A criminal defense attorney in Fort Lauderdale is often retained to assist defendants who are facing tax fraud cases.   He or she can explain the ways that a person may find himself or herself facing charges of this nature and how the criminal investigation process works.   Some of the information that a criminal defense attorney in Fort Lauderdale may share with clients includes:

Defining Tax Fraud

Tax fraud occurs when a person fails to file their income tax return or falsifies information on a tax return.   Individuals are required to file tax returns when they meet minimum thresholds.

Examples of Tax Fraud

Tax fraud charges can arise in a number of situations.   Some ways that a person may commit tax fraud include:

• Failing to state the true amount of income that he or she earned
• Overstating deduction amounts
• Falsely claiming exemptions that he or she is not entitled to
• Falsely reporting personal expenses as business expenses
• Concealing or transferring income
• Falsifying documents for any of the reasons above or to minimize a person’s tax liability or increase their refund

These are just a few examples of tax fraud.   A criminal defense attorney can explain other actions that can rise to the criminal level.

Criminal IRS Investigations

The IRS Criminal Investigations is the division of the federal agency that handles the criminal investigations of cases involving potential tax fraud.   This division is responsible for investigating tax evasion, tax fraud, willful failure to pay, fraudulent statement to an employer, attempt to defeat tax and money laundering crimes.   It investigates businesses, organizations and individuals.   The crimes that this division investigates may carry with them both criminal and civil consequences.