Latest news with #IRS-CI
Forbes
05-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
DOGE IRS Cuts Make No Sense
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 13: A sign for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is seen outside its ... More building on February 13, 2025 in Washington, DC. Members of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) arrived at the Internal Revenue Service to begin examining the agency's operations. (Photo by) DOGE may be an acronym for the Department of Government Efficiency, but it is far from efficient in its plans to cut up to 25% of the IRS staff which include significant cuts to the staff of the IRS Criminal Investigations unit. The Criminal Investigation unit of the IRS plays an essential role in combating drug and human trafficking, terrorism, tax crimes, financial crimes and money laundering. Through the Criminal Investigation Unit's Asset and Investigative Service, it seizes assets used by criminal enterprises and then sends those forfeited funds to the Treasury Forfeiture Fund which returns funds to crime victims, reimburses law enforcement agencies for expenses incurred in conducting criminal investigations as well as share forfeited funds with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. According to its annual report, in 2024 the IRS-CI initiated more than 2,667 criminal investigations, obtaining 1,571 convictions representing a 90% conviction rate. It uncovered more than $9.1 billion in fraud from tax and financial crimes, obtained court orders totaling $1.7 billion in restitution to the IRS and seized criminal assets totaling approximately $1.2 billion far exceeding the cost of its budget. In addition, in the Fall of 2024 the IRS-CI increased its efforts against wealthy tax cheats with actions against 1,600 taxpayers earning more than a million dollars a year which by July of 2024 had already brought in $1 billion in collections. According to a study at the University of Michigan the top .5% of the highest earning Americans account for about a fifth of the income that is hidden from the IRS estimated to be more than $50 billion. Efforts by DOGE to reduce the CI's efforts to collect taxes owed by the very wealthy appear to be extremely shortsighted. IRS-CI has also played a major part in criminal actions against drug cartels, which are a major focus of the present administration which makes DOGE's efforts to reduce their staff all the more confusing. As noted in a letter from Senators Ron Wyden, Chuck Schumer and seven Democratic members of the Senate Finance Committee: 'IRS Criminal Investigation is at the forefront of federal law enforcement efforts to investigate fentanyl trafficking by cartels, human trafficking, terrorism financing, and sanctions evasion. For example, CI was the lead investigative agency in the largest international fentanyl/opioid seizure in U.S. history. This operation took down a massive drug trafficking operation and seized 864 kg of drugs, including an astounding 64kg of fentanyl and fentanyl-laced opioids, enough to kill thousands of people. CI was also responsible for the dismantling of several large fentanyl trafficking networks operated by the Sinaloa cartel, including a collaboration with Chinese money laundering organizations. An indefinite hiring freeze at CI would endanger both public safety and national security by directly hampering multi-agency efforts to pursue and dismantle thee highly dangerous criminal networks.' Cutting staff and funding from an efficient government agency that returns far more than it costs makes no sense and leaves the country more vulnerable to criminal enterprises and encourages tax cheating.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
IRS crime fighting arm announces modernization program as financial crimes use more tech
WASHINGTON (AP) — As the nature of financial crime changes, with technology and AI increasingly used to perpetrate illegal acts, the IRS' crime fighting arm —IRS Criminal Investigation— is announcing a new program intended to improve how it interacts with financial institutions. Called Feedback in Response to Strategic Threat —or CI-FIRST— the program unveiled Friday is intended to speed up subpoena requests, give banks better data on how to detect criminal activity and build out investigations faster and more efficiently. Under the Bank Secrecy Act, banks and financial institutions are required to send over a variety of suspicious activity reports to the federal government after detecting potential money laundering or terrorist financing. The goal for CI-FIRST is to help financial institutions more easily detect and report financial crimes tied to fentanyl trafficking, drug trafficking, human smuggling and other crimes — by streamlining subpoena requests and improving data-sharing with banks. IRS-CI Chief Guy Ficco said in a statement that 'public-private partnerships thrive when everyone mutually benefits." Also on Friday, IRS Criminal Investigation released new statistics highlighting how the agency has investigated financial crimes using Bank Secrecy Act data. The agency found $21.1 billion in fraud tied to tax and financial crimes from 2022 to 2024, seized $8.2 billion in assets tied to criminal activity in the same period, and recouped $1.4 billion in restitution for crime victims, according to the agency. 