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Early this past month, David Kamal, a Stafford, Connecticut native, was arrested and charged with several tax code offenses ranging as far back as 2012. Kamal faces an 11-count indictment, including charges of tax evasion, filing a false tax return, obstruction of a proceeding, and unlawfully using someone else’s identity in furtherance of the aforementioned crimes.
Combined, these charges present a massive hurdle for the defendant. One way or another, the trial will cause tremendous financial strain and reputational damage. To avoid finding yourself in the same situation, you should be aware of the nature of these charges and how you can act now to prevent them.
The first step in this effort is calling the Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing. Our dual-licensed Tax Attorneys and CPAs are uniquely qualified to assist you in all your tax preparation, amending, or defense needs. To hear more, call us at our offices at (800) 681-1295.
Note: As long as a taxpayer that has willfully committed tax crimes (potentially including non-filed foreign information returns coupled with affirmative evasion of U.S. income tax on offshore income) self-reports the tax fraud (including a pattern of non-filed returns) through a domestic or offshore voluntary disclosurebefore the IRS has started an audit or criminal tax investigation / prosecution, the taxpayer can ordinarily be successfully brought back into tax compliance and receive a nearly guaranteed pass on criminal tax prosecution and simultaneously often receive a break on the civil penalties that would otherwise apply.
It is imperative that you hire an experienced and reputable criminal tax defense attorney to take you through the voluntary disclosure process. Only an Attorney has the Attorney Client Privilege and Work Product Privileges that will prevent the very professional that you hire from being potentially being forced to become a witness against you, especially where they prepared the returns that need to be amended, in a subsequent criminal tax audit, investigation or prosecution.
Moreover, only an Attorney can enter you into a voluntary disclosure without engaging in the unauthorized practice of law (a crime in itself). Only an Attorney trained in Criminal Tax Defense fully understands the risks and rewards involved in voluntary disclosures and how to protect you if you do not qualify for a voluntary disclosure.
As uniquely qualified and extensively experienced Criminal Tax Defense Tax Attorneys, KovelCPAs and EAs, our firm provides a one stop shop to efficiently achieve the optimal and predictable results that simultaneously protect your liberty and your net worth. See our Testimonials to see what our clients have to say about us!
A federal grand jury returned an indictment featuring 11 different charges against David Kamal in early February. The indictment alleges that Kamal, 60, willfully provided false documentation regarding unreimbursed medical expenses totaling more than $400,000. The government also claims that Kamal provided falsified bank statements and invoices to the IRS, submitted false documentation during a tax court proceeding, and used another person’s personal information to file false tax returns.
In total, Kamal was charged with two counts of tax evasion, one count of obstructing an official tax court proceeding, four counts of filing a false tax return, and four counts of unlawful use of a means of identification. The office of Leonard Boyle, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut, claims that the charges carry a potential prison sentence between 3 and 20 years.
Kamal was arrested on these charges on the morning of Thursday, February 3. He pled not guilty to all charges and was released on bail for a $50,000 bond.
The defendant is obviously in some hot water, as he faces 11 counts of four separate charges. But you may be wondering what each charge means and how they differ from one another?
Tax evasion is a nebulous term used in various ways to indicate some sort of noncompliance. However, as it is used in Kamal’s case, tax evasion refers to a criminal tax offense characterized by the defendant’s knowing and willful attempt to avoid either reporting taxable income or paying the taxes owed.
The key criteria of tax evasion here is the “knowing and willful” element. In order to secure a criminal conviction for tax evasion, the prosecutor must be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant intentionally acted (or failed to act) with the express purpose of avoiding tax liability. This is a difficult hurdle to meet, so the IRS often opts to pursue civil charges instead when they don’t have the requisite evidence that the defendant meant to defraud the system.
Knowingly filing an income tax return with the federal government that contains misstatements of material fact is a federal crime under 26 U.S.C. § 7207. This crime differs from tax evasion, though one charge typically accompanies the other.
This charge casts a wide net. You do not need to make affirmatively false statements to be convicted under § 7207. You could also face charges for leaving out material information, filing late, or not filing at all if the government can show that you did so intentionally. You also don’t need to owe any tax debt to be found guilty of filing a false tax return. If found guilty, you could face fines up to $10,000 per offense, which is not based on your outstanding tax balance. This is on top of a potential prison sentence of up to one year per offense.
This charge is a form of identity theft. You may think of identity theft as a shady email or a hacker stealing your passwords, but the criminal act of using someone else’s identity reaches far wider activity than that. Under the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act, this offense occurs when a person knowingly transfers or uses, without lawful authority, a means of identifying another person with the intent to commit or to aid or abet any unlawful activity. Violations could result in up to 15 years imprisonment.
This charge comes from 26 U.S.C. § 7212(a), commonly referred to as the “Omnibus Clause.” The Omnibus Clause prohibits taxpayers who are the subject of an audit or investigation from impeding IRS agents or attempting to obstruct the IRS’ efforts. If there is no ongoing proceeding, a person cannot be found guilty of obstruction under the Omnibus Clause. However, if you are facing a proceeding, you should work with a dual-licensed Tax Attorney and CPA to ensure that you don’t make an already difficult situation even worse.
The best way to defeat IRS criminal charges is to avoid them in the first place. At the Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing, our dual-licensed Tax Lawyers and CPAs take a circumspect approach to representing our clients, including assessing their tax filing histories for potential issues and rectifying them before they actualize.
If you find yourself facing criminal charges or the subject of an invasive IRS audit, it is not too late to benefit from the assistance we can provide. Our dual-licensed Tax Attorneys and CPAs have plenty of experience dealing with criminal defense and can be by your side throughout your advocacy.
If you have failed to file a tax return for one or more years or have taken a position on a tax return that could not be supported upon an IRS or state tax authority audit, eggshell audit, reverse eggshell audit, or criminal tax investigation, it is in your best interest to contact an experienced tax defense attorney to determine your best route back into federal or state tax compliance without facing criminal prosecution.
To benefit from the experience and resources of our team of dual-licensed Tax Attorneys and CPAs, call the Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing today at (800) 681-1295.
