sums of income were withheld for federal
taxes by third parties, such as banks. In reality, Burns
was unemployed, and there was no estate, no trust, and
no income. While he did not receive the entire attempted
refund amount, he spent the refunds he did receive on
expenses including a lavish luxury home and a vehicle.
He was sentenced to five years in federal prison and
ordered to pay restitution. CI seized and forfeited a
significant percentage of the assets Burns purchased
with the fraudulent refunds.
Stolen identity refund fraud occurs when an identity thief
uses a legitimate taxpayer’s identity to file a fraudulent
tax return and to claim a refund. Generally, the identity
thief will attempt to get a refund early in the filing season
before the legitimate taxpayer files their tax return.
CI aggressively investigates these cases and brings
perpetrators to justice. In September 2023, Ariel Jimenez
was sentenced to 12 years in prison for leading a tax
fraud and identity theft conspiracy, where he obtained
stolen identities of hundreds of minors and sold those
identities to his tax clients so they could fraudulently
claim them as dependents on their tax returns.
Return preparer investigations involve corrupt return
preparers, who orchestrate the preparation and filing
of false income tax returns for others. These preparers
often claim inflated personal or business expenses, false
deductions, excessive exemptions, and unallowable tax
credits. The preparers’ clients may or may not know their
tax returns were falsified. In North Carolina, two return
preparers filed 1,000 false tax returns with the IRS that
claimed approximately $5 million in fraudulent refunds.
Both women behind this scheme were subsequently
sentenced to federal prison and ordered to pay
$5.2 million in restitution to the IRS. CI special agents
investigate hundreds of these cases each year, helping
ensure fairness in the tax system.
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
14
CYBERCRIMES
& TRACKING
FUNDS THROUGH
CRYPTOCURRENCIES
CI remains focused on stopping those who use digital
assets to exploit technology for nefarious purposes,
mitigate illicit finance and identify national security risks.
While digital assets provide opportunities for responsible
financial innovation, safe and affordable financial
services, they also pose risk of facilitating money
laundering, cybercrime and ransomware, narcotics and
human trafficking, terrorism, and proliferation financing.
Cryptocurrency continues to fuel cybercrime. CI
Cybercrime Units have some of the top financial
investigators in tracing cryptocurrency. Cybercriminals
continue to create more sophisticated hacks and
schemes in an attempt to outsmart the law to steal and
launder massive amounts of cryptocurrency. CI has
demonstrated its ability to pursue these criminals, no
matter how complex the schemes, as shown in the Mt.
Gox hack and the takedown of the illicit cryptocurrency
exchange BTC-e. CI investigation of BTC-e exchange
revealed illicit proceeds from numerous computer
intrusions and hacking incidents, ransomware events,
identity theft schemes, corrupt public officials, and
narcotics distribution rings.
Ransomware, malware, banking trojans, mineware
and crimeware, skyrocketed after cryptocurrency was
created. From anywhere in the world, a cybercriminal
seeks to steal data through any means possible.
This includes computer system hacking or fraudulently
gaining trust in targets of opportunity, such as the
elderly. Chain hopping and token swapping have
become common techniques utilizing uncommon or
new cryptocurrency or privacy coins. These techniques
used by hackers like Ilya Lichtenstein make following the
money more difficult, but not impossible.
The virtual currency scheme “pig butchering” continued
to rise in 2023, primarily targeting U.S. taxpayers. Thus
far, the highest identified loss in one of these schemes is
$2 million, but average losses are hundreds of thousands
of dollars. This scheme uses fake identities, relationships,
and storylines to enable the victim to trust the scammer.
After convincing the victim to invest in virtual currency or
an over-the counter foreign exchange scheme, the victim
becomes unable to access their funds because it’s under
the scammer’s control.
Key partnerships with federal law enforcement continues
to play an integral role in investigations while following
the money trail no matter where it leads. The sentencing
of Ionut-Razvan Sandu, a Romanian national, for
laundering more than $3.5 million in fraudulent online
auction proceeds brought justice for more than 900
American victims and highlighted the importance of
working alongside law enforcement partners to pursue
cybercriminals and bring them to justice.
FIGHTING
FENTANYL &
EXPLOITATION ON
THE DARK WEB
MARKETPLACE
CI special agents work tirelessly to combat money
laundering, drug trafficking, and exploration on darknet
marketplaces. CI’s Cyber and Forensic Services and
Narcotics and National Security Section collaborated
to initiate a Cyber-Organized Crime Drug Enforcement
Task Forces (OCDETF) program to directly target
criminals using the internet, darknet, and virtual
currencies to conduct and profit from the sale of illicit
narcotics. Our special agents are experienced in solving
sophisticated cyber-related schemes and are up to the
challenge of locating and apprehending criminals hiding
in the digital world.
“
Under the Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement
(JCODE) task force, CI and other law enforcement
agencies around the world have joined forces to identify
and take down criminals who use the darknet to buy
and sell narcotics. CI plays an integral role in these
investigations by following the money trail, whether it is in
fiat currency or digital assets on the blockchain.
Sadly, it is not only narcotics being trafficked on the
darknet. Darknet sites also profit from human trafficking
and the sexual exploitation of children. In July 2023,
Vincent Galarza was sentenced to over 17 years in prison
related to the Welcome to Video investigation. Galarza
was one of 337 individuals arrested around the world.
As a result of the investigation, law enforcement rescued
23 minor victims who were abused by users of the site.
In May 2023, CI and JCODE partners announced
the results of Operation SpecTor. The operation
resulted in 288 arrests and the seizure of 117 firearms,
850 kilograms of drugs that included 64 kilograms of
fentanyl or fentanyl-laced narcotics, and $53.4 million
in cash and virtual currencies. Defendants in more than
CI’s Cyber-OCDETF program directly targets
criminals using the internet, darknet, and
virtual currencies to conduct and profit from
the sale of illicit narcotics.
”
100 cases were prosecuted for selling tens-of-thousands
of counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl, in
exchange for cryptocurrency via darknet marketplaces.
CI continues to dedicate investigative time and expertise
to tackle darknet and cryptocurrency crimes. In June
2023, CI also joined forces with other federal agencies
to create the Darknet Marketplace and Digital Currency
Crimes Task Force.
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
15
INTERCEPTING
THREATS TO
OUR NATIONAL
SECURITY
Criminals, corrupt entities, and foreign adversaries
constitute significant financial threats to U.S. National
Security. CI leverages our unique investigative authorities,
in collaboration with agency partners, to identify, disrupt,
and defeat those who engage in activities which degrade
our financial integrity, distort markets, and victimize
our citizens. CI participates in investigations involving
terrorism, espionage, and other significant criminal
activities undertaken on behalf of our nation's adversaries
or international criminal organizations.
Illicit actors engage in a wide variety of financial crimes
and utilize their ill-gotten gains to cyber attacks, direct
kinetic, and intelligence against Americans and our
interests, both at home and abroad. In June 2023, three
Russian nationals were charged with deploying LockBit
ransomware and other cyberattacks against victim
computer systems in the United States, Asia, Europe,
and Africa. LockBit actors allegedly executed over 1,400
attacks against victims around the world, issuing over
$100 million in ransom demands and receiving tens of
millions of dollars in actual ransom payments made in the
form of bitcoin.
CI’s unique ability to follow the money trail continues
to play an integral role in interdicting illicit financing
activities and threats to our national security. These
organizations cannot exist without the behind-the-scenes
financial support funding their illicit activity. In November
2022, Mustafa Alowemer was sentenced to over 17 years
in prison for his plan to bomb a church in Pittsburgh
in the name of ISIS. Alowemer targeted the church,
he described as a "Nigerian Christian" church, to "take
revenge for our [ISIS] brothers in Nigeria." In April 2023,
Dr. Charles Lieber, was sentenced for lying to federal
authorities about his affiliation with the People's Republic
of China's Thousand Talents Program and failing to report
the associated income he received from the Wuhan
University of Technology (WUT) in China.
CI also continued to share our best practices by hosting
training sessions for other investigative agencies around
the world. Most recently, in September 2023, CI trained
investigators from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi
Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates on techniques for
identifying and combating the flow of money to and within
terrorist organizations.
Through our participation in The National Joint Terrorism
Task Force (NJTTF) and The National Counterintelligence
Task Force (NCITF), CI and our agency partners stand
ready in our shared missions to ensure the integrity of the
U.S. financial system by combatting illicit finance.
DISRUPTING &
DISMANTLING
TRANSNATIONAL
CRIMINAL
ORGANIZATIONS
CI targets money trails tied to transnational criminal
organizations, which are often linked to a variety of
crimes, including narcotics trafficking, terrorist financing,
fraud, and illegal firearms distribution. CI also partners
with other law enforcement agencies to pool resources
to disrupt the transnational criminal organizations.
CI holds key positions with the Executive Office and
Fusion Center for the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement
Task Force (OCDETF), the Financial Crimes Enforcement
Network, the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas
Task Force, and more. In fiscal year 2023, over 11%
of CI’s direct investigative time was dedicated to
narcotics investigations.
In the last 10 years, CI was involved in approximately
36% of all OCDETF investigations and historically
participated in 90% of all money laundering prosecutions
across the United States. These investigations resulted
in the removal of illegal weapons and drugs, including
fentanyl, out of public circulation. In January 2023,
Chance Alan Wilson, leader of the Universal Aryan
Brotherhood (UAB), was sentenced to additional prison
time after being found guilty of distribution of hundreds
of kilograms of methamphetamine and other drugs.
In total, 69 individuals associated with the UAB’s
operations have been charged and convicted in both state
and federal court. Collectively, the individuals charged
federally have been sentenced to 418 years in prison.
CI is not only focused on illegal drugs but also the misuse
of prescription drugs. In June 2023, Dr. Dzung Ahn Pham
was sentenced to over 12 years in federal prison for
illegally distributing opioids and other powerful narcotics
by writing prescriptions for patients without a legitimate
medical purpose. Pham admitted he wrote prescriptions
for approximately 53,693 pills of oxycodone, 68,795 pills
of hydrocodone, and 29,286 pills of amphetamine salts.
CI’s specialized financial expertise provides prosecutors
with options for charging criminal co-conspirators,
especially those who develop elaborate schemes to
launder illicit funds via Black-Market Currency Exchanges
(BMCE), Trade Based Money Laundering (TBML)
schemes, unlicensed Money Service Businesses (MSB),
Hawala transactions, shell/shelf corporations, casinos,
smurfing, micro-structuring, bulk cash smuggling, or
virtual currency exchanges. Miguel Salinas Salcedo
served as a Mexico-based “peso broker,” who arranged
with drug traffickers to trade pesos that he controlled
in Mexico for the cash proceeds in the United States.
Salinas Salcedo and associates picked up the cash in the
United States, deposited it into various bank accounts,
and then made corresponding quantities of pesos
available to the traffickers in Mexico. In August 2023,
Salinas Salcedo was sentenced to eight years in prison
for laundering drug proceeds.
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
16
GLOBAL
COLLABORATION
& ENFORCEMENT
As our world becomes increasingly interconnected
through global commerce and technology, CI serves as a
leader in protecting the interests of the United States and
its allies beyond the physical borders of our country. CI
has encountered more complicated transnational crime
conspiracies affecting all of CI’s investigative priorities,
including core mission tax crimes, narcotics-related
crimes, and other financial crimes. These schemes
include tax evasion, international money laundering,
illicit use of virtual currency, cyber hacking, terrorist
financing, public corruption, human trafficking, and
sanctions evasion.
To combat these offenses, CI has attachés posted
in 11 overseas locations, who work with foreign
governments and build partnerships to further financial
crime investigations. In June 2023, CI deployed four
cyber attachés on long-term details to Germany,
Colombia, Singapore, and Australia to work with foreign
governments on cyber investigations.
CI is a proud member of the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax
Enforcement (J5), which attacks transnational tax crime
by collaborating on enforcement operations, gathering
information, sharing intelligence, and conducting
coordinated operations against international criminals.
The J5 includes the Australian Taxation Office, the Canada
Revenue Agency, the Dutch Fiscal Information and
Investigation Service, His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs,
and CI. In July 2023, J5 efforts resulted in the indictment
of an international tax advisor accused of concealing
millions of dollars of income for high income Americans.
CI’s International Training Team (ITT) delivers trainings to
representatives from multiple countries across the globe.
