In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, a federal grand jury has returned an indictment against Paul F. Wrubleski for filing false tax claims seeking more than $1.5 million in federal refunds. The Justice Department has charged Wrubleski with corruption in four counts of filing false claims for federal tax refunds.
The indictment charges that Wrubleski impeded the Internal Revenue Service by filing W-4s claiming falsely that the Florida man was exempt from income tax withholding. In addition, Wrubleski is alleged to have submitted four tax returns asking for over $1.5 million in tax refunds. Further, from 1999 to 2010, Wrubleski allegedly plagued the IRS with obstructive letters, false tax returns and other fraudulent documents. Then in 2006, alleges the indictment, Wrubleski filed for bankruptcy protection to avoid IRS collection actions.
Wrubleski, if he were convicted on all counts, could receive a maximum jail sentence of 23 years and a fine as high as $1.2 million.
Tax Fraud Whistleblowers Eligible for Cash Rewards Under the Tax Relief and Health Care Act
The IRS Whistleblower Office was established in 2006 to provide financial rewards to conscientious individuals who provide the IRS with information leading to the recovery of taxes fraudulently withheld from the government. The Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 contains provisions authorizing the IRS Whistleblower Office to reward whistleblowers with 15 to 30 percent of any amount collected based on information provided by the whistleblower.
Under the Tax Relief law, no minimum recovery is required in cases involving fraudulent tax claims by corporations. But, if the tax evader is an individual, a whistleblower reward is allowed only in cases where the individual’s gross income is more than $200,000 for each taxable year in question and where the tax, penalties, interest, and other amounts collected exceed $2 million.
Waters & Kraus: Helping Whistleblowers With Knowledge of Tax Fraud
Providing aggressive representation of whistleblowers in qui tam actions, Waters & Kraus has a national presence and a wealth of experience fighting fraud against the government. The firm is now engaged in a variety of federal and state whistleblower actions, involving government contractors, large pharmaceutical companies, school district contractors, and a variety of health care providers.
To learn more about qui tam representation at Waters & Kraus, or to speak with one of our attorneys about your potential case, email us or call 800.226.9880.
