The IRS released statistics that showed 1,644 tax and money-laundering cases related to COVID fraud, totaling $9 billion investigated by the Criminal Investigation (CI). CI is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money-laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. CI has obtained a 98.5% conviction rate in prosecuted COVID-related fraud cases, with over 795 people indicted and 373 individuals sentenced by February 29, 2024.
Recently, the investigation wing sentenced a man to 10 years in prison for his role as the mastermind behind a sprawling conspiracy to fraudulently obtain loans amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Another man was sentenced to 94 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $4.2 million to the SBA after being convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and money laundering. The CI also encouraged the public to share information regarding known or suspected fraud tied to the CARES Act by contacting their local CI field office. Contact information for each CI field office is listed in the division’s annual report.
