Federal laws mandate that people report their income to the government every year and pay income taxes as deemed appropriate based on the formulas used in the tax forms and laws. Failure to file an income tax return or to pay mandated income taxes may result in a person being accused of and charged with a federal crime. The penalties for tax evasion or tax fraud may vary based upon the situation of the individual involved. Former executive arrested in Europe According to a report by NPR, a man who founded and once owned a well-known computer software company was recently arrested in Spain...
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Wisconsin Pain Clinic To Pay Feds $885,452 To Dismiss Claims Of Illegal Kickbacks
A Wisconsin pain clinic has agreed to pay $885,452 to the federal government in exchange for dropping claims that it violated the False Claims Act by paying illegal kickbacks to obtain referrals for procedures covered by Medicare and Medicaid. Federal prosecutors say the defendant gifted shares of incentive stocks to physicians outside of the company for pain procedures carried out in its pain-management centers. They say the stock could not be sold until the company itself was sold, which itself was tied to the profitability of the firm. As the firm depended largely upon outside referrals,...
OFAC Designates Syrian Business Network Supporting Assad Regime
The federal government last week announced another slate of sanctions against the Assad regime in Syria in an effort at hastening a peaceful resolution to the conflict there. On Wednesday the United States Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) added three more individuals and a baker's dozen entities to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List. The additions last week essentially amount to a business network that supplies the Fourth Division of the Syrian Army, which itself is a sanctioned entity as well. According to OFAC, the network is run by a prominent...
Off-Duty Pinellas County Deputy Facing Drunk Driving Charges In Pinellas County
A deputy of the Pasco County Sheriff's Office has been fired and is facing criminal charges on allegations that he was driving drunk last weekend. Pinellas County deputies say the 27-year-old man was driving his personal vehicle while off duty at a high rate of speed on McMullen-Booth Road just before dusk when he came to their attention. Deputies say he appeared intoxicated behind the wheel, as his eyes were glassy and he smelled of alcoholic drink. The defendant was asked to leave the vehicle and perform a field sobriety test, the latter he declined to do. At the scene he was alleged to...
North Carolina Man Charged With Fraud For Allegedly Applying For Over $6 Million In Fraudulent PPP Loans
A North Carolina man is facing federal fraud charges after allegedly attempting to obtain more than $6 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. Prosecutors say he orchestrated a scheme to submit several fraudulent loans to area banks. They say he used names inspired by a popular book and television series as entities under which he filed for the fraudulent PPP loans. In support of the applications, the defendant allegedly submitted several false statements about the nonexistent entities, including falsehoods about their employee base and salaries. Also allegedly submitted along...
Former Palm Beach Deputy Sentenced To 13 Years In Prison For Shooting Death Of Son-In-Law
A retired deputy in Palm Beach has been sentenced to 13 years in prison at the end of his second trial by a Florida judge on charges that he killed his daughter's estranged husband. Prosecutors say the 64-year-old man's daughter and grandchildren were living with him in 2018 when the incident occurred. They say the estranged husband arrived at the home to drop off clothing for his children there when an argument began outside. The defendant allegedly heard the commotion and stepped outside his home with a firearm in hand. With the husband's violent history in mind, the defendant allegedly...
Are government agencies now buying incriminating evidence?
The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects each of us against unreasonable search and seizure by law enforcement. Most of the time, this means that police and other agencies need to obtain a warrant before invading our privacy and conducting searches of our property. Unfortunately, in the age of big data held by private corporations, our Fourth Amendment protections are constantly under attack. In recent years, several federal agencies have decided to bypass the need to obtain warrants from a judge by buying bulk data collected by private companies. Some of the most valuable data...
Passing on insider information can land you in jail
People who buy and sell stocks do so on the basis of public information. If some securities holders learn through confidential information that a business is about to go under, they could sell their securities and reap a windfall before the news goes out. This could leave the other stockholders with stocks that will suddenly have less value due to the impending downfall of the company. To ensure a fair playing field, the federal government bans the practice of insider trading. As recent instances of prosecution by the U.S. Department of Justice have shown, the government will levy charges...
Feds Seize Biggest Cache Of Fentanyl In Delaware History In Raid Of Drug Network With Florida Ties
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Delaware State Police say they've seized a record amount of fentanyl after a two-year investigation into a drug network that they say moved illicit drugs from California and Florida to Pennsylvania and Delaware. Per authorities, the Delaware-based operation involved over two dozen suspects. An investigation into the network began in 2018, ultimately leading to the arrests of 28 individuals and the confiscation of a quantity of fentanyl sufficient to kill three-quarters of a million people. On July 2, local police and the FBI raided the alleged...
OFAC Sanctions Several Entities And Individuals For Alleged Involvement In Iran Nuke Program
The federal government announced sanctions last week against several different individuals and organizations linked to Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile program.According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the move is another step in adding pressure to the country to eliminate its nuclear weapons program, which is also targeted for sanctions by the United Nations.Last week's designations include three Deputy Directors of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) and several of its subsidiaries. Also sanctioned were firms supplying...
