It's worth noting that both Kathryn Keneally, the assistant attorney general mentioned in this article, and Kevin Downing, the lead prosecutor that got him jailed, both now work for private law firms helping large corporations shelter their taxes.
I Won $104M for Blowing the Whistle But Was the Only One Who Went to Jail
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Re: I Won $104M for Blowing the Whistle But Was the Only One Who Went to Jail
#12This almost makes some kind of sense. The "whistleblower award" he got was the percentage of recovery the IRS pays as a bounty for intelligence on tax avoidance schemes; it's a portion of the money he actually helped recover for the government. There is a rational case to make for someone being both fully culpable for wrongdoing while still remaining entitled to bounties they've satisfied. For another complicated IRS…
... their cost-saving structure is an unfair advantage, and that they owe taxes on those savings to the government.
From what I remember, it's not about unfair advantages, but simply that they could have charged higher mutual fund fees, and thusly owe taxes on the fees they could have charged instead of the fees they actually charged.
Re: I Won $104M for Blowing the Whistle But Was the Only One Who Went to Jail
#13Earlier quoted context omitted.
The line between evasion and avoidance is really a matter of opinion (that we colloquially call 'case law'). It's hard to know what the delta actually is... I would argue that intent isn't really that different between the two.
The difference is very important because tax avoidance is completely legal and encouraged. Tax evasion is illegal. Your statement below is false as written: >the IRS pays as a bounty for intelligence on tax avoidance scheme From the IRS' website: [1] "The IRS Whistleblower Office pays money to people who blow the whistle on persons who fail to pay the tax that they owe" You can't fail to pay a tax that you legally av…
While it would be unconstitutional in the United States, keep in mind that in certain countries "ex post facto" making certain tax avoidance schemes retroactively unlawful is not unheard of, e.g. BN66 in the UK: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BN66
Re: I Won $104M for Blowing the Whistle But Was the Only One Who Went to Jail
#14It sounds like he didn't actually go to jail for the crime he blew the whistle on, per se, but for continuing to cover up part of the crime afterward by refusing to produce information they knew he had. Maybe all the folks who got non-prosecution agreements actually cooperated with investigators.
Maybe. Stories like this are what make me sick when I think about our Justice department. That, and Aaron Swartz...and a slew of other things I guess.
Re: I Won $104M for Blowing the Whistle But Was the Only One Who Went to Jail
#15It sounds like he didn't actually go to jail for the crime he blew the whistle on, per se, but for continuing to cover up part of the crime afterward by refusing to produce information they knew he had. Maybe all the folks who got non-prosecution agreements actually cooperated with investigators.
Maybe. Stories like this are what make me sick when I think about our Justice department. That, and Aaron Swartz...and a slew of other things I guess.
It's "Swartz". Aaron Swartz. Not "Schwartz".
Re: I Won $104M for Blowing the Whistle But Was the Only One Who Went to Jail
#16This almost makes some kind of sense. The "whistleblower award" he got was the percentage of recovery the IRS pays as a bounty for intelligence on tax avoidance schemes; it's a portion of the money he actually helped recover for the government. There is a rational case to make for someone being both fully culpable for wrongdoing while still remaining entitled to bounties they've satisfied. For another complicated IRS…
> [...] this guy confessed.
Yes, he did, but after:
> All I asked for in return was a subpoena or immunity. They said no.
I wonder realistically how long can you drag this out as a whistleblower? How many times can you say "I'll give you these people if you don't charge me", especially when your document stash is well hidden.
Re: I Won $104M for Blowing the Whistle But Was the Only One Who Went to Jail
#17This almost makes some kind of sense. The "whistleblower award" he got was the percentage of recovery the IRS pays as a bounty for intelligence on tax avoidance schemes; it's a portion of the money he actually helped recover for the government. There is a rational case to make for someone being both fully culpable for wrongdoing while still remaining entitled to bounties they've satisfied. For another complicated IRS…
> [...] this guy confessed. Yes, he did, but after: > All I asked for in return was a subpoena or immunity. They said no. I wonder realistically how long can you drag this out as a whistleblower? How many times can you say "I'll give you these people if you don't charge me", especially when your document stash is well hidden.
It sort of looks like this bank exec traded 3 years in minimum security prison for more money than any of us could ever use in a lifetime.
I'm pretty OK with that precedent!
Re: I Won $104M for Blowing the Whistle But Was the Only One Who Went to Jail
#18I was so confused by the chronology, particularly with respect to smuggling diamonds in a toothpaste tube[1], which I'd read about previously.
What I can't figure out is if that evidence was actually retained and entered as evidence at trial, or if the image in the article I linked was a reconstruction.
[1] http://upstart.bizjournals.com/views/columns/2008/09/17/UBS-...
Re: I Won $104M for Blowing the Whistle But Was the Only One Who Went to Jail
#19It sounds like he didn't actually go to jail for the crime he blew the whistle on, per se, but for continuing to cover up part of the crime afterward by refusing to produce information they knew he had. Maybe all the folks who got non-prosecution agreements actually cooperated with investigators.
The way I read it, he wasn't actually hiding anyone. This reads like sarcasm to me:
> Yeah, I was hiding all right. Hiding by walking right up to the DOJ headquarters in Washington, D.C. and dropping this massive, calculated tax evasion scheme in their laps.
Re: I Won $104M for Blowing the Whistle But Was the Only One Who Went to Jail
#20This almost makes some kind of sense. The "whistleblower award" he got was the percentage of recovery the IRS pays as a bounty for intelligence on tax avoidance schemes; it's a portion of the money he actually helped recover for the government. There is a rational case to make for someone being both fully culpable for wrongdoing while still remaining entitled to bounties they've satisfied. For another complicated IRS…
... their cost-saving structure is an unfair advantage, and that they owe taxes on those savings to the government. From what I remember, it's not about unfair advantages, but simply that they could have charged higher mutual fund fees, and thusly owe taxes on the fees they could have charged instead of the fees they actually charged.
Really? That makes no sense to me. Like it being wrong to work part time because you pay less taxes.