Several crimes set forth in the Federal Criminal Code can apply to CPAs in their capacity as tax preparers, advisors and representatives of clients. The most commonly charged include aiding and abetting, presenting a false, fictitious, or fraudulent claim to the government, conspiracy, making false statements to a U.S. agency, mail fraud, bribery, and forgery.
The basis for aiding and abetting violations is accomplice liability. An individual may be indicted as a principle for committing a substantive offense upon a showing of him or her to be an aider or abettor. In practice this means persons who have aided and assisted another in tax evasion by concealing another person’s sources of income or assets. To prevail in bringing a charge under the federal aiding and abetting statute, the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that:
- A substantive criminal offense was committed.
- The defendant, by affirmative conduct, participated in, counseled, or assisted in the commission of the substantive offense.
- The defendant shared with the principal the criminal intent to commit the substantive offense.
An accused must associate themselves in some manner with a criminal venture to be convicted of aiding and abetting the commission of an offense. This is established by a showing of participation in the criminal venture that demonstrates a desire to seek and bring about the criminal result. However, the aider and abettor need not perform the substantive offense nor even know its details to be convicted or even be present when the offense is committed. To be successful in bringing an action for aiding and abetting, the government need only show that the defendant intentionally assisted in the commission of a specific crime in some substantial manor.
In order to sustain a conviction the government must present evidence showing an underlying offense, this means aiding and abetting is not an independent crime. However, the principal who was aided and abetted does not need to be identified or convicted for the government to convict the party accused of aiding and abetting. Moreover, an outright acquittal of the principal will not bar the prosecution of the aider and abettor. Because the aiding and abetting statute does not create a separate offense, the applicable statute of limitations for bringing an aiding and abetting charge is the same as that of the underlying substantive crime that is at issue.