Training provides foreign governments in developing
nations with necessary tools to combat financial crimes.
During fiscal year 2023s, ITT taught 33 courses to over
1,100 law enforcement officials from 96 countries. In
May 2023, CI delivered blockchain analysis tools and
cyber training to Ukrainian law enforcement agencies.
In September 2023, CI teamed up with the UK and the
Netherlands to provide a second round of training, which
was focused on cryptocurrency and blockchain tracing, to
Ukrainian law enforcement officers.
CI participates on multiple national taskforces that are
uniquely positioned to combat global threats. CI partners
with the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to
identify, develop, and add new individuals and entities
to the Special Designated Nationals list. CI also plays
an important role in sanctions enforcement. The agency
plays an integral role in Taskforce KleptoCapture, which
focuses on Russian sanction evaders.
Working globally to ensure criminals cannot seek cover
overseas, CI tirelessly battles complex international
financial crimes.
CONTRIBUTING
TO THE
COMMUNITY
While CI is laser-focused on combatting financial crimes,
CI also engages in community outreach to proactively
protect fellow citizens from fraud, provide a helping hand,
and assist when disaster strikes.
CI participates in hundreds of outreach events year-round
to warn the public of fraud and scams, in addition
to providing tips during tax filing season. CI offices
participate in community events, such as National Night
Out and the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special
Olympics. In our local communities, CI employees visited
schools to encourage students to strive and thrive as
future community leaders and to pursue education. CI
offices throughout the country volunteered with a wide
variety of organizations to help build homes, feed the
hungry, and pack hygiene products and toiletries for
those most in need.
CI is proud to partner with the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) to assist in natural
disasters. FEMA designated 14 Emergency Management
Functions (EMFs) to assist in disaster recovery efforts,
which range from transportation to external affairs. CI
has approximately 140 special agents assigned to the
ESF #13 Cadre, who provide public safety and security
assistance during natural disasters. During deployment,
CI special agents provide security for aid centers, search
and recuse teams, or field hospitals in the most impacted
areas. In 2023, CI’s ESF#13 members were deployed
to Maui, Hawaii following the devastating wildfires and to
areas of Florida devastated by Hurricane Idalia.
CI special agents play an important role in the Continuity
of Operations (COOP) for IRS and Treasury, as they must
evacuate executive leadership and provide security for
the command center during emergency events. They
are also the first responders in case of active shooter
situations in many IRS buildings throughout the country.
CI employees also live and volunteer in the communities
they work in, and they always step up to help those in
need. This is exemplified by the actions taken in March
2023 by a special agent in New York. While getting
ready for work, the special agent heard screaming
and subsequent gunfire. Armed with his firearm and
badge, the special agent ran outside to respond, finding
a suspect had shot someone and then entered a taxi.
The special agent held the man and taxi at gunpoint
until responding NYPD officers could take the man into
custody. CI special agents can always be counted on to
answer when duty calls.
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
17
PROTECTING
OUR SENIORS
FROM SCAMS
Few segments of the population deserve our respect,
admiration, and protection as much as our seniors do.
In recent years, seniors have increasingly become the
target of a wide variety of online fraud schemes. These
schemes run the gamut from romance and lottery scams
to so-called grandparent and tech-support scams, and
they cost elderly Americans more than $1 billion each year.
CI tackles these threats through a multitiered approach,
consisting of education, criminal investigations, and
public-private partnerships. CI also plays a vital role
in helping ensure that recovered funds are returned to
the victims.
In fiscal year 2023, CI led or assisted in dozens of
criminal investigations that brought the operators of fraud
schemes to justice. Whether the charges include money
laundering, wire fraud, mail fraud, or other charges,
CI’s vast financial toolkit continues to be a critical force
multiplier for successful criminal prosecutions against
those who exploit the elderly.
In early 2023, following a years-long investigation, five
defendants received sentences from three to eight years
in federal prison for their role in a scam that bilked nearly
70 victims, using a sophisticated “grandparent scam.”
The defendants claimed that a close relative of the victim
SAFEGUARDING
COVID RELIEF
FUNDS
was in extreme danger, thereby inducing the victim to
send thousands of dollars to help. In February 2023,
Ejiro Efevwerha was sentenced to over 7 years in federal
prison for laundering the proceeds tied to grandchildrenin-jail, inheritance, lottery and romance schemes.
CI also participates on 20 Transnational Elder Fraud
Strike Forces, worked through the U.S. Department of
Justice (DOJ). These strike forces provide dedicated
resources to identify the most harmful elder fraud
schemes and to bring perpetrators to justice. Last fall, CI
joined the DOJ in announcing the return of approximately
$40 million in funds forfeited to the United States from
the Western Union Company to nearly 25,000 victims,
some of whom had fallen prey to elderly scams.
Raising awareness through education is a key component
to CI’s effort to combat elder fraud. CI partnered with
the private industry in outreach efforts to arm seniors
with tips and resources to provide a critical first line
of defense. In support of 2023 National Consumer
Protection Week, CI published tips specifically geared to
seniors, which were distributed to senior care facilities.
The agency has also communicated information about
elder fraud at various outreach events and has partnered
with congressional representatives to educate seniors in
their respective districts.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress passed
the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security
(CARES) Act that provided economic assistance to the
American industry, including workers, families, and small
businesses. The CARES Act authorized the Paycheck
Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster
Loans (EIDL) to help businesses survive the economic
downturn caused by the pandemic. Unfortunately,
criminals saw the CARES Act as an opportunity to defraud
the government by submitting false claims.
CI has worked tirelessly finding and holding accountable
individuals who defrauded these programs, dedicating over
10% of Direct Investigative Time (DIT) to combat CARES
Act violations. Investigations range from fraudulently
obtained employee refund tax credits to falsified PPP loans.
PPP loans put in place with the intention of protecting
employees have been exploited by fraudsters.
As of September 30, 2023, CI investigated 1,444 tax
and money laundering cases related to COVID-19 fraud,
with an estimated fraud loss of $8.8 billion. Numerous
investigations have resulted in lengthy prison sentences.
Don Cisternino was sentence to over eight years in federal
prison for wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and illegal
monetary transactions for his scheme to obtain false
PPP loans. Cisternino received more than $7.2 million in
emergency funds through fraudulent PPP loans. Rather
than use the funds to pay employees and business
expenses, he purchased vehicles, including a Maserati
and a Mercedes-Benz, and a 12,579 sq. ft. residence on
a 12-acre estate. Once Cisternino caught wind of the
investigation, he fled to Switzerland, but he was later
extradited from Croatia to face charges.
The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) is a refundable
tax credit for businesses who paid employees while
shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic or for those
who had significant declines in gross receipts from March
13, 2020 to December 31, 2021. The ERC was designed
to encourage businesses to keep employees on their
payroll. However, unscrupulous promoters have been
encouraging businesses who do not qualify for the credit
to file fraudulent ERC claims. As of September 30, 2023,
CI has initiated 301 investigations involving over $3.4
billion of potentially fraudulent ERC claims for tax years
2020 through 2023.
CI’s commitment to finding COVID-19 fraud remains
unwavering. Working closely with our law enforcement
partners on the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force,
CI continues to bring criminals who defrauded these vital
programs to justice.
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
18
ROOTING
OUT
CORRUPTION
CI is uniquely qualified to investigate corruption of all
types, because, at its core, corruption is a crime of
greed. Corruption is the abuse of power for personal
gain. CI investigates elected individuals who violate the
public’s trust. These individuals may be from all levels of
government, including local, county, state, and federal
government, as well as foreign entities. Corruption
investigations may involve crimes, such as bribery,
extortion, embezzlement, kickbacks, tax fraud, and
money laundering.
A bribery scheme turned into nearly five years of jail time
for Luis Arroyo, a former Illinois state representative who
accepted thousands of dollars in bribes from a gaming
company. In exchange for those bribes, Arroyo promoted
legislation in the Illinois House of Representatives related
to the sweepstakes industry and advised other state
lawmakers to support the legislation.
Kickbacks, while unethical and unlawful, are also
taxable. Kickback schemes run the gamut and can
include payments in return for loan approvals, awarding
lucrative contracts to personal associates, and pushing
RECOVERING
LOSSES FOR
VICTIMS
unnecessary medical procedures. In July 2023, Jimmy
and Ashley Collins, a husband and wife, pleaded guilty
to receiving kickback payments of over $45 million
related to a $65 million TRICARE scheme. Their clinics
authorized over 4,000 prescriptions and billed TRICARE
for them. The prescriptions were diverted to a pharmacy,
who then kicked back a percentage of the TRICARE
reimbursement to the pair.
At times, corruption involves violations of the Foreign
Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (FCPA). FCPA prohibits
certain individuals and entities from making payments to
foreign government officials to obtain or retain business.
In September 2023, Albemarle Corporation, a publicly
traded specialty chemicals manufacturing company,
paid a hefty price for FCPA violations. The company’s
third-party sales agents and subsidiary employees
conspired to pay bribes to government officials to obtain
and retain chemical catalyst business with state-owned
oil refineries in Vietnam, Indonesia, and India. A CI
investigation into the arrangement resulted in the
company agreeing to pay $218 million as part of
a non-prosecution agreement.
While CI works diligently to put criminals out of business,
we also recognize the hardships endured by crime
victims. CI’s asset recovery program utilizes forfeiture
authority to disrupt and dismantle criminal enterprises.
Investigative seizures and forfeitures enable CI to not
only seize assets and proceeds of criminal activity but
also to help reimburse victims for their losses.
In the investigation of the Silk Road hacker, James Zhong,
the government seized bitcoin valued at over $3.4 billion
at the time of seizure. Using a decentralized bitcoin mixer,
an overseas cryptocurrency exchange, and a variety of
technology tools, Zhong stole 50,000 bitcoin from
Silk Road, an online darknet marketplace. Due to CI’s
ability to follow the money, even through the Dark web,
special agents discovered and recovered the bitcoin
stolen by Zhong.
Once adjudicated in federal court, the seized funds are
forfeited to the Treasury Forfeiture Fund (TFF), which
is managed by the Treasury Executive Office for Asset
Forfeiture. Whenever possible, forfeited funds are
returned to identified victims of the criminal activity.
During fiscal year 2023, CI seized assets valued at
approximately $272 million and forfeited approximately
“
While CI works diligently to put criminals
out of business, we also recognize the
hardships endured by crime victims.
CI’s asset recovery program utilizes
forfeiture authority to disrupt and
dismantle criminal enterprises.
”
$3.5 billion in ill-gotten proceeds. In addition,
approximately $30.3 million was refunded as part of
CI’s asset recovery efforts.
If forfeited funds exceed the amount necessary to
compensate victims of a crime or those with rightful
claim to the asset, the proceeds are used to reimburse
law enforcement agencies for expenses like enhanced
training, equipment, and costs associated with
conducting criminal investigations. In addition, the
TFF shares a portion of forfeited funds with other
federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
19
In addition to our tax and money laundering authorities,
CI also investigates violations of The Bank Secrecy Act
(BSA). The BSA mandates the disclosure of foreign bank
accounts, the reporting of certain currency transactions
conducted with businesses or financial institutions, and
transportation of currency across U.S. borders. While the
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is tasked
with administering the BSA, the U.S. Treasury Secretary
delegated responsibility for all criminal enforcement of
the BSA to CI.
SECURING THE
INTEGRITY OF THE
FINANCIAL SYSTEM
CI’s BSA program has grown substantially since its
inception in early 2000. BSA data helps investigators
detect suspicious financial activity and identify unusual
transactional patterns indicative of criminal behavior.
CI leverages our data analytics to identify the highest
quality leads for possible investigation. In fiscal year
2023, BSA data was queried in over 89.6% of CI
investigations, and 14% of CI’s investigations were
initiated based on BSA information.
CI-led SAR Review Teams (SAR RTs) and Financial
Crimes Task Forces (FCTFs) are in 92 federal judicial
districts, where more than 200 special agents and
investigative analysts collaborate with federal, state,
and local law enforcement partners to identify and
investigate financial crimes specific to their geographic
areas. These crimes include tax, BSA violations, money
laundering, narcotics, and more.
Chief Jim Lee described CI’s valued role in the BSA
program: “The Bank Secrecy Act exists to prevent
financial institutions from being used as a vehicle by
criminals to conceal or launder their ill-gotten gains. It
also serves as a safety net for crime victims. Hundreds
of millions of dollars in restitution have been awarded
“
to crime victims because our agents were able to use
BSA data to prove a crime was committed.” CI is the only
federal law enforcement agency to win a FinCEN award in
every award period since the program’s inception in 2015.
