January 22, 2015 — The Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 established an IRS Whistleblower Office to enable whistleblowers with information about tax fraud to notify the IRS and receive compensation. The Act allows tipsters to receive a percentage of 15 to 30 percent of the funds the government recovers based on an informant’s unique information. To be eligible for compensation concerning a private individual’s IRS violations, the tax evader’s gross income must exceed $200,000 for every taxable year involved and the government’s recovery must be more than $2 million. To receive a reward for information about a corporation’s wrongdoing, no minimum recovery is required.
Fraudster Diverts $53 Million of Clients’ Money Owed to IRS to Pay for His Own Luxury Homes and Cars
A Kentucky businessman has pleaded guilty in New York federal court to tax crimes that resulted in the IRS’s loss of more than $50 million. Wilbur Anthony Huff, of Louisville, Kentucky, has consented to provide restitution in the amount of $53,094,219 to the IRS.
Huff reportedly controlled a number of business entities across the country, one of which he used to engineer a $53 million tax fraud on the IRS. Between 2008 and 2010, Huff ran O2HR, a professional employer organization (PEO) to which other businesses would outsource their human resources work involving payroll, employee benefits and workers’ compensation. But Huff used O2HR, a Florida company, to divert $53 million that O2HR’s clients owed to the IRS in taxes. Huff also failed to pay $5 million to Providence Property and Casualty Insurance Company — an insurance company in Oklahoma — that O2HR clients paid for workers’ compensation coverage. Instead, Huff rerouted the money toward his own unrelated business ventures and to support Huff’s lavish lifestyle. Huff spent millions on mortgages for his multiple homes, staff and equipment for his farm, supporting his children in their own apartments and purchasing luxury automobiles, expensive jewelry and designer clothing.
Employees Notify IRS about Employers’ Tax Fraud
While Waters & Kraus is not handling this particular instance of tax fraud, we are representing whistleblowers with knowledge of similar types of tax scams. Before stepping forward, tipsters should understand how the process works. The IRS tax fraud lawyers with Waters & Kraus provide government collaborators with the legal counsel they deserve.
Contact us by email or call our whistleblower attorneys at 855.784.0268 to learn how we can protect your interests. Our qui tam lawyers, like Paul Lawrence in our Washington D.C. area office, are committed to advancing and protecting informants’ interests in whistleblower lawsuits.
