Hundreds of Internal Revenue Service
investigators have raided several suspected promoters of tax
evasion schemes in what the agency calls its most extensive
crackdown ever, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
The IRS, in pursuit of promoters who used foreign banks and
trusts to help people hide their income, sent 300 of its 2,700
criminal tax investigators to make four arrests and conduct more
than three dozen searches last week, the newspaper said.
"Last week's historic enforcement activities send an
unmistakable signal about IRS commitment to pursue investigations
of promoters and their clients who would try to move money offshore
to evade taxes," IRS Commissioner Charles O. Rossotti told the
Times.
The four arrested were affiliated with Anderson's Ark, a company
that sells what the agency calls sham trusts for tax evaders. Two
men were charged with tax evasion and money laundering; the others
were charged as accessories.
Keith Anderson, the owner of Anderson's Ark, told the Times that
he and those arrested during raids in Costa Rica and Washington
state had done nothing wrong and would be vindicated if tried.
The IRS also raided the Institute of Global Property, an
Internet company; author Jerome Schneider's California office; and
the offices of Schneider's lawyer, Eric Witmeyer.
Schneider wrote and published "The Complete Guide to Offshore
Money Havens" and "How to Own Your Own Private International
Bank." Harland Braun, Schneider's lawyer, said his client had not
violated any laws.