CI employs every lawful technique at our disposal,
including undercover operations, to detect and investigate
potential criminal violations within our jurisdiction,
including businesses that willfully fail to file required
disclosures under BSA. CI’s undercover agents utilize
sophisticated techniques to initiate contact with
individuals perpetrating crimes and to gather the evidence
necessary for prosecution. In FY 2023, special agents
conducted approximately 475 undercover operations.
In August 2023, Junaid “Jay” Sahibzada plead guilty to
evading federal reporting requirements for businesses
that conduct cash transactions above $10,000, by failing
to file Form 8300. An undercover agent posing as a heroin
dealer met with Sahibzada to discuss laundering drug
proceeds through jewelry purchases. Sahibzada agreed
to help conceal the purchases from the government
by not filing the required Form 8300. Sahibzada later
admitted to special agents that he had never filed Forms
8300, despite having completed multiple jewelry cash
transactions exceeding $10,000.
BSA data is a force multiplier for CI’s investigations and
is crucial in combatting a wide variety of financial crimes,
including tax evasion. In September 2023, Mark Gyetvay
was sentenced to more than seven years in federal
prison in a scheme to hide millions of dollars of income in
undisclosed Swiss bank accounts. Gyetvay was convicted
of failing to file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial
Accounts (FBAR), making a false statement to the IRS,
and willfully failing to file tax returns.
BSA data is a force
multiplier for CI’s
investigations and is
crucial in combatting
a wide variety of
financial crimes, including
tax evasion.
”
BSA DATA USAGE
1.8M
AVERAGE QUERIES PER YEAR
BY CI SPECIAL AGENTS
14%
INVESTIGATIONS INITIATED
BASED ON BSA INFORMATION
89%
INVESTIGATIONS
QUERIED BSA DATA
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
20
FIELD OFFICE MAP
Click on an area name to go to that Field Office area.
NORTHERN AREA
Guam
Puerto Rico
WESTERN AREA
U.S. Virgin Islands
SOUTHERN AREA
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
21
WESTERN AREA
Click on a city to go to that Field Office or on an area name
to go to that Field Office area.
NORTHERN AREA
SEATTLE
Guam
DENVER
ST. LOUIS
OAKLAND
LOS ANGELES
PHOENIX
Puerto Rico
U.S. Virgin Islands
SOUTHERN AREA
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
22
WESTERN AREA
X CLOSE
Click on a city to go to that Field Office or on an area name
to go to that Field Office area.
DENVER
WESTERN AREA
1999 Broadway Denver, CO 80202
DenverFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
COLORADO
SEATTLE
Colorado Springs • Denver • Durango • Fort Collins
Grand Junction • Westminster
IDAHO
Boise • Coeur D’alene
MONTANA
Billings • Helena • Missoula
WYOMING
Cheyenne
THE DENVER FIELD OFFICE covers a vast and diverse
area encompassing approximately 432,500 square miles
Guam of Colorado, Idaho, Montana, and
that includes the states
Wyoming. Our special agents are based in twelve cities
throughout the region and specialize in investigating
sophisticated financial crimes involving evading federal
income or payroll taxes, money laundering, andOAKLAND
COVID-19
relief scams. Denver Field Office special agents focus on
financial crimes in our region and lead investigations all
over the world. When other law enforcement agencies
identify any financial aspect of an investigation, they rely
on our agents’ unmatched financial investigative expertise
to present the most thorough investigation possible to
LOSoften
ANGELES
federal prosecutors. These investigations
involve the
Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF)
and lead to dismantling drug operations by disrupting the
flow of money throughout the organization. Denver’s team
also includes our professional staff who provide critical
support support to our investigations.
Montana Money Mule Sentenced to 57 Months,
NORTHERN
AREA
Ordered to Pay $2 Million
Bookkeeper Sentenced for Embezzling Money
from Non-Profit Community Theatre
Colorado Man Receives More than 4 Years in
Prison for COVID-19 Relief Fraud
For 18 months, Carissa Dunn-Pollard worked as a
bookkeeper for the Cheyenne Little Theatre Players Inc.,
a non-profit organization based in Wyoming that relies
primarily on volunteers and part-time employees. During
this time, she devised a scheme to embezzle $220,481.57
from the theatre by creating payroll deposits to her bank
account. In addition to committing wire fraud, Pollard failed
to file federal income tax returns reporting the income for
tax years 2018 through 2021, resulting in $113,251.58
of taxes owed. Pollard spent part of her ill-gotten gains
on a Mercedes, a country club membership, and a suite at
a Colorado Rockies baseball game for her son’s baseball
team. In June 2023, PollardDENVER
was sentenced to 21 months in
prison for wire fraud and failure to file a tax return. She was
also ordered to pay taxes owed to the IRS and $220,481.57
in restitution to the Cheyenne Little Theatre.
From April 2020 through September 2021, Edward
Harrington submitted multiple fraudulent Paycheck
Protection Program (PPP) applications to seven banks and
one lender on behalf of business entities that he supposedly
controlled. He falsely represented that all PPP funds were
intended for eligible business expenses when, in fact, the
proceeds were used for his benefit to purchase goods and
property, including real estate and vehicles. Harrington went
on to submit PPP loan forgiveness applications, in which
he made more false representations and certifications
regarding his businesses and his compliance with the PPP
program rules. In July 2023, Harrington was sentenced to
51 months in prison for wire fraud and money laundering
and was ordered to pay restitution for the funds he illegally
ST. LOUIS
obtained in the amount of nearly $1.1 million.
Learn more about this case.
Learn more about this case.
From about May 2017 until February 2021, Theresa Chabot,
through her business, Avalanche Creek LLC, collected and
deposited money from various wire fraud schemes around
the United States into her bank accounts. Chabot then
funneled millions of dollars overseas, including to the United
Arab Emirates, and she received a 10 percent commission
on the transactions. These schemes varied, including
preying on the elderly, promoting fantasies of love and
friendships, and purporting oil investments, advance-pay
schemes, and gold and silver investments. In 2018, the
Secret Service informed Chabot she was acting as a “money
mule,” but Chabot ignored the warning and continued
sending money overseas. When interviewed again by
agents in 2020, Chabot admitted one instance in which she
received $10,000 hidden in a stuffed animal and deposited
the money into her account. In February 2023, Chabot
was sentenced to 57 months in prison for operating an
unlicensed money transmitting business and was ordered to
pay $2 million in restitution.
Learn more about this case.
PHOENIX
Puerto Rico
View FO Photo Gallery
U.S. Virgin Islands
SOUTHERN AREA
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
23
X CLOSE
WESTERN AREA
DENVER
WESTERN AREA
1999 Broadway Denver, CO 80202
DenverFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
Click on a city to go to that Field Office or on an area name
to go to that Field Office area.
NORTHERN AREA
SEATTLE
Denver Field OfficeGuam
Special Agent in Charge conducts an
interview with a television reporter.
DENVER
Special agents attend an Army base career fair.
ST. LOUIS
OAKLAND
LOS ANGELES
A special agent discusses a scenario with students during a Citizen Academy.
PHOENIX
Puerto Rico
U.S. Virgin Islands
Special agents suit up before executing a search warrant.
A special agent conducts quarterly firearms proficiency training.
SOUTHERN AREA
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
24
WESTERN AREA
Click on a city to go to that Field Office or on an area name
to go to that Field Office area.
X CLOSE
LOS ANGELES
WESTERN AREA
NORTHERN AREA
300 N. Los Angeles Street, Los Angeles CA, 90012
LosAngelesFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
SEATTLE
CALIFORNIA
Camarillo • El Monte • Laguna Niguel • Long Beach
Los Angeles • San Bernardino • San Diego • San Marcos
Santa Ana • Santa Maria • Van Nuys
THE LOS ANGELES FIELD OFFICE is the nation’s largest
field office by population and serves a population of nearly
24 million people, stretching over nine counties from San
Luis Obispo to the border between United States and
Guam Field Office covers two judicial
Mexico. The Los Angeles
districts in California, the Central and the Southern Judicial
Districts. The Los Angeles Field Office works a diverse mix
of financial investigations across this large geographic area,
including cybercrime, international tax fraud, identity theft,
OAKLAND
public corruption, and Bank Secrecy Act violations. We
play crucial roles in the U.S. Attorney’s priority task forces,
including JTTF and OCDETF.
LOS ANGELES
L.A. Man Sentenced to Over 24 Years in Prison
for COVID-19 Jobless Benefits Scam, Tax Fraud,
Drug Trafficking
San Diego Man Sentenced to Prison for Tax
Evasion, Fraud and Failing to Appear for His 2001
Sentencing Hearing
Edward Kim, of Los Angeles, California, fraudulently
obtained nearly $5.5 million in COVID-related jobless
benefits by using the identities of California state prison
inmates and other third parties. He also tried to fraudulently
obtain more than $356,400 in tax refunds and trafficked
fentanyl and methamphetamine. Kim pleaded guilty in
November 2022 to one count of conspiracy to distribute
DENVER
methamphetamine and fentanyl,
one count of distribution of
methamphetamine, one count of conspiracy to defraud the
government with respect to claims, two counts of mail fraud,
and two counts of possession of 15 or more unauthorized
access devices. He was sentenced in March 2023 to more
than 24 years in federal prison. Additionally, he was ordered
to pay nearly $5.5 million in restitution to the California
Employment Development Department (EDD) and $16,800
in restitution to the IRS.
Robin J. McPherson, formerly of San Diego but apprehended
in Costa Rica, returned to the United States in 2022 to face
sentencing for his criminal conduct spanning three decades.
McPherson failed to appear for sentencing, conspired
to defraud the IRS, evaded the proper assessment of
income tax, and committed wire fraud. McPherson was
convicted in a December 2000 bench trial of conspiring to
defraud the IRS and collectively evading over $1 million in
income taxes for 1993 and 1994, but he skipped his 2001
ST. LOUIS
sentencing hearing date and fled to Costa Rica. Between
2016 and 2020, he continued to defraud individuals out of
approximately $1.5 million by soliciting investment in Costa
Rican villas that were never built. In April 2023, McPherson
was sentenced to over five years in prison and ordered to
pay approximately $4.7 million in restitution to his victims
and the United States.
Learn more about this case.
Learn more about this case.
PHOENIX
French Man Sentenced
for International Tax Scheme
From January 2016 to November 2017, Ayodele Arasokun
devised a scheme to unlawfully obtain tax refunds by filing
fraudulent federal income tax returns. Arasokun collected
the names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers of
multiple individuals across the United States, with West
Virginia residents among his victims. He then compromised
the IRS Electronic Filing Pin application, an online electronic
portal used for e-filing, by using the collected personal
information to file fraudulent tax returns, which contained
fictitious income and withholding amounts and other false
information. Arasokun then directed the tax refunds to be
deposited onto prepaid debit cards and into bank accounts
that he monitored. In total, Arasokun filed 1,701 false tax
returns, which claimed false federal income tax refunds
of $9.1 million, and the IRS paid out $2.2 million of these
refunds. In October 2022, a jury convicted Arasokun of
21 counts of wire fraud and aggravated identify theft. In
September 2023, Arasokun was sentenced to 34 years in
federal prison for orchestrating an international tax scheme.
Learn more about this case.
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WESTERN AREA
LOS ANGELES
WESTERN AREA
300 N. Los Angeles Street, Los Angeles CA, 90012
LosAngelesFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
Click on a city to go to that Field Office or on an area name
to go to that Field Office area.
NORTHERN AREA
SEATTLE
Special agents participate
Guam in a career fair to increase exposure
of low-income students to diverse careers and professions.
A special agent speaks about CI to university students during
a recruiting event.
DENVER
ST. LOUIS
OAKLAND
LOS ANGELES
Special agents maintain firearms proficiency on the range.
PHOENIX
A special agent discusses the role of CI special agents during National Night Out hosted by federal law enforcement agencies from across
San Diego County.
Puerto Rico
U.S. Virgin Islands
Los Angeles Field Office Special Agent in Charge participates in a morning news interview with NBC 7 San Diego.
SOUTHERN AREA
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
26
WESTERN AREA
Click on a city to go to that Field Office or on an area name
to go to that Field Office area.
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OAKLAND
1301 Clay Street, Oakland, CA 94612
OaklandFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
WESTERN AREA
NORTHERN AREA
SEATTLE
CALIFORNIA
Fresno • Modesto • Oakland • Sacramento • San Francisco
San Jose • San Rafael • Santa Rosa • Stockton
THE OAKLAND FIELD OFFICE is responsible for covering
the Northern and Eastern Judicial Districts of California,
which is more than half of the state of sunny California. Nine
posts of duty cover territory from the west coastline to the
Guam
Sierra mountains and
from the Oregon border all the way
down to Bakersfield, CA. The Oakland Field Office is proud
to represent CI as the leading agency in financial crimes in
Northern California. Tax fraud is a top priority, but the field
office also partners with other federal law enforcement
OAKLAND
agencies in tackling financial crimes, including money
laundering and high profile public corruption cases. Oakland
Field Office special agents maintain a strong working
relationship with the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and are involved
in local task forces, including OCDETF, JTTF, cybercrimes,
and public corruption. Some of the top CI cases are
LOS
ANGELES
investigated by special agents from the
Oakland
Field Office.
California Man Sentenced to Over 6 Years
in Prison for Cow Manure Ponzi Scheme
Multiyear Prison Sentences for California Men
for COVID-19 Business Loan Fraud
Software Company CEO Sentenced to 2 Years
in Prison for Tax, Conspiracy Charges
Ray Brewer devised and operated a multimillion-dollar fraud
scheme focused on turning cow manure into green energy.
Brewer stole $8.75 million from investors by claiming
to build anaerobic digesters on California dairy farms.
Anaerobic digesters breakdown biodegradable material
and turn it into methane. Methane can be sold on the
open market as green energy and is eligible for renewable
DENVER
energy credits. Brewer shared
construction schedules,
project-related invoices, and pictures with investors, but
in actuality, all of these items were fabricated. When some
investors realized they had been defrauded and obtained
civil judgments against Brewer, he moved to Montana
and assumed a new identity. In June 2023, Brewer was
sentenced to 81 months in prison.
Jeffrey Hedges and Manuel Asadurian lied to the Small
Business Administration and federally insured financial
institutions on a total of 12 loan applications through the
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury
Disaster Loan (EIDL) program intended to help businesses
during the pandemic. In total, they fraudulently obtained
more than $3 million in loans intended to help businesses.
In January 2023, Hedges was sentenced to seven years in
prison and ordered to pay nearly $2.1 million in restitution
ST. LOUIS
payments, while Asadurian was sentenced in February
2023 to over four years in prison and ordered to pay nearly
$1.1 million in restitution.
Kishore Kethineni, the CEO of multiple software
development and IT services companies in the Bay Area,
fraudulently obtained over $3.1 million in loans under
the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). From April 2020
through May 2021, Kethineni and his brothers submitted
PPP loan applications on behalf of their companies and
provided falsified payroll data and records to obtain loans
and loan forgiveness. Kethineni also admitted to willfully
failing to account for and pay employment taxes that his
company had withheld from its employees, incurring an
employment tax liability of over $2 million over the course
of five years. In August 2023, Kethineni was sentenced to
two years in prison for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and
failure to pay more than $2 million in employment taxes. He
was also ordered to pay nearly $3.3 million in restitution, to
forfeit nearly $3.2 million, and to pay a $15,000 fine.
Learn more about this case.
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Learn more about this case.
PHOENIX
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WESTERN AREA
OAKLAND
WESTERN AREA
1301 Clay Street, Oakland, CA 94612
OaklandFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
Click on a city to go to that Field Office or on an area name
to go to that Field Office area.
NORTHERN AREA
SEATTLE
Guam
Special agents recruit future financial investigators at a career fair.
A special agent participates in the Baker to Vegas Law
Enforcement Relay Challenge.
DENVER
ST. LOUIS
OAKLAND
LOS ANGELES
Special agents participate in a use of force training exercise.
PHOENIX
Puerto Rico
U.S. Virgin Islands
Oakland Field Office’s Special Agent in Charge answers a news reporter’s questions.
Special agent participates in firearms training.
SOUTHERN AREA
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
28
WESTERN AREA
Click on a city to go to that Field Office or on an area name
to go to that Field Office area.
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PHOENIX
4041 N. Central Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85012
PhoenixFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
WESTERN AREA
NORTHERN AREA
SEATTLE
ARIZONA
Glendale • Mesa • Phoenix • Tucson
NEVADA
Las Vegas • Reno
NEW MEXICO
Albuquerque • Las Cruces • Santa Fe
UTAH
Ogden • Salt Lake City
GuamOFFICE covers the southwestern
THE PHOENIX FIELD
states of Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. After
recently merging with the former Las Vegas Field Office,
the office now covers a vast geographic area that stretches
from the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the west to
the Rockies
OAKLAND
in the east. The office’s special agents investigate both
legal and illegal source tax crimes, including cases with
an international nexus. The office also operates multiple
financial crimes task forces. Located on the border of the
United States and Mexico, the office provides significant
participation in high level OCDETF cases. From the Grand
Canyon of Arizona to the bright lightsLOS
of LasANGELES
Vegas, the
Phoenix Field Office identifies and investigates a wide
variety of complex financial crimes.
Leader of Human Smuggling Organization
Sentenced to 96 Months in Prison
Albuquerque Man Sentenced to 94 Months
for $1.2 Million Wire Fraud, Identity Theft Scheme
Former Airline Executive Sentenced
for $2.6 Million Tax Evasion Scheme
Manuel Ochoa-Vasquez served as a leader in a smuggling
organization that harbored and transported more than 7,000
undocumented non-citizens and laundered funds from the
scheme. When payments were late, Ochoa-Vasquez and
his co-conspirators detained undocumented non-citizens
and sometimes threatened their sponsors until payments
were received. Search warrants revealed guns, ammunition,
evidence of money laundering, and over $1.4 million in
cash. In June 2023, Ochoa-Vasquez was sentenced to 96
DENVER
months in prison and three years
of supervised release.
From 2009 to 2018, George Martinez of Albuquerque, New
Mexico, used his position as the unit supervisor and bureau
chief of the Questionable Refund Unit at the New Mexico
Taxation and Revenue Department to fraudulently alter tax
refunds and direct more than $1.2 million to bank accounts
he controlled. Martinez perpetrated the fraud by copying tax
returns that had already been processed and by creating
new returns in taxpayers’ accounts and altering taxpayer
information. In January 2023, Martinez was sentenced to
94 months in prison, ordered to pay restitution, and issued
a forfeiture of money judgment totaling $689,797, for 42
ST. LOUIS
counts of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft and six
counts of money laundering.
From 2014 to 2016, William Acor was the president and
CEO of Vision Airlines Inc., headquartered in North Las
Vegas. He was responsible for collecting, accounting for,
and paying IRS taxes withheld from employee wages,
which he failed to do. Acor also failed to pay over Vision
Airline’s employer share of Social Security and Medicare
taxes. In total, Acor failed to pay over $2.6 million in
employment taxes. In January 2023, Acor was sentenced
to two years in prison and ordered to pay $1.66 million in
restitution to the IRS.
Learn more about this case.
Learn more about this case.
Learn more about this case.
PHOENIX
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29
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WESTERN AREA
PHOENIX
WESTERN AREA
4041 N. Central Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85012
PhoenixFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
Click on a city to go to that Field Office or on an area name
to go to that Field Office area.
NORTHERN AREA
SEATTLE
Special agents conduct firearms training at an outdoor range
in Las Vegas.
Guam
DENVER
An Arizona Air National Guard honor guard and an Arizona law
enforcement honor guard perform funeral honors for Special
Agent Pat Bauer on August 31, 2023.
ST. LOUIS
OAKLAND
LOS ANGELES
Phoenix Field Office members participate at an Arizona State
University career fair.
PHOENIX
Puerto Rico
U.S. Virgin Islands
A special agent collects evidence during a search warrant.
Phoenix Field Office members at annual field office training.
SOUTHERN AREA
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
30
WESTERN AREA
Click on a city to go to that Field Office or on an area name
to go to that Field Office area.
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SEATTLE
WESTERN AREA
915 Second Avenue, Seattle, WA 98174
SeattleFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
SEATTLE
ALASKA
Anchorage
GUAM
Hagatna
HAWAII
Honolulu • Kona
OREGON
Bend • Eugene • Medford • Portland
WASHINGTON
Seattle • Spokane • Tacoma • Vancouver
Guam
THE SEATTLE FIELD OFFICE investigates a wide variety
of complex crimes related to domestic and international
tax, public corruption, identity theft, cybercrime, and
drug-related financial crimes. Our area of operation
spans
OAKLAND
four states and two territories: Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon,
Washington, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands. The Seattle Field Office works with U.S.
Attorneys’ Offices in seven judicial districts in four different
time zones (on both sides of the international date line).
The field office is privileged to serve a diverse and unique
LOS ANGELES
population of taxpayers. Financial investigative expertise,
meticulous planning, and determined collaboration allow
us to effectively combat all types of financial crime for the
benefit of the communities within our geographic area.
NORTHERN AREA
Arizona Man Sentenced to 9 Years
in Prison for Massive Tax Fraud Scheme
Kauai Woman Sentenced to 17 Years in Prison
for Wire Fraud, Aggravated Identity Theft
Charles St. George Kirkland ran an eight-year tax fraud
scheme that resulted in more than $50 million in illegal
tax refunds being released by the IRS. Kirkland falsely
claimed in tax filings he had lost more than $135 million by
investing in solar equipment, then he “sold” those made-up
losses to taxpayers through a network of tax preparers,
telling the preparers that their clients could use Kirkland’s
losses to claim refunds on their own tax returns. Taxpayers
filed amended returns claiming that, because of the losses
transferred from Kirkland, they were entitled to a refund
of all the tax payments theyDENVER
had made in a prior tax year.
After receiving the fraudulent refunds, taxpayers paid 90
percent of the proceeds to Kirkland. The scheme resulted
in 3,200 fraudulent tax returns being filed and a loss to the
U.S. Treasury of $51.6 million. In June 2023, Kirkland was
sentenced to nine years in prison, imposed a $1 million fine,
and ordered to pay restitution. This case was jointly worked
with the Phoenix Field Office.
Leihinahina Sullivan participated in multiple fraud schemes
that landed her in prison. Sullivan purposely filed hundreds
of false federal and state tax returns for herself and others,
which included fictitious expenses, claims for credits, and
other items. This fraud scheme involved over $2.8 million
in tax losses, mostly in the form of fraudulent tax refunds
from the IRS and the State of Hawaii. In addition to the false
returns, Sullivan prepared and submitted false student loan,
grant, scholarship, and financial aid applications requesting
money from public and private educational-based
financial assistance and aid providers. Sullivan also
used individuals’ personal identification information to
ST.approximately
LOUIS 40 credit cards in other
apply for and use
people’s names and under their guaranteed lines of credit
without their authorization. She spent over $1 million using
the fraudulently obtained credit cards. In March 2023,
Sullivan was sentenced to 17 years in prison for wire
fraud and aggravated identity theft related to the multiple
long-running fraud schemes. She was ordered to pay nearly
$3.4 million in restitution to various victims, including public
and private entities, and to forfeit just over $2 million.
Learn more about this case.
PHOENIX
Learn more about this case.
Former Aequitas CEO and Company
Executives Sentenced for Roles in
$300 Million Fraud Conspiracy
Three former executives of Aequitas Management, LLC, an
asset management firm, were sentenced to federal prison
for their roles in a vast fraud conspiracy. Aequitas held
investments in a variety of notes and funds, which were
purportedly backed by trade receivables in education, health
care, transportation, and other consumer credit areas. The
former executives solicited nearly $300 million from investors
by misrepresenting Aequitas’ use of investor money, the
financial health of the company, and the risks associated
with its investments. In September 2023, former CEO
Robert Jesenik and two other Aequitas executives, Andrew
MacRitchie and Brian Rice, were sentenced for conspiracy
to commit mail and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money
laundering, and wire fraud. Jesenik was sentenced to 14
years in prison and ordered to forfeit more than $1.5 million,
MacRitchie was sentenced to 70 months in prison and
ordered to forfeit $689,662, and Rice was sentenced to 37
months in prison and ordered to forfeit $116,627.
Learn more about this case.
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WESTERN AREA
SEATTLE
WESTERN AREA
915 Second Avenue, Seattle, WA 98174
SeattleFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
Click on a city to go to that Field Office or on an area name
to go to that Field Office area.
NORTHERN AREA
SEATTLE
Guam
Special agents from Alaska participate in a local team building event.
DENVER
ST. LOUIS
OAKLAND
LOS ANGELES
Special agents from Oregon discuss the plan before an enforcement action.
PHOENIX
Puerto Rico
U.S. Virgin Islands
Deputy Chief Guy Ficco with special agents from the Seattle Field Office at the Global ACFE conference.
Special agents from Hawaii after a team building activity.
Members of Seattle Field Office’s professional staff.
SOUTHERN AREA
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
32
WESTERN
AREA
ST. LOUIS
X CLOSE
WESTERN AREA
Click on a city to go to that Field Office or on an area name
1222 Spruce Street, St. Louis, MO 63103
to go to that Field Office area.
StLouisFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
MISSOURI
Chesterfield • Lee’s Summit • Jefferson City
Springfield • St. Louis
ILLINOIS
Fairview Heights
SEATTLE
IOWA
Cedar Rapids • Davenport • Des Moines
KANSAS
Overland Park • Wichita
NEBRASKA
Omaha
NORTH DAKOTA
Fargo
SOUTH DAKOTA
Rapid City • Sioux Falls
Guam
As part of the Gateway to the West, THE ST. LOUIS FIELD
OFFICE serves a territory that spans the states of Iowa,
Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota,
and 38 counties in southern Illinois. With moreOAKLAND
than 90
special agents and professional staff members assigned
to 15 posts of duty, the St. Louis Field Office serves a
population of more than 17 million people in nine judicial
districts. While tackling tax fraud is a top priority, the
office also partners with other law enforcement agencies
in the investigation of a wide variety of
financial
crimes,
LOS
ANGELES
including money laundering, narcotics trafficking, and
identity theft. To build strong community ties, the special
agents participate in outreach activities at local colleges
and community organizations, which helps to build a level
of trust within the community and to recruit a diverse pool
of talent. Recognizing CI’s distinction as the finest financial
investigation team in the world, the St. Louis Field Office
plays a critical role in several task forces with the U.S.
Attorneys’ Offices, including OCDETF.
Local Rapper Sentenced to 30 Years
for Drug Trafficking, Money Laundering
Father-Daughter Duo Sentenced to Prison for Tax
Fraud and Preying on Vulnerable Populations
Omaha Man Sentenced for Tax Evasion
and Role in Million-Dollar Embezzlement
Kansas City based gang member David Duncan participated
in a drug-trafficking conspiracy and other violent criminal
behaviors that included illegal firearms and a drive-by
shooting outside a daycare center, where children were
present. Duncan was a rap artist and member of the 246
street gang, who often posted videos containing displays
of firearms and large amounts of cash to social media
platforms. Members of the 246 gang used a residence,
located close to a public elementary school, for gang
and drug-trafficking business. Law enforcement officers
executed a search warrant at the house and seized 295
grams of heroin, two assault rifles, and a stolen vehicle.
The stolen vehicle had been used in a drive-by shooting,
which was done at Duncan’s direction. When Duncan was
arrested, officers found several weapons, $7,100 in cash,
and more than two kilograms
of oxycodone. In addition to
DENVER
several drug and weapons charges, Duncan was also found
guilty of five counts of money laundering related to the
purchases of money orders with drug-trafficking proceeds.
He used the money orders to pay rent for his apartment and
a payment on his car. Duncan laundered at least $272,231
in cash deposits, purchases, and money orders. Duncan was
sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Thein Maung and his daughter, Phyo Mi, ran a shady tax
preparation business from their home in Iowa. To boost
the amount of tax refunds customers received, Maung
and Mi prepared taxes for a fee and included several
schedules, forms, and false claims for credits without their
customers’ knowledge or approval. The returns included
false claims for residential energy credits, business-expense
deductions, and moving-expense deductions for military
service members. The duo primarily catered to immigrants
and refugees, who worked at meat-packing facilities. Their
clients had little to no ability to read, write, or speak English.
From 2018 to 2022, Maung and Mi caused over 1,600
tax returns to be filed. The fraudulent tax returns claimed
over $3.5 million in residential energy credits. Maung was
sentenced to 12 years in prison, and Mi was sentenced to
nine years in prison.
Jeffrey Stenstrom owned and operated a commercial
remodeling and repair business from 2006 through
2021. Stenstrom entered contracts to perform repair
work for clients and hired sub-contractors to do the work.
With the help of his now deceased co-conspirator, Brett
Cook, Stenstrom billed clients for work not completed,
overbilled for other work, and submitted inflated invoices
to insurance companies to fraudulently collect insurance
proceeds to which clients were not entitled. In addition
to the fraud scheme, Stenstrom also owed personal
income taxes for the years 2012 through 2016. After
the IRS assessed a tax debt of $1.7 million for income
earned during those years, Stenstrom took steps to hide
pricey assets he owned in the name of a third party.
When the IRS placed a tax levy on Stenstrom’s accounts,
he continued his scheme to evade payment of his taxes
by directing work to a fraudulent company created by
Cook. Stenstrom deposited his fraud proceeds into bank
accounts, commingling them with legitimate funds, and
used the proceeds to fund a lavish lifestyle. Stenstrom was
sentenced to 78 months in prison. He was also ordered to
pay more than $5 million in restitution to the victims of his
crimes and nearly $2 million to the IRS.
NORTHERN AREA
Learn more about this case.
ST. LOUIS
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PHOENIX
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WESTERN AREA
ST. LOUIS
WESTERN AREA
1222 Spruce Street, St. Louis, MO 63103
StLouisFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
Click on a city to go to that Field Office or on an area name
to go to that Field Office area.
NORTHERN AREA
SEATTLE
Guam
DENVER
Special agents take photos at a search warrant.
ST. LOUIS
OAKLAND
LOS ANGELES
Special agent prepares at Women in Federal Law Enforcement annual conference.
PHOENIX
Puerto Rico
U.S. Virgin Islands
An investigative analyst boxes up closed case files.
The St. Louis Field Office Special Agent in Charge presents on CI.
Special agents participate in National Night Out 2023 in Prairie Village, Kansas.
SOUTHERN AREA
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
34
NORTHERN AREA
Click on a city to go to that Field Office or on an area name
to go to that Field Office area.
BOSTON
DETROIT
CHICAGO
NEWARK
Guam
CINCINNATI
NEW YORK
PHILADELPHIA
Puerto Rico
WESTERN AREA
U.S. Virgin Islands
SOUTHERN AREA
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NORTHERN AREA
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to go to that Field Office area.
BOSTON
NORTHERN AREA
15 New Sudbury Street, Boston, MA 02203
BostonFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
Money Manager Sentenced for
Defrauding Clients of Millions of Dollars
CONNECTICUT
Bridgeport • Hartford • New Haven • Norwalk
MAINE
South Portland
MASSACHUSETTS
Boston • Springfield • Woburn • Worcester
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Manchester • Portsmouth
RHODE ISLAND
Warwick
VERMONT
Burlington
Guam
THE BOSTON FIELD OFFICE covers the six New England
states, including Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont, each of which has
their own judicial district. New England is home to some of
the greatest sports franchises, a long coastline of beautiful
beaches, and several of the oldest and most renowned
colleges and universities in the country. The Boston Field
Office’s relationship with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our
law enforcement partners is one of the best in the country.
The Boston Field Office special agents are vital members of
several task forces, including OCDETF, JTTF, cybercrimes,
securities fraud, and health care fraud.
View FO Photo Gallery
Steven Xigoros used his position as an accountant, tax
preparer and investment advisor to persuade clients to
entrust their money to him to make various investments, to
purchase securities, and to lend him money for purported
business ventures. However, he lied to his clients and
defrauded them of more than $4.3 million. In one instance,
Xigoros stole the entire life savings of an elderly couple,
who gave him more than $1.3 million to make investments
on their behalf. He then used the money to pay his own
expenses, including his gambling debts. Xigoros also failed
to pay taxes, owing more than $1 million to the IRS. While
on pre-trial release, he was arrested trying to flee to Greece
to evade prosecution. In October 2022, Xigoros pleaded
guilty to two counts of wire fraud, one count of aggravated
identity theft, and one count of filing a false tax return.
Xigoros was sentenced to more than 9 years in prison in
February 2023. He was also ordered to pay more than $4.7
million in restitution to his victims and the IRS, as well as to
forfeit more than $4 million.
Learn more about this case.
Operator of Aircraft Supply Businesses
Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison for
$7 Million Fraud Scheme
Massachusetts and Connecticut Men Sentenced
for Their Roles in a Ponzi and Tax Fraud Scheme
Thomas D. Renison was the former owner of a privately
held investment company that purportedly pooled money
Kyle J. Wine owned and operated several commercial
from investors to invest in various New England-based
aircraft supply companies. Over the course of at least four
businesses. Over the course of at least three years, Renison
years, Wine defrauded investors of his companies by using
and Timothy Allcott fraudulently raised and solicited funds
their money to purchase aircraft airframes and engines.
by misrepresenting how funds would be invested, the
He then sold the aircraft airframes and engines and hid
company’s investment track record, and the safety of the
the resulting profits from his investors. Wine used his
BOSTON
DETROIT
investments. Renison’s company took in over $6 million
victims’ invested funds for
his own personal use. As part of
CHICAGO
from investors but only invested half of that amount. Most
the scheme, Wine convinced an investment firm based in
of those NEWARK
investments yielded significant
losses. Despite the
Darien, Connecticut, to invest $4.5 million in the purported
NEW YORK
losses,
Renison
and
Allcott
used
the
investor
funds to pay
acquisition and sale of an Airbus A320-231 airframe and
PHILADELPHIA
themselves
exorbitant
commission
fees,
to
satisfy
monthly
two aircraft engines. Wine created fake domain names
interest
obligations
to
other
earlier
investors,
and
to
invest
CINCINNATI
and email accounts, and he used the accounts to send
in
different
undisclosed
businesses.
The
SEC
had
previously
fraudulent correspondence to the victim to trick the investor
barred Renison from working in the securities industry.
into believing that Wine’s company was attempting to sell
Renison and Allcott disguised commissions paid to Renison
the Airbus airframe and the engines to certain buyers. In
as loans to Renison’s wife to conceal Renison’s ownership
fact, Wine had already sold one engine for $2.45 million and
in the business. In addition, Renison failed to declare more
the Airbus airframe for $1.3 million. He never informed the
than half a million dollars of commission income and failed
investor of those sales, and he did not share the proceeds
to pay over $150,000 in taxes. Renison was sentenced to
of the sales with the investor. Wine also used some of
four years in prison and was ordered to pay $6.2 million in
these invested funds to purchase another aircraft engine
restitution. Allcott was sentenced to two and a half years
without the knowledge of the victim investor. In total, Wine’s
Puerto over
Rico $5 million and pay
in prison and was ordered to forfeit
fraud scheme caused more than $7 million in losses to 13
over $6 million restitution for his role in the Ponzi scheme.
separate victims. Wine was sentenced to 11 years in prison
for this $7 million fraud scheme.
Learn more about this case.
Learn more about this case.
WESTERN AREA
U.S. Virgin Islands
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2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
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NORTHERN AREA
BOSTON
NORTHERN AREA
15 New Sudbury Street, Boston, MA 02203
BostonFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
Click on a city to go to that Field Office or on an area name
to go to that Field Office area.
The Boston Field Office’s ASAC delivers remarks at a press
conference after the orchestrator of a nationwide conspiracy to
facilitate cheating on college entrance exams was sentenced.
Guam
Special agents prepare to run the Boston Marathon, a 26.2
mile trek through eight cities and towns around the greater
Boston area.
BOSTON
DETROIT
CHICAGO
NEWARK
NEW YORK
PHILADELPHIA
Special agents participate on a law enforcement panel during
the Connecticut Chapter of Association of Certified AntiMoney Laundering Specialist event.
CINCINNATI
Puerto Rico
WESTERN AREA
Special agents assist partner law enforcement agencies in
securing the Boston Marathon.
Special agents prepared 8,700 meals for families in need at the Greater Boston Food Bank.
U.S. Virgin Islands
Special agents conduct outreach and recruiting at
Suffolk University.
