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 We are grateful to have the opportunity to provide you this valuable information via our monthly e-newsletter and our
unparalleled forensic accounting and
fraud investigative services.
The goal of this e-newsletter is to provide you critical, inside information that will help you "follow the money" in business disputes, divorce cases, fraud cases, estate matters, corporate embezzlement and to prevail when defending an IRS criminal case. We will do this by sharing the knowledge we have from our 25+ years of experience as an IRS Special Agent and 15 years as a private investigator / forensic accountant.
We take special care to ensure the information we provide you in "The Beacon" is the latest and most current information available.
In this edition, we have addressed discovery actions beneficial to the defense and how it is the taxpayer's decision if to have an auditor or special agent.
We want to write about topics
that
will assist you in prevailing with criminal IRS cases. Please e-mail us your topics of interest to
Thebeacon@sageinvestigations.com
We encourage you to share our e-newsletter with others in your sphere of influence.
Sincerely,
Edmond J. Martin
Principal, Chief Investigator
Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE)
Texas Certified Investigator (TCI)
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Discovery Actions Beneficial to the Defense
It is extremely important for an expert witness working for a defense attorney on a civil or criminal case to have access to discovery. Today there are methods of sharing files through ShareFile, YouSendIt, RapidShare, and other file sharing software like Dropbox, Box, Google Drive, etc. These cloud storage services are beneficial for exchanging and controlling access to files that can alter the success of your case.
According to the American Bar Association, discovery is the pretrial process by which each party ascertains evidence the other party will rely upon at trial. The discovery rules are designed to prevent "Trial by ambush," where one side does not learn of the other side's evidence or witnesses until the trial when there's no time to obtain answering evidence.
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In civil cases a method used for discovery is a deposition, which is an extrajudicial meeting with testimony given under oath by parties in the case. A video, transcript, or both may be prepared of those deposed and both parties may be present at the deposition. The testimony may be used later in the event of trial to refresh or impeach testimony of the witness, or if agreed, segments may be read or played in the absence of a witness.
In criminal cases at the federal level, the government has agencies with trained investigators that conduct initial investigations either with or without the assistance of the US Attorney's Office and a grand jury. Investigators interview witnesses in an extrajudicial setting and obtain testimony and documentary evidence. If a third party hinders the investigation by refusing to testify or produce records, he/she can be subpoenaed...
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Taxpayer Decision... Auditor or Special Agent
 We read in the newspaper that the number of audits is down to less than 1%. In the Kiplinger article dated April 30, 201, the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) advised the agency will perform 100,000 or fewer audits this year. The odds are reassuring that the vast majority of tax returns will skate through the IRS centers. Although the odds are against being audited, audits can and do occur. The better prepared you are for an audit the better the process will be. The experienced officers at Sage Investigations offer the information in this article to help you prepare.
There are three types of audits: correspondence audits, office audits and audits by field agents. These audits may relate to income deficiencies or expenditure substantiation and can involve two or three years of tax returns. The civil statue allows three years of returns to be reviewed and the burden of proof is on the taxpayer, whereas the criminal statute generally allows six years to be review and the burden of proof is on the IRS.
To be successful when audited, gather your records and be responsive to the request for documents of the auditor. You may elect to either represent yourself, have an authorized representative accompany you, or send the representative in your stead with your records and explanations. If you elect to attend the audit you should attempt to gather credibility from the outset and be cordial but firm in your manner. Strive to appear calm, and do not engage in casual banter. The auditor is not your old college friend; he or she has a specific purpose and a goal in mind. It may be helpful to bring an adviser, CPA, or Enrolled Agent with you to help establish a professional tone for the meeting. The presence of your attorney will make the auditor take interest immediately.
At the end of the audit with all substantiation considered you may either agree with the findings or appeal to the auditor's supervisor. There are further appeals beyond that. Most likely you will need assistance from an attorney, CPA or Enrolled Agent as the appeals process moves forward.
If you have been audited over multiple years for the same issues that generate substantial tax revenue, and the auditor concludes that there are badges of fraud, he or she may
...
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About Us
Serving your needs is our priority.  At Sage Investigations we are dedicated to serving our clients nationally, to help them navigate the difficulties of dealing with the IRS, and other complex (forensic) financial fraud investigations both civil and criminal. By narrowing our focus to our primary strength of following the money, we steer our knowledge, efforts, and experience to financial issues. We help our clients propel their cases forward by assisting in the review, acquisition, and organization of financial records, evaluating the elements of their cases, and helping create winning strategies. Through the use of our proprietary advanced financial investigative technology we analyze complex financial data quickly, easily and efficiently, saving our client's time and money. Sage handles all cases with altruism, professionalism, honesty, integrity, passion and respect. When you hire Sage, you hire a team of professionals with skill and knowledge that helps you have more effective solutions. We are innovative with our DIO cutting edge technology, and perform every investigation in an orderly and organized manner to develop a clear investigative roadmap and deliver a quality work product. The compass that guides us is strong leadership and accountability. Learn more... Contact Us
P.O. Box 160161
Austin, TX 78716 Phone: 512-659-3179 Fax: 512-328-6878 Email: info@SageInvestigations.com www.sageinvestigations.com Texas License #A10803 |
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© 2017 Sage Investigations. All rights reserved.
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