Fraud, Embezzlement, Bad Checks Is This Criminal - Frustrating the IRS?

G

Groover

New Member
Jurisdiction
Colorado
A marries B.
A knows that B has IRS tax liens against them. Plus they are public record, easily found with a web search
B dies
A files an affidvait in court to avoid probate stating that B did not have debts

1. Was a federal crime committed by A?
2. If so who should it be reported to?

Thanks!
 
At the very least, it's likely the Colorado state crime of perjury.

Colorado Perjury Laws

Under Colorado law, perjury is defined as fabricating or stating false information while under oath. This can occur in a legal proceeding, a written document, or any time a person takes an oath to tell the truth. Perjury offenses range from a Class 4 Felony to a Petty Offense, depending on the...
www.shouselaw.com www.shouselaw.com

You can report that to the probate court. Call the probate court to find out how.

As for federal, @Tax Counsel is a tax attorney who participates on this site and should be able to answer the question either tonight or tomorrow.
 
Groover said:
A files an affidvait in court to avoid probate stating that B did not have debts
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When the estate of B or A files the final tax return, the estate or A will receive a payment request from the IRS and if it is not paid, the tax liens will attach to the estate or A's assets. I think. But one way or the other, the IRS will get paid.
 
Groover said:
1. Was a federal crime committed by A?
2. If so who should it be reported to?
Click to expand...
Anonymous internet posters have no ability to opine accurately or declare any human action a crime.

That determination lies with a county or state appointed prosecutor.

Only you can decide if you wish to snitch, eat cheese, drop dimes or rat on your fellow human beings.

Rat on Timmy today, become the one ratted on tomorrow. Tit for rat!
 
Groover said:
1. Was a federal crime committed by A?
2. If so who should it be reported to?
Click to expand...

The IRS knows who it has tax liens against.

A is not necessarily obligated to pay B's debt. However, if the IRS thinks A is responsible for B's debt, or that A has taken possession of estate assets that should have been applied debts instead, then A may eventually face problems.

However, leave that to the creditors.
 
Groover said:
This makes no sense unless you think everyone is breaking laws.
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I have no idea what everyone is doing.
I don't care what anyone does to anyone.
I care only if someone screws me.
That has never occurred, but if it does, I'm quite capable and able to seek retribution.
 
Groover said:
A marries B.
A knows that B has IRS tax liens against them. Plus they are public record, easily found with a web search
B dies
A files an affidvait in court to avoid probate stating that B did not have debts

1. Was a federal crime committed by A?
2. If so who should it be reported to?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

A couple of important things to note. Those liens will follow his assets and if the taxes are not paid by the estate, the beneficiaries will have to pay the taxes to avoid possible seizure by the IRS to collect the tax. The tax liens also have a higher priority than any later secured debt or unsecured debt of the decedent. If the executor/administrator of the estate does not pay the debts of the decedent in the proper order, the executor/administrator can be held personally liable to pay the debts from his/her own pocket. In Colorado probate will be required if the decedent had sufficient assets, regardless of whether the decedent had debts. Finally, if the administrator/executor files an affidavit in the probate court stating there are no debts when the administrator/executor knows that is not the case, the state may prosecute the administrator/executor for perjury and the creditors may pursue of the administrator/executor for fraud. So A invites a lot of problems, legal and financial, by following that plan. A would come out a lot better by simply following the proper legal process. A should be seeking for himself/herself only what he or she is entitled to get from the estate. He/she didn't earn the money that B spent to buy his/her assets and doesn't have any claim to them over and above B's valid creditors.

Contacting the IRS and reporting the potential fraud will help ensure that the tax is paid, and may earn you a reward of up to 30% of the amount the IRS collects.

My position is very different from Army Judge. Reporting the attempt to avoid paying the tax doesn't just help the government, it helps every honest taxpayer out there because when taxpayers fail to pay the tax they owe, the taxes go up for everyone else. It's not an issue of simply ratting out the executor/administrator, it's an issue of helping to keep everyone's taxes a bit lower. Army Judge, having been an Army General and federal judge I would think would appreciate the importance of tax collection since those taxes paid his salary as an Army officer and judge. I suppose Army Judge has his reasons for his position, but I don't see any merit in it, ethically or otherwise. If as he stated he cares if others screw him, I'd think he'd care when others cause his taxes to rise. You'll have to decide for yourself what your ethics are and what you think is the right thing to do. Neither I nor Army Judge can decide for you what is the right thing for you to do and there are undoubtedly more opinions out there on what is right than just the two that Army Judge and I have put forth here.

Just so you know where I'm coming from, I am a Colorado tax attorney and used to be an attorney for the IRS. My position, both in the IRS and out, has been that everyone has an obligation to pay the tax they owe but no obligation to pay anything more than the law requires. My firm handles probate cases. We would not take A as a client if A insisted on going the route A wanted to take. Aiding A in doing that would put our law licenses at risk, and whatever fee A pays isn't going to be worth that.
 
Groover said:
A marries B.
Click to expand...

Are you A? I'm guessing not, so what is your connection to A and/or B or this situation?


Groover said:
A files an affidvait in court to avoid probate stating that B did not have debts

1. Was a federal crime committed by A?
Click to expand...

Assuming the affidavit was made under penalty of perjury and filed in a state court, one could reasonably assume that A committed the crime of perjury under the applicable state law.


Groover said:
If so who should it be reported to?
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Reported by whom? Why is this any of your concern?
 

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