American Bar Association 34Th Annual National Institute on Criminal Tax
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American Bar Association 34th Annual National Institute on Criminal Tax Fraud & 7th National Institute on Tax Controversy Criminal Tax Workshop Las Vegas, Nevada December 6, 2017 ABA 34th Annual National Institute on Criminal Tax Fraud December 6, 2017 ABA 7th Annual National Institute on Tax Controversy Criminal Tax Workshop (The Basics) Moderators Sandra R. Brown, Acting U.S. Attorney U.S. Attorney’s Office (C.D. Cal.) Los Angeles, California Caroline D. Ciraolo Kostelanetz & Fink, LLP Washington, D.C. Panelists Lawrence S. Feld Law Offices of Lawrence S. Feld New York, New York Jeffrey Neiman Marcus Neiman & Rashbaum LLP Fort Lauderdale, Florida Martin A. Schainbaum Martin A. Schainbaum, P.C. San Francisco, California Autumn K. Woodard Special Agent Criminal Investigation Internal Revenue Service Dallas, Texas ABA 34th Annual National Institute on Criminal Tax Fraud December 6, 2017 ABA 7th Annual National Institute on Tax Controversy Criminal Tax Workshop (The Basics) Page 2 of 406 Sandra R. Brown, Acting U.S. Attorney U.S. Attorney’s Office (C.D. Cal.) Los Angeles, California [email protected] Acting United States Attorney Sandra R. Brown is the chief federal law enforcement officer in the Central District of California, a sprawling district based in Los Angeles that encompasses seven counties. Ms. Brown oversees the largest United States Attorney’s Office outside of the District of Columbia, an office that employs approximately 270 attorneys who serve more than 19 million residents. The United States Attorney’s Office prosecutes the entire range of federal criminal offenses, defends the United States in civil actions, and represents government interests in tax matters. ABA 34th Annual National Institute on Criminal Tax Fraud December 6, 2017 ABA 7th Annual National Institute on Tax Controversy Criminal Tax Workshop (The Basics) Page 3 of 406 Ms. Brown obtained her B.S. in Business Administration from Central Michigan University, her J.D. from Western Michigan University-Cooley Law School, and her LL.M. in Taxation from the University of Denver. She joined the Office in 1991 and became the first Criminal Deputy Chief of the Tax Division in 2003. She was appointed Chief of the Tax Division in 2004 and served until her appointment as First Assistant United States Attorney in 2016. During Ms. Brown’s tenure as an AUSA she represented the government in a wide range of matters, including federal and state civil, criminal, appellate and bankruptcy tax matters, as well as defending Bivens actions involving IRS officials. Her civil tax cases have twice gone to the Supreme Court (Brockamp v. United States, 519 U.S. 347 (1997) and Williams v. United States, 514 U.S. 527 (1995)). She has also personally prosecuted a broad range of equally noteworthy criminal tax cases, