Richmond White Collar Tax Defense Attorney

IRS Criminal Investigation's Washington, D.C. Field Office investigates tax crimes charged in Richmond. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia brings the charges. Whiteford Tax Defense offers white collar tax defense in Richmond from the first sign of an IRS or Virginia Department of Taxation inquiry. We stay with you through negotiation and, if it comes to that, prosecution.

The government treats a tax problem as a possible crime when it believes you acted willfully. In a criminal tax case, willfully means choosing to break a legal duty you knew you had. Most IRS contacts never reach that point. They stay civil and end with a bill for back taxes and interest. When IRS Criminal Investigation suspects you meant to deceive, though, you face fines, restitution, and possible prison. Bring in counsel early, before a Richmond matter escalates.

Search warrants at a Richmond home or business

IRS special agents can execute federal search warrants. A warrant to search a Richmond home or business usually comes from a federal magistrate judge in the Eastern District of Virginia. The judge must first find probable cause. The warrant lets agents search for and seize what it describes. It does not force anyone to answer their questions. Do not interfere with the search, and call counsel while the agents are still there.

The agents must leave a copy of the warrant and a receipt for what they take. They may seize computers and phones, or copy them for review later. Under the district's local criminal rules, the warrant and its supporting papers stay sealed only until the agents return the executed warrant to the court. The seal lasts longer only if the government gets a court order extending it. Otherwise, you may later get the affidavit behind the warrant from the clerk's office. That is the sworn statement that supported it.

A motion can ask the court to return seized property. You might file one because the search was unlawful, or because your business needs its records back. It goes to the district where the agents seized the property: for a Richmond search, the Eastern District of Virginia.

Grand jury subpoenas, records, and witnesses

IRS special agents usually send the tax cases they want charged to the Justice Department's criminal tax prosecutors in Washington. Those prosecutors must also approve before the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia takes a tax case to a federal grand jury. A grand jury reviews the evidence prosecutors bring and decides whether it is strong enough to send someone to trial. Its subpoenas can make your bank, your bookkeeper, and the accountant who prepared your returns testify and hand over records.

Once an investigation seems possible, leave every record exactly as it is. Destroying, changing, or falsifying records to obstruct a federal inquiry is a separate crime. That includes records destroyed because an inquiry was expected, not only during one. Corruptly persuading a witness to change their testimony is a crime too. So let counsel handle any talks with employees or business partners who may be called as witnesses.

Warning signs of a criminal investigation

The IRS does not always say when a criminal investigation begins. Its agents may want to gather evidence before you find out. Watch for an auditor who abruptly stops responding, a special agent reaching out to your spouse or business partner, or a formal interview summons. If any of these happen, keep every IRS document and speak with counsel before you respond.

You do not have to answer a special agent's questions without a lawyer present. Anything you say or hand over can be used against you. Our page on IRS special agent investigations covers what agents do and how an attorney helps. Our Richmond office offers a confidential consultation as soon as you suspect a case has turned criminal.

Charges and what prosecutors must prove

The main charges, and how a defense answers them, are on our white collar tax defense page. Those we defend include:

Tax evasion under 26 U.S.C. Section 7201
Tax fraud: false statements or inaccurate records given to the IRS
Conspiracy: two or more people agreeing to hide income or file false returns, plus at least one overt act to further the plan
Paycheck Protection Program or Employee Retention Credit fraud, such as stacked loans, false certifications, and inflated wage claims
Failure to file, or to pay an assessed tax, when the conduct is more than a good-faith dispute or a pending appeal

To convict you of evasion, prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you owed the tax and knew it. They must also prove a willful, affirmative act to evade assessment or payment. Willfulness is usually the key question. An honest mistake, or reasonable reliance on a tax professional's advice, can defeat it. Our page on tax evasion defense takes each element in turn.

A conviction can bring prison, fines, and restitution, and the IRS can add a civil fraud penalty on top. The questions below give the figures, and the time limits for criminal and civil cases.

Civil and criminal cases at the same time

The same facts can support a civil case and a criminal one at once. A criminal investigation does not stop the IRS from pursuing civil liability too. If a Notice of Deficiency arrives in a Richmond matter, we can petition the U.S. Tax Court before the 90-day deadline passes. Meanwhile, we weigh your criminal risk.

Common matters we handle

Search warrants carried out by IRS special agents at Richmond homes and businesses
Grand jury subpoenas served on Richmond businesses and on the banks and accountants that keep their records
IRS special agents looking into Richmond people and businesses
Civil fraud penalties that run alongside a Richmond criminal case
Willful evasion charges under 26 U.S.C. Section 7201, and fraud or conspiracy charges over hidden income or false returns
PPP and ERC fraud allegations from the pandemic relief programs
Answering an IRS Notice of Deficiency before its 90-day window closes
Virginia Department of Taxation investigations into unreported income and transactions

A note on admissions Federal tax matters are handled nationwide, including IRS examinations, appeals, collection, and Tax Court litigation. Virginia state and local tax matters are handled together with Whiteford attorneys admitted in Virginia, or with co-counsel where a matter requires it.

Why taxpayers choose Whiteford

Local to Richmond and familiar with both IRS Criminal Investigation practice and the Virginia Department of Taxation
A focus on willfulness, the line between a costly civil dispute and a criminal charge
Brought in early, while explaining a mismatch in an audit can still keep a case from turning criminal

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a chance to respond before tax charges are filed in the Eastern District of Virginia?

Typically, but only early. Before charges are filed, the Justice Department's criminal tax prosecutors in Washington ordinarily review them. You can ask them in writing for a conference. Under the Department's published policy, they generally grant one if time and circumstances permit. They usually outline the proposed charges, the method of proof, and the IRS's tax figures. You can offer explanations or evidence, but what you say can be used in court. Once the case reaches the U.S. Attorney's Office, you ask that office, which may refuse.

A current or former employee has threatened to report my Richmond business to the IRS. What happens to a tip like that?

A special agent looks at it first, and a tip does not open a criminal case by itself. The IRS routinely gets tips from the public. Tips are one way criminal cases begin, and referrals from IRS auditors and collection officers are another. The IRS calls the agent's first look a primary investigation. A formal investigation of a named taxpayer opens only if the agent's supervisor approves. Then the special agent in charge of the office must approve too.

How should I respond to an employee who threatens to report my business?

Carefully, and with a lawyer's help. Keep your records exactly as they are, and do not confront the employee. Federal law bars employers from threatening, harassing, or otherwise retaliating against an employee who tells the IRS about possible tax violations. Your lawyer can judge what the employee is likely to say and how your records answer it.

Can a conversation with an IRS agent today affect a return filed years ago?

It can. The six-year period for prosecuting tax evasion generally runs from the last affirmative act of evasion or the return's due date, whichever is later. A false statement to IRS agents about an old return can be that act. The Fourth Circuit hears appeals from the Eastern District of Virginia. It has treated evasion as complete when such a statement is made, not when the return was filed. Time spent abroad does not count toward the six years. So an old tax year is not necessarily a closed one.

Does the government ever run out of time to pursue tax fraud?

For criminal charges, yes. Prosecutors generally have six years from the alleged offense to bring a criminal tax fraud case. A civil assessment may have no deadline at all. Under 26 U.S.C. Section 6501, the IRS can assess tax at any time if it establishes a false or fraudulent return or a willful attempt to evade. The same is true when no return was filed.

Could I go to prison for tax evasion?

It is possible. Willful tax evasion is a felony under 26 U.S.C. Section 7201, and the maximum prison term is five years. Fines can reach hundreds of thousands of dollars, plus restitution. The IRS can also add a civil fraud penalty as high as 75 percent of the underpayment. Interest runs until the balance is paid.

White collar tax defense in Richmond