SOUTHERN AREA
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
37
NORTHERN AREA
X CLOSE
Click on a city to go to that Field Office or on an area name
to go to that Field Office area.
CHICAGO
NORTHERN AREA
230 S Dearborn Street, Chicago, IL 60604
ChicagoFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
INDIANA
Carmel • Evansville • Fort Wayne • Indianapolis
Merrillville • South Bend
ILLINOIS
Chicago • Downers Grove • Matteson •Orland Park
Peoria • Rockford • Schiller Park • Springfield
MINNESOTA
Duluth • St. Paul • Rochester
WISCONSIN
Eau Claire • Green Bay • Madison • Milwaukee
Anchoring the Mid-West,
Guam THE CHICAGO FIELD OFFICE
covers several major cities and areas, dotting the coastline
of Lake Michigan, Lake Superior, and the Mississippi River.
The Chicago Field Office has 21 posts of duty with over 165
special agents and professional staff across Minnesota,
Wisconsin, Indiana, and most of Illinois. Second to none,
the Chicago Field Office tackles tax fraud as its top priority
and investigates a wide array of financial crimes, including
money laundering from narcotics trafficking and COVID-19
fraud. Chicago’s special agents also work with their law
enforcement partners to lend their financial expertise to
task forces, including HIDTA, OCDETF, JTTF, cybercrimes,
and political corruption. Serving over 235,000 square miles,
the office is consistently building on and bolstering its
relationships with other law enforcement partners, the U.S.
Attorneys’ Offices, and the public to identify, investigate,
and refer quality cases for prosecution.
View FO Photo Gallery
CEO of Medical Device Company Who
Dodged $6 Million in Taxes Sentenced
Fugitive Embezzling Bookkeeper
Apprehended and Sentenced
Chicago Woman Sentenced to Prison
for Fraud and Tax Crimes
Larry Lindberg was the CEO and owner of Midwest Medical
Holdings LLC, a Mounds View-based pharmaceutical and
medical equipment company. Lindberg was responsible
for filing tax returns and paying taxes on behalf of the
company. Lindberg failed to pay the IRS several hundred
thousand dollars in federal payroll taxes each quarter.
In all, Lindberg owed more than $6 million to the IRS.
Lindberg entered into several installment agreements with
the IRS but ultimately defaulted on each of the agreements.
Whenever the IRS attempted to collect on the tax debt,
Lindberg took steps to evade the collection efforts by hiding
his assets. Lindberg diverted money from his company
to other entities, and he then used it to fund his personal
lifestyle, including buying real estate and other assets.
He also put assets in the name of his children, including
an airplane, a hanger, and two vacation homes in Florida.
Lindberg was sentenced to 24 months in prison and
ordered to pay more than $6 million in restitution.
Jody Russell Trapp was a bookkeeper for Shelton Machinery,
Eunice Salley, a Chicago tax preparer, filed false tax returns
Inc., an Indiana-based distributor of advanced machines
with the IRS on behalf of clients. Salley prepared client tax
and saws. Trapp stole more than $2.2 million from Shelton
returns that reported fictitious wages and withholdings,
Machinery by diverting checks made payable to one of the
as well as false medical, charitable, and employment
company’s suppliers into his personal bank account. He
expenses. In addition to charging her tax preparation fee,
used duplicate and fictitious invoices and checks to carry
Salley also demanded some clients pay her as much as half
out his fraud scheme. While Trapp was on pretrial release
of the resulting tax refund. In total, more than $1 million
in 2012, he absconded from his residence. In 2021, Deputy DETROIT
in fraudulent refunds were sought from BOSTON
the IRS. Salley
CHICAGO
U.S. Marshals located him living under an assumed name in
was also convicted of pension fraud for collecting her
Utah. Trapp was sentenced to 90 months in prison and was
grandmother’s pension checks after she passed away and
NEWARK
NEW YORK
ordered to pay $2.5 million in restitution to his victims.
representing to the plan administrator that her grandmother
was still alive. Salley wasPHILADELPHIA
sentenced to seven years in prison
Learn more about this case.
after her trial conviction and ordered to pay over $558,369
CINCINNATI
in restitution to the United States.
Learn more about this case.
Learn more about this case.
Puerto Rico
WESTERN AREA
U.S. Virgin Islands
SOUTHERN AREA
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
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NORTHERN AREA
CHICAGO
NORTHERN AREA
230 S Dearborn Street, Chicago, IL 60604
ChicagoFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
Click on a city to go to that Field Office or on an area name
to go to that Field Office area.
Guam
Special agent reviews evidence of a financial crime.
Special agents collaborate during a training event.
Special agents receive instruction during regular
training exercises.
BOSTON
DETROIT
CHICAGO
NEWARK
NEW YORK
Special agents participate
in a college recruiting event.
PHILADELPHIA
CINCINNATI
Puerto Rico
WESTERN AREA
U.S. Virgin Islands
Chicago Field Office Employees honored Police Week and commemorated the passing of Special Agent Lily Acosta by hosting a lakefront run to the Chicago Police Department Gold Star Memorial Park.
SOUTHERN AREA
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
39
NORTHERN AREA
Click on a city to go to that Field Office or on an area name
to go to that Field Office area.
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CINCINNATI
NORTHERN AREA
550 Main Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202
CincinnatiFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
KENTUCKY
Bowling Green • Lexington • Louisville
OHIO
Akron • Canton • Cincinnati • Cleveland • Columbus • Dayton
Independence • Toledo
THE CINCINNATI FIELD OFFICE comprises of the states
of Ohio and Kentucky, which contain two federal judicial
districts in each state. The Cincinnati Field Office works
Guam state, and local law enforcement
closely with our federal,
partners to investigate and prosecute tax, money
laundering, and related financial crimes that affect the
Southern and Northern Judicial Districts of the “Buckeye
State” and the Eastern and Western Judicial Districts of
the “Bluegrass State.” Our special agents and professional
staff provide unparalleled financial expertise to lead investigations against the most egregious white-collar criminals.
In concert with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, as well as our
civil and law enforcement partners, our investigations have
a significant impact on regional and national enforcement
priorities that include income tax evasion, questionable tax
refund/return preparer fraud, COVID-19 relief fraud, public
corruption, cybercrimes, and narcotics related crimes.
View FO Photo Gallery
Final Defendant Sentenced in Romance Scam for
Laundering over $11 Million in Fraud Proceeds
Robert Asante conspired with at least six other
co-defendants to launder money generated from online
romance scams. The romance scams involved individuals
who created several profiles on online dating sites. After
establishing relationships, perpetrators of the romance
scams requested money, typically for investment or
need-based reasons, and provided account information
and directions for where money should be sent. In part,
these accounts were in the names of the defendants, their
family members, and their companies. Asante and the
co-defendants tried to conceal the source of the funds by
withdrawing cash, transferring funds to other accounts,
buying official checks, and wiring money to Ghana, China,
the United States, and more. In February 2023, Asante
was sentenced to 60 months in prison and ordered to pay
restitution of more than $11.5 million for conspiracy to
commit money laundering.
Ravenna CPA Sentenced for Embezzling
More Than $1 million from Employer and
Submitting False Tax Returns
Cleveland Man Sentenced in Drug Trafficking
and Money Laundering Conspiracy
Devonn Fair was one of the leaders of a large-scale fentanyl
trafficking organization that operated on the east side of
Michael Harman was a certified public accountant
Cleveland. The Fair drug trafficking organization distributed
and was employed as a company controller, where his
fentanyl at several residences throughout the east side of
responsibilities included processing payroll adjustments.
BOSTON
DETROIT
Cleveland and drew customers from as far
away as Medina,
Harman embezzled more than $1 million from his employer
CHICAGO
Wayne,
and
Lorain
Counties.
Fair
and
his
organization
profited
by using a series of unauthorized wire transfers, fictitious
from
their
crimes
and
laundered
those
profits
by
purchasing
checks, and fraudulent charges on his employer’s credit
NEWARK
YORK
expensive
clothing, jewelry, andNEW
vehicles.
In addition, Fair
cards. Harman used the embezzled funds for his own
possessed
a
firearm,
even
though
he
was
prohibited under
PHILADELPHIA
personal use, including child support payments and moving
federal
law
due
to
his
previous
felony
convictions.
Fair was
expenses. In addition, Harman failed to report the income
CINCINNATI
sentenced
to
35
years
in
prison
for
his
crimes.
he earned from the scheme on his tax returns. Harman was
sentenced to 43 months in prison.
Learn more about this case.
Learn more about this case.
Learn more about this case.
Puerto Rico
WESTERN AREA
U.S. Virgin Islands
SOUTHERN AREA
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
40
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NORTHERN AREA
CINCINNATI
NORTHERN AREA
550 Main Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202
CincinnatiFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
Click on a city to go to that Field Office or on an area name
to go to that Field Office area.
Guam
The Cincinnati Field Office Assistant Special Agent in Charge discusses CI with new Kentucky sheriffs.
The Cincinnati Field Office Special Agent in Charge presents asset forfeiture funds to Louisville
Metro Police Department.
BOSTON
DETROIT
CHICAGO
NEWARK
CINCINNATI
NEW YORK
PHILADELPHIA
Puerto Rico
WESTERN AREA
The Cincinnati Field Office Special Agent in Charge discusses romance fraud with 10TV
in Columbus, Ohio.
Special agents conduct firearms training in southwestern Ohio.
U.S. Virgin Islands
A special agent discusses filing season with 10TV
in Columbus, Ohio.
SOUTHERN AREA
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
41
NORTHERN AREA
Click on a city to go to that Field Office or on an area name
to go to that Field Office area.
X CLOSE
DETROIT
NORTHERN AREA
985 Michigan Avenue, Detroit, MI 48226
DetroitFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
MICHIGAN
Ann Arbor • Detroit • East Lansing • Flint • Grand Rapids
Pontiac • Traverse City
THE DETROIT FIELD OFFICE area of responsibility
encompasses the state of Michigan and its two judicial
districts. The state of Michigan is surrounded by the Great
Lakes, which are the largest surface freshwater system on
Guam
the Earth. With Michigan’s
diverse cultures and proximity
to the Canadian border, Detroit CI special agents are
involved in a variety of criminal investigations, including
traditional tax, corporate fraud, COVID-19 fraud, and money
laundering. To address the various priorities impacting
Michigan, agents are embedded in a variety of task forces
with our law enforcement partners, such as the JTTF, public
corruption, and OCDETF, among others.
Former Detroit Resident Sentenced
to Prison for $27 Million Tax Fraud Scheme
Fentanyl Trafficking Kingpin Sentenced
to 22 Years in Prison
Sameerah Marrell defrauded the IRS by filing 122 false
and fictitious income tax returns for estates and trusts, and
she defrauded the Treasury Departments for Minnesota,
Georgia, Maryland, Arizona, Connecticut, and Colorado by
filing numerous state income tax returns. She sought nearly
$14 million from the IRS and nearly $15 million from the
six states, by claiming bogus refunds on the returns filed.
Altogether, Marrell and her accomplices successfully caused
the issuance of approximately $8.5 million in fraudulent tax
refunds. In February 2023, she was sentenced to 54 months
in prison, followed by 36 months of supervised release, and
she was ordered to pay nearly $8 million in restitution.
Maurice McCoy led a drug organization with international
John Figg used his position as a senior vice president
ties that trafficked fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine across
at United Bank of Michigan to access account records
the country. Working as part of an OCDETF task force,
of bank clients. Between 2014 and 2021,
he identified
BOSTON
DETROIT
federal law enforcementCHICAGO
seized more than 30 kilograms
account owners who did not scrutinize their accounts,
of fentanyl and over half a million dollars in cash from the
and then he embezzled funds from those accounts. Figg
organization’s stash house in Novi, Michigan. At the time,
also obtained
fraudulent loansNEW
in customers’
NEWARK
YORKnames
the seizure was the largest fentanyl seizure in Michigan
and used the loan proceeds for his own use. He also
PHILADELPHIA
and one of the largest in the United States. Agents traced
redirected loan closing fees,
usually collected by the
a UPC code off a Sony PlayStation box that was used toCINCINNATI
bank, to himself. His actions resulted in the embezzlement
deliver heroin to a drug customer. That UPC code led to
of more than $870,000. Additionally, Figg generated
the Novi home, where the PlayStation was active. McCoy
taxable income from this activity from 2016 to 2020, but
directed the organization’s activity and lived lavishly off its
he underreported his income on his tax returns. In July
proceeds, purchasing a Porsche Panamera, a $500,000
2023, Figg was sentenced to 41 months in prison and 36
home in the greater Los Angeles area, and expensive
months of supervised release, and he was ordered to pay
jewelry, including diamond and gold pendants for some
approximately $1 million in restitution.
members of his drug organization. In March 2023, McCoy
Learn more about this case.
was sentenced to 22 years in prison.
Learn more about this case.
Learn more about this case.
Michigan Bank Employee Sentenced
to 41 Months for Embezzlement, Tax Evasion
Puerto Rico
View FO Photo Gallery
WESTERN AREA
U.S. Virgin Islands
SOUTHERN AREA
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
42
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NORTHERN AREA
DETROIT
NORTHERN AREA
985 Michigan Avenue, Detroit, MI 48226
DetroitFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
Click on a city to go to that Field Office or on an area name
to go to that Field Office area.
Special agents attend
National Organization of Black Law Enforcement
Guam
Executives (NOBLE) Annual Conference.
Special agents attend the International Association of Financial Crimes
Investigators Conference held at Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions
professional football team.
BOSTON
DETROIT
CHICAGO
NEWARK
CINCINNATI
NEW YORK
PHILADELPHIA
Puerto Rico
WESTERN AREA
U.S. Virgin Islands
Detroit Field Office SAC conducts virtual interviews with local media.
Special agents participate in a career fair next to our IRS civil counterparts.
Members of the Detroit Field Office pose with Chief Jim Lee.
SOUTHERN AREA
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
43
NORTHERN AREA
Click on a city to go to that Field Office or on an area name
to go to that Field Office area.
X CLOSE
NEW YORK
NORTHERN AREA
290 Broadway 4th Floor, Manhattan, NY 10007
NewYorkFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
NEW YORK
Albany • Bethpage • Bronx • Brooklyn • Buffalo • Hauppauge
Manhattan • New Windsor • Rochester • Staten Island
Syracuse • White Plains
CEO Sentenced to 54 Months in Prison
in Connection with Fraudulent Loan,
Lender Applications for CARES Act Funds
As the nation’s largest field office and CI’s flagship location,
THE NEW YORK FIELD OFFICE conducts intricate financial
investigations in association with the most dynamic U.S.
Attorneys’ Offices in the country. To tackle the various
threats affecting the taxpayers of New York, our diverse
special agents and professional staff provide unparalleled
financial expertise to unravel domestic and international
Guam
tax evasion. In support of the CI mission, our office also
investigates international and domestic terrorism finance,
cybercrimes, money laundering, public corruption,
COVID-19 fraud, market manipulation, corporate and
securities fraud, health care fraud, mortgage fraud, bank
fraud, and money laundering from international narcotics
trafficking. The New York field office has four specialty
groups, one dedicated to support the Joint Chiefs of Global
Tax Enforcement (J5), two Strikeforce groups, and a group
dedicated exclusively to cybercrimes investigations.
Learn more about this case.
Rafael Martinez participated in a scheme to submit
fraudulent loan and lender applications related to the
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) administered by
the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Martinez
fraudulently obtained SBA approval for his company, MBE
Capital Partners LLC (MBE), to be a non-bank lender through
the PPP, and he used MBE to collect more than $71 million
in lender fees. In addition, Martinez engaged in a scheme
to obtain a PPP loan for MBE in the amount of $283,764,
by submitting false statements regarding the number of
employees of MBE and the wages paid to MBE employees.
He also forged the signature of MBE’s tax preparer. In July
2023, Martinez was sentenced to 54 months in prison, as
well as three years of supervised release. The judge also
ordered Martinez to pay $71.71 million in restitution and
to forfeit $44.5 million, multiple properties, and luxury
vehicles, including a Ferrari Model 488 Spider.
Upstate New York Man Sentenced
to More Than 20 Years for His Role in Ponzi,
COVID-19 Fraud Schemes
Former Rochester Pawn Shop Owner
Going to Prison for Selling Stolen Goods
Devin Tribunella, the owner and operator of Royal Crown
Pawn and Jewelry in Rochester, New York, targeted,
Christopher Parris committed mail fraud related to a
recruited, and used drug addicts to furnish his business
Ponzi scheme and wire fraud involving the fraudulent
with new merchandise stolen from retailers. Tribunella
sale of purported N95 masks during the pandemic.
routinely advised on what type of merchandise to steal
Parris and his partner, Perry Santillo, doing business as
from retail stores, such as Lowes, Home Depot, Target,
Lucian Development, headquartered in Rochester, New
and Walmart, and then paid his team ofBOSTON
recruits a fraction
DETROIT
York, operated an investment fraud Ponzi scheme from
CHICAGO
of the true retail value for the goods. Tribunella listed the
approximately January 2012
to June 2018. The Ponzi
stolen goods for sale on eBay, advertising the goods as
scheme defrauded approximately 1,000 investors out of at
NEW
YORK
“New” orNEWARK
“New-In-Box” and priced
them
below retail value.
least $115 million. Potential investors were offered an array
Between January 2017 and
November 2019, Tribunella
of investment options to create the illusion of a diversified
PHILADELPHIA
sold and shipped approximately $3.2 million worth of those
investment portfolio. None of those issuers had substantial
CINCINNATI
stolen goods to buyers located outside of New York State.
bona fide business operations or used investor money in
Following his arrest, assets worth approximately $3 million
the manner and for the purposes represented to investors.
were seized by CI, including stolen merchandise, financial
Over the years, to keep the Ponzi scheme from being
accounts, and four vehicles, including a Lamborghini, a
detected, the co-conspirators used new investor money
Rolls-Royce, and a Porsche. In March 2023, Tribunella was
to make promised interest and other payments to earlier
sentenced to four years in prison.
investors, to pay operating expenses, and to purchase
investment advisor/brokerage businesses to obtain access
Learn more about this case.
to fresh investors. They also used incoming investor money
to finance their own lavish lifestyles, as well as the lavish
Puerto Rico
lifestyles of their families and associates. Parris was
sentenced in December 2022 to 244 months in prison and
ordered to pay approximately $106 million in restitution.
Learn more about this case.
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WESTERN AREA
U.S. Virgin Islands
SOUTHERN AREA
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
44
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NORTHERN AREA
NEW YORK
NORTHERN AREA
290 Broadway 4th Floor, Manhattan, NY 10007
NewYorkFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
Click on a city to go to that Field Office or on an area name
to go to that Field Office area.
Guam
Special agent presents on Joint Chief of Taxation (J5) partnership.
BOSTON
DETROIT
CHICAGO
NEWARK
Special agents execute a search warrant.
NEW YORK
Special agent oversees the seizure of a Ferrari pursuant
to an investigation.
PHILADELPHIA
CINCINNATI
Puerto Rico
WESTERN AREA
U.S. Virgin Islands
New York Field Office Special Agent in Charge is interviewed on Albany’s Northeast Public Radio, WAMC.
New York Field Office hosts Colombian Delegation comprised of Attachés from Bogota, Fiscalia Colombia prosecutors and investigators.
SOUTHERN AREA
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
45
NORTHERN AREA
Click on a city to go to that Field Office or on an area name
to go to that Field Office area.
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NEWARK
NORTHERN AREA
955 S. Springfield Avenue, Springfield, NJ 07081
NewarkFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
NEW JERSEY
Cherry Hill • Edison • Freehold • Mays Landing • Paterson
Springfield • Trenton
THE NEWARK FIELD OFFICE is made up of seven posts
of duty in New Jersey, a territory that covers 21 counties,
including 564 municipalities comprised of 252 boroughs, 52
cities, 15 towns, 241 townships and 4 villages. New Jersey
is home to more than 9,800 farms covering 790,000 acres,
Guam
and the state is known as the “Garden State” because of the
fruitfulness of its farmland. The dedicated agents, analysts,
and professional staff in the Newark Field Office are
responsible for investigating a large catalogue of potential
criminal violations of the Internal Revenue Code and related
financial crimes in a manner that fosters confidence in the
tax system and compliance with United States tax law. The
Newark Field Office investigations continue to bear fruit by
holding individuals who knowingly commit tax fraud or other
financial crimes accountable.
Camden County Man Sentenced
to 26 Months in Prison for Tax Evasion
Two Firefighters’ Multimillion
Dollar Health Care Fraud
John Ryan worked as an independent financial planner,
helping to broker sales between clients and various
financial businesses. One of these businesses engaged
Ryan as a financial contractor to receive client funds on
behalf of the business and to operate and control one of
its financial accounts. Ryan attempted to evade payment
of his federal income taxes by converting the business and
client funds in that account for his own personal use. By
using the business account funds to satisfy his personal
expenses without the involvement of his personal bank
accounts, Ryan was able to conceal his additional personal
income. Ryan then purposely failed to report the income
he received by skimming cash from the account, evading
more than $1 million in federal taxes. Ryan was sentenced
to over two years in prison and ordered to pay restitution of
nearly $1.1 million.
Two New Jersey firefighters, Thomas Sher and Christopher
New Jersey businessman Rocco A. Malanga fraudulently
Broccoli, were part of a criminal conspiracy in which state
obtained nearly $1.8 million in federal Paycheck Protection
and local government employees were recruited and
Program (PPP) loans. From April through August 2020,
compensated to receive medically unnecessary compound DETROIT
Malanga submitted false documentationBOSTON
to three lenders
prescription medications.CHICAGO
Sher and his direct conspirators
to fraudulently obtain approximately $1.8 million in federal
recruited almost 70 people into the scheme and caused
COVID-19 emergency relief funds meant for distressed
NEWARK
NEW
YORK
the pharmacy benefits administrator to pay out more
small businesses.
He submitted
at least
three PPP loan
than $7 million for medically unnecessary compound
applications on behalf of PHILADELPHIA
three different business entities
prescription medications. Sher directly received
in which he fabricated the number of employees employed
CINCINNATI
approximately $115,000 from the scheme.
by each business entity and their average monthly payroll.
Malanga then diverted some of the proceeds from the loans
Broccoli caused the pharmacy benefits administrator to pay
to fund a business that did not receive PPP loan funds.
out millions of dollars for medically unnecessary compound
In March 2023, Malanga was sentenced to three years in
prescription medications for individuals he recruited into the
prison and three years of supervised release. He was also
scheme and directly received $150,315. To date, 50 people
ordered to pay $1.8 million in restitution and to forfeit $1.8
have been charged in the overarching conspiracy, and 46
million he generated from the scheme.
defendants have pleaded guilty or been convicted at trial. In
Learn more about this case.
July 2023, Sher and Broccoli were sentenced to 96 months
and 24 months in prison, respectively.
Learn more about this case.
New Jersey Businessman Fraudulently
Obtained $1.8 Million in COVID-19 Loans
Learn more about this case.
Puerto Rico
View FO Photo Gallery
WESTERN AREA
U.S. Virgin Islands
SOUTHERN AREA
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
46
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NORTHERN AREA
NEWARK
NORTHERN AREA
955 S. Springfield Avenue, Springfield, NJ 07081
NewarkFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
Click on a city to go to that Field Office or on an area name
to go to that Field Office area.
CHICAGO
Special agent trainee at the Federal Law Enforcement
Training Center (FLETC).
Guam
Special agent liaisons with Royal Thai Police.
BOSTON
DETROIT
NEWARK
NEW YORK
Newark Field Office members inventory seized items from a search
warrant.
PHILADELPHIA
CINCINNATI
Puerto Rico
WESTERN AREA
U.S. Virgin Islands
Newark Field Office members participate in the Law Enforcement Torch Run
Members of the Newark Field Office at annual field office training.
SOUTHERN AREA
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
47
NORTHERN AREA
Click on a city to go to that Field Office or on an area name
to go to that Field Office area.
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PHILADELPHIA
NORTHERN AREA
600 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PhiladelphiaFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
DELAWARE
Newark
PENNSYLVANIA
Bethlehem • Cranberry Township • Erie • Harrisburg
King of Prussia • Philadelphia • Pittsburgh • Scranton
THE PHILADELPHIA FIELD OFFICE covers the
commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the state of Delaware.
The Special Agent in Charge sits in the city of Philadelphia,
home to several historical sites, such as the Liberty Bell,
Guam
Declaration House,
and the Rocky Statue. With nine posts
of duty, the field office serves a broad geographic area.
Within its area of responsibility, the field office serves four
judicial districts, each with its own U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The Philadelphia Field Office works in partnership with
all major federal law enforcement agencies, as well as
numerous state and local law enforcement departments.
We work a diverse mix of criminal investigations that
include income tax evasion, employment tax, corporate
fraud, international tax fraud, return preparer fraud, ID
theft, cybercrimes, public corruption, counterterrorism,
and narcotics related financial crimes. The field office
holds pivotal roles on the respective U.S. Attorney’s priority
task forces, including SAR review teams, health care fraud,
cybercrimes, JTTF, and OCDETF.
View FO Photo Gallery
Biggest Cocaine Trafficker
in Delaware Sentenced to 45 Years
Between 2009 and 2017, Omar Colon and his wife
laundered over $1 million in drug money by purchasing
real estate in Delaware and Pennsylvania, using their
company, Zemi Property Management. They deposited drug
money into multiple bank accounts and asked friends and
family members to do the same. Colon and Martinez then
used those funds to buy cashier’s checks that funded the
property purchases. In November 2022, Omar Colon was
sentenced to 45 years in prison for conspiracy to commit
money laundering, conspiracy to distribute cocaine, and
various other drug and money laundering offenses.
Learn more about this case.
YouTube Star “Omi in a Hellcat” Sentenced
to 66 Months in Prison, Ordered to Pay More
than $5 Million in Restitution to the IRS
Pennsylvania Man Sentenced to 6 ½ Years
for PPP Fraud, Money Laundering
Randy Frasinelli filed six fraudulent applications for loans
from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), falsely
Bill Omar Carrasquillo, known on YouTube as “Omi in a
asserting that he had businesses with dozens of employees
Hellcat,” and his co-defendants used legitimate cable
and hundreds of thousands of dollars in monthly payroll.
subscriptions from companies like Verizon, DirecTV, and
After receiving more than $3.8 million from those loans,
Comcast to access content. He then stripped the video
BOSTON
DETROIT
Frasinelli spent the money on luxury items,
including
content of copyright protections to stream it online on
CHICAGO
vehicles,
a
villa
in
Mexico,
an
African
safari,
firearms, works
servers he and his co-conspirators controlled. Customers
of
art,
precious
metals,
watches,
and
personal
investments,
simply had to pay a monthly $15 fee to subscribe to the
NEWARK
NEW
YORKbusiness
rather
than
spending
the
funds
for
legitimate
illegal streaming services, which showcased sporting events,
expenses. In March 2023,
Frasinelli was sentenced to
PHILADELPHIA
television shows, and movies. In March 2023, Carrasquillo
78
months
in
prison,
followed
by five years of supervised
was sentenced to 66 months in prison and ordered to forfeit
CINCINNATI
release,
for
bank
fraud
and
money
laundering. He was also
$30 million and to pay more than $15 million in restitution,
ordered
to
pay
nearly
$3.9
million
in
restitution.
including more than $5 million to the IRS.
Learn more about this case.
Learn more about this case.
Puerto Rico
WESTERN AREA
U.S. Virgin Islands
SOUTHERN AREA
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
48
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NORTHERN AREA
PHILADELPHIA
NORTHERN AREA
600 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
PhiladelphiaFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
Click on a city to go to that Field Office or on an area name
to go to that Field Office area.
Philadelphia FieldGuam
Office special agents assist in a manhunt for a high-profile
escaped prisoner in Pennsylvania.
BOSTON
DETROIT
CHICAGO
NEWARK
Special agents participate in building entry training.
CINCINNATI
NEW YORK
PHILADELPHIA
Puerto Rico
WESTERN AREA
Members of the Philadelphia Field Office host an International Economic Crime
Summit in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia Field Office’s Acting ASAC attends the U.S. Attorney’s Office Public
Safety and Community Engagement Conference.
U.S. Virgin Islands
Special agents participate in vehicle extraction training.
SOUTHERN AREA
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
49
SOUTHERN AREA
Click on a city to go to that Field Office or on an area name
to go to that Field Office area.
NORTHERN AREA
Guam
WASHINGTON, D.C.
CHARLOTTE
DALLAS
WESTERN AREA
ATLANTA
Puerto Rico
HOUSTON
TAMPA
U.S. Virgin Islands
MIAMI
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
50
SOUTHERN AREA
Click on a city to go to that Field Office or on an area name
to go to that Field Office area.
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ATLANTA
SOUTHERN AREA
401 W. Peachtree Street NW, Atlanta, GA 30308
AtlantaFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
NORTHERN AREA
ALABAMA
Huntsville • Mobile • Montgomery • Birmingham
GEORGIA
Atlanta • Augusta • Columbus • Decatur • Macon • Savannah
LOUISIANA
Baton Rouge • Lafayette • New Orleans • Shreveport
MISSISSIPPI
Gulfport • Hattiesburg • Jackson • Oxford
THE ATLANTA FIELD
GuamOFFICE encompasses four states:
Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. The
territory includes two of the most popular destinations
in the southeast, Atlanta and New Orleans, which are
known for their vibrant culture, outstanding cuisine, and
world-renowned chefs. The field office is also home to some
of the best beaches along the Gulf Coast in Mississippi
and Alabama. The Atlanta Field Office offers meaningful
investigative work in many areas, such as corporate
fraud, political corruption, OCEDTF, counterintelligence
and terrorism funding, and QRP/RPP. The field office is
continually building and strengthening its relationships with
our law enforcement partners, the U.S. Attorney’s Office,
and the public, to identify, investigate, and refer quality
cases for prosecution.
View FO Photo Gallery
Television Personalities Sentenced
for Bank Fraud, Tax Evasion
Alabama Man Nets Prison Time for
Misusing Non-Profit Funds, Other Frauds
While earning millions of dollars from their reality television
program, “Chrisley Knows Best,” Todd and Julie Chrisley
also held leading roles in a tax evasion and bank fraud
scheme. For the tax years 2013 through 2016, they
failed to file tax returns or pay taxes. They also obtained
more than $20 million in fraudulent loans, which they
procured using bank statements, audit reports, and
personal statements. The Chrisleys spent the money they
fraudulently obtained on luxury cars, designer clothes, real
estate, and travel. They then took out new loans to pay
off older ones to perpetuate the scheme, eventually filing
for bankruptcy after fraudulently obtaining more than $20
million. In November 2022, Todd was sentenced to 12
years in prison, while Julie was sentenced to seven years
for her part in the conspiracy. The Chrisleys’ accountant,
Peter Tarantino, was also sentenced to three years in prison
for his role in the conspiracy.
Alabama resident Kenneth Glasgow solicited donations for
The 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security
The Ordinary Peoples Society (TOPS) and Prodigal Child
(CARES) Act provided more than $650 billion for qualifying
Project (PCP) from other non-profits and foundations,
small businesses facing financial challenges during the
claiming the funds would be used for charitable purposes.
COVID-19 pandemic, with grants and forgivable loans
From 2016 to 2019, Glasgow withdrew a total of
available through the Paycheck Protection Plan (PPP) and
$1.3 million in cash from TOPS and PCP, but he never
Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL). Kamario Thomas
accounted for that money on the non-profits’ IRS forms or
abused the CARES Act by submitting fraudulent EIDL
on any of his personal tax returns. Additionally, Glasgow
applications for himself and others, which resulted in the
mailed documents containing false statements to the Social
disbursement of more than $4.5 million in fraudulent
Security Administration so that he could continue receiving
CARES Act loans and grants. To complete the fraudulent
Social Security disability benefits and related health
applications, Thomas fabricated IRS forms and tax records.
WASHINGTON, D.C.
In return for the applications filed for others, Thomas
benefits from Medicare and Medicaid programs. He falsely
received hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks. In
claimed that he had limited physical abilities that prevented
June 2023, Thomas was sentenced to 38 months in prison
him from conducting daily activities, despite reporting that
and ordered to pay more than $4.5 million in restitution to
he worked 50 to 60 hours per week for his non-profits
the U.S. Small Business Administration.
on the non-profits’ IRS forms. He was also convicted of
conspiring with a defendant to possess cocaine with intent
Learn more about this case.
CHARLOTTE
to distribute. In July 2023, Glasgow was sentenced to
30 months in prison for tax evasion, mail fraud, and drug
conspiracy charges. He was also ordered to pay $376,720
ATLANTA
Puerto Rico
in restitution to the IRS.
Learn more about this case.
WESTERN AREA
$4.5 Million COVID-19 Fraud Scheme
Results in Jail Time for Georgia Man
DALLAS
Learn more about this case.
HOUSTON
TAMPA
U.S. Virgin Islands
MIAMI
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
51
X CLOSE
SOUTHERN AREA
ATLANTA
SOUTHERN AREA
401 W. Peachtree Street NW, Atlanta, GA 30308
AtlantaFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
Click on a city to go to that Field Office or on an area name
to go to that Field Office area.
NORTHERN AREA
Atlanta Field Office members present what it’s like to be a
special agent to Grantswood
Community Elementary students
Guam
during the school’s Title I summer program.
Scrappy the Owl drops by CI’s recruiting booth at a Kennesaw
State University career fair in Georgia.
Atlanta Field Office hosts a Citizen Academy at Auburn University in Alabama to provide more than 25 students hands-on experience of
being a CI special agent.
WASHINGTON, D.C.
CHARLOTTE
DALLAS
WESTERN AREA
Atlanta Field Office Special Agents deliver Financial Force
Multiplier Training to approximately 50 state and local
investigators from multiple agencies.
ATLANTA
Puerto Rico
HOUSTON
TAMPA
U.S. Virgin Islands
Members of the Atlanta Field Office attend an annual office training.
MIAMI
2023 | CI ANNUAL REPORT
52
SOUTHERN AREA
Click on a city to go to that Field Office or on an area name
to go to that Field Office area.
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CHARLOTTE
SOUTHERN AREA
NORTHERN AREA
10715 David Taylor Drive, Charlotte, NC 28262
CharlotteFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov
NORTH CAROLINA
Charlotte • Greensboro • Raleigh • Wilmington
SOUTH CAROLINA
Charleston • Columbia • Greenville • Myrtle Beach
TENNESSEE
Chattanooga • Jackson • Johnson City • Knoxville
Memphis • Nashville
Guam
THE CHARLOTTE FIELD OFFICE covers three states,
spanning from the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina
and the music filled state of Tennessee to the beaches
of South Carolina. The field office covers seven judicial
districts and has excellent partnerships both internally and
externally. The field office works a diverse mix of cases
throughout the three states, including general tax fraud,
employment tax fraud, healthcare fraud, refund fraud,
terrorist financing, public corruption, and OCDETF.
Two North Carolina Tax Preparers Sentenced
to Prison for $5.2 Million Tax Conspiracy
North Carolina CFO Sentenced to 18 Months
in Prison in Multimillion Tax Fraud Case
Myrtle Beach Woman Went to
Prison for COVID-19 Fraud
From 2009 through 2018, North Carolina tax preparers
Betty Hawkins and Phyllis Ricks conspired with others to file
false tax returns for clients of the tax preparation businesses
where they worked. The false returns included fictitious
federal income tax withholdings, as well as other fraudulent
items that generated fraudulent refunds for the clients. In
total, Hawkins, Ricks, and their co-conspirators caused
more than 1,000 false tax returns to be filed with the IRS,
which claimed a total of $5.2 million in fraudulent refunds. In
January 2023, Ricks was sentenced to three years in prison
and Hawkins was sentenced to two years in prison for their
role in preparing the false tax returns. In addition to the term
of imprisonment, both women were ordered to serve three
years of supervised release and pay approximately $5.2
million in restitution to the United States.
As early as 2012, Christopher Scott Harrison began to
spend company funds for his own benefit, including the
purchase of a $145,000 watch and a $300,000 swimming
pool at his personal residence. As these expenditures
came to light, Harrison filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
During his bankruptcy proceedings, an accounting firm
retained by the bankruptcy trustee discovered almost
$25 million of Harrison’s personal expenditures that were
reported as business expenses between tax years 2012
and 2018. Harrison filed false personal returns failing
to report the additional income, which led to almost $6
million in uncollected federal income taxes. In June 2023,
Harrison was sentenced to 18 months in prison, followed
by one year of supervised release to include home
confinement, for tax fraud. He was also ordered to pay
more
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