'Behind all of these metrics are real crimes with real victims,' said Lauren Kohr, IRS-CI's strategic engagement adviser. 'A lot of times people look at BSA data or the Bank Secrecy Act as a regulatory requirement, but it's really one of the sharpest tools law enforcement as a whole has to trace fraud illicit money and dismantle these criminal networks." "And when illicit money moves, it's these BSA reports," she said "that tell us the story.' IRS-CI special agents ran an average of 966,900 searches annually against currency transaction reports. A currency transaction report, or CTR, is a financial document that banks are required to file with Treasury for any cash transaction exceeding $10,000 in a single day. In the past three years, roughly 67% of cases opened by IRS-CI involved one or more currency transaction reports below $40,000, with half of currency transaction reports involving amounts less than $22,230. Despite the majority of reports coming in below $40,000, a group of Republican lawmakers is pursing raising the threshold. Georgia Rep. Barry Loudermilk and nine other House Republicans have sponsored a bill called the Financial Reporting Threshold Modernization Act, which would raise the currency transaction reporting and Suspicious Activity Reporting thresholds to $30,000 and $10,000, respectively, and index the CTR threshold for inflation every five years. On April 1, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions will hold a hearing on April 1 and the issue of CTR thresholds will come up. Last December a Government Accountability Office report recommended Treasury help to 'reduce the number of CTRs filed that are not used by law enforcement, such as by raising the reporting threshold or expanding criteria to allow for further exemptions.' In addition to their financial crimes work, IRS Criminal Investigations has been called upon by the Trump administration to help with immigration enforcement. Last month, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem sent a request to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to borrow IRS Criminal Investigation workers to help with the immigration crackdown, according to a letter obtained by The Associated Press. It cites the IRS's boost in funding, through the $80 billion infusion of funds the federal tax collection agency received under the Democrats' Inflation Reduction Act has already been clawed back.
The Hill
28-03-2025
- Business
- The Hill
IRS crime fighting arm announces modernization program as financial crimes use more tech
WASHINGTON (AP) — As the nature of financial crime changes, with technology and AI increasingly used to perpetrate illegal acts, the IRS' crime fighting arm —IRS Criminal Investigation— is announcing a new program intended to improve how it interacts with financial institutions. Called Feedback in Response to Strategic Threat —or CI-FIRST— the program unveiled Friday is intended to speed up subpoena requests, give banks better data on how to detect criminal activity and build out investigations faster and more efficiently. Under the Bank Secrecy Act, banks and financial institutions are required to send over a variety of suspicious activity reports to the federal government after detecting potential money laundering or terrorist financing. The goal for CI-FIRST is to help financial institutions more easily detect and report financial crimes tied to fentanyl trafficking, drug trafficking, human smuggling and other crimes — by streamlining subpoena requests and improving data-sharing with banks. IRS-CI Chief Guy Ficco said in a statement that 'public-private partnerships thrive when everyone mutually benefits.' Also on Friday, IRS Criminal Investigation released new statistics highlighting how the agency has investigated financial crimes using Bank Secrecy Act data. The agency found $21.1 billion in fraud tied to tax and financial crimes from 2022 to 2024, seized $8.2 billion in assets tied to criminal activity in the same period, and recouped $1.4 billion in restitution for crime victims, according to the agency. 'Behind all of these metrics are real crimes with real victims,' said Lauren Kohr, IRS-CI's strategic engagement adviser. 'A lot of times people look at BSA data or the Bank Secrecy Act as a regulatory requirement, but it's really one of the sharpest tools law enforcement as a whole has to trace fraud illicit money and dismantle these criminal networks.' 'And when illicit money moves, it's these BSA reports,' she said 'that tell us the story.' IRS-CI special agents ran an average of 966,900 searches annually against currency transaction reports. A currency transaction report, or CTR, is a financial document that banks are required to file with Treasury for any cash transaction exceeding $10,000 in a single day. In the past three years, roughly 67% of cases opened by IRS-CI involved one or more currency transaction reports below $40,000, with half of currency transaction reports involving amounts less than $22,230. Despite the majority of reports coming in below $40,000, a group of Republican lawmakers is pursing raising the threshold. Georgia Rep. Barry Loudermilk and nine other House Republicans have sponsored a bill called the Financial Reporting Threshold Modernization Act, which would raise the currency transaction reporting and Suspicious Activity Reporting thresholds to $30,000 and $10,000, respectively, and index the CTR threshold for inflation every five years. On April 1, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions will hold a hearing on April 1 and the issue of CTR thresholds will come up. Last December a Government Accountability Office report recommended Treasury help to 'reduce the number of CTRs filed that are not used by law enforcement, such as by raising the reporting threshold or expanding criteria to allow for further exemptions.' In addition to their financial crimes work, IRS Criminal Investigations has been called upon by the Trump administration to help with immigration enforcement. Last month, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem sent a request to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to borrow IRS Criminal Investigation workers to help with the immigration crackdown, according to a letter obtained by The Associated Press. It cites the IRS's boost in funding, through the $80 billion infusion of funds the federal tax collection agency received under the Democrats' Inflation Reduction Act has already been clawed back.
The Independent
28-03-2025
- Business
- The Independent
IRS crime fighting arm announces modernization program as financial crimes use more tech
As the nature of financial crime changes, with technology and AI increasingly used to perpetrate illegal acts, the IRS ' crime fighting arm —IRS Criminal Investigation— is announcing a new program intended to improve how it interacts with financial institutions. Called Feedback in Response to Strategic Threat —or CI-FIRST— the program unveiled Friday is intended to speed up subpoena requests, give banks better data on how to detect criminal activity and build out investigations faster and more efficiently. Under the Bank Secrecy Act, banks and financial institutions are required to send over a variety of suspicious activity reports to the federal government after detecting potential money laundering or terrorist financing. The goal for CI-FIRST is to help financial institutions more easily detect and report financial crimes tied to fentanyl trafficking, drug trafficking, human smuggling and other crimes — by streamlining subpoena requests and improving data-sharing with banks. IRS-CI Chief Guy Ficco said in a statement that 'public-private partnerships thrive when everyone mutually benefits." Also on Friday, IRS Criminal Investigation released new statistics highlighting how the agency has investigated financial crimes using Bank Secrecy Act data. The agency found $21.1 billion in fraud tied to tax and financial crimes from 2022 to 2024, seized $8.2 billion in assets tied to criminal activity in the same period, and recouped $1.4 billion in restitution for crime victims, according to the agency. 'Behind all of these metrics are real crimes with real victims,' said Lauren Kohr, IRS-CI's strategic engagement adviser. 'A lot of times people look at BSA data or the Bank Secrecy Act as a regulatory requirement, but it's really one of the sharpest tools law enforcement as a whole has to trace fraud illicit money and dismantle these criminal networks." "And when illicit money moves, it's these BSA reports," she said "that tell us the story.' IRS-CI special agents ran an average of 966,900 searches annually against currency transaction reports. A currency transaction report, or CTR, is a financial document that banks are required to file with Treasury for any cash transaction exceeding $10,000 in a single day. In the past three years, roughly 67% of cases opened by IRS-CI involved one or more currency transaction reports below $40,000, with half of currency transaction reports involving amounts less than $22,230. Despite the majority of reports coming in below $40,000, a group of Republican lawmakers is pursing raising the threshold. Georgia Rep. Barry Loudermilk and nine other House Republicans have sponsored a bill called the Financial Reporting Threshold Modernization Act, which would raise the currency transaction reporting and Suspicious Activity Reporting thresholds to $30,000 and $10,000, respectively, and index the CTR threshold for inflation every five years. On April 1, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions will hold a hearing on April 1 and the issue of CTR thresholds will come up. Last December a Government Accountability Office report recommended Treasury help to 'reduce the number of CTRs filed that are not used by law enforcement, such as by raising the reporting threshold or expanding criteria to allow for further exemptions.' In addition to their financial crimes work, IRS Criminal Investigations has been called upon by the Trump administration to help with immigration enforcement. Last month, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem sent a request to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to borrow IRS Criminal Investigation workers to help with the immigration crackdown, according to a letter obtained by The Associated Press. It cites the IRS's boost in funding, through the $80 billion infusion of funds the federal tax collection agency received under the Democrats' Inflation Reduction Act has already been clawed back.
Associated Press
28-03-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
IRS crime fighting arm announces modernization program as financial crimes use more tech
WASHINGTON (AP) — As the nature of financial crime changes, with technology and AI increasingly used to perpetrate illegal acts, the IRS' crime fighting arm —IRS Criminal Investigation— is announcing a new program intended to improve how it interacts with financial institutions. Called Feedback in Response to Strategic Threat —or CI-FIRST— the program unveiled Friday is intended to speed up subpoena requests, give banks better data on how to detect criminal activity and build out investigations faster and more efficiently. Under the Bank Secrecy Act, banks and financial institutions are required to send over a variety of suspicious activity reports to the federal government after detecting potential money laundering or terrorist financing. The goal for CI-FIRST is to help financial institutions more easily detect and report financial crimes tied to fentanyl trafficking, drug trafficking, human smuggling and other crimes — by streamlining subpoena requests and improving data-sharing with banks. IRS-CI Chief Guy Ficco said in a statement that 'public-private partnerships thrive when everyone mutually benefits.' Also on Friday, IRS Criminal Investigation released new statistics highlighting how the agency has investigated financial crimes using Bank Secrecy Act data. The agency found $21.1 billion in fraud tied to tax and financial crimes from 2022 to 2024, seized $8.2 billion in assets tied to criminal activity in the same period, and recouped $1.4 billion in restitution for crime victims, according to the agency. 'Behind all of these metrics are real crimes with real victims,' said Lauren Kohr, IRS-CI's strategic engagement adviser. 'A lot of times people look at BSA data or the Bank Secrecy Act as a regulatory requirement, but it's really one of the sharpest tools law enforcement as a whole has to trace fraud illicit money and dismantle these criminal networks.' 'And when illicit money moves, it's these BSA reports,' she said 'that tell us the story.' IRS-CI special agents ran an average of 966,900 searches annually against currency transaction reports. A currency transaction report, or CTR, is a financial document that banks are required to file with Treasury for any cash transaction exceeding $10,000 in a single day. In the past three years, roughly 67% of cases opened by IRS-CI involved one or more currency transaction reports below $40,000, with half of currency transaction reports involving amounts less than $22,230. Despite the majority of reports coming in below $40,000, a group of Republican lawmakers is pursing raising the threshold. Georgia Rep. Barry Loudermilk and nine other House Republicans have sponsored a bill called the Financial Reporting Threshold Modernization Act, which would raise the currency transaction reporting and Suspicious Activity Reporting thresholds to $30,000 and $10,000, respectively, and index the CTR threshold for inflation every five years. On April 1, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions will hold a hearing on April 1 and the issue of CTR thresholds will come up. Last December a Government Accountability Office report recommended Treasury help to 'reduce the number of CTRs filed that are not used by law enforcement, such as by raising the reporting threshold or expanding criteria to allow for further exemptions.' In addition to their financial crimes work, IRS Criminal Investigations has been called upon by the Trump administration to help with immigration enforcement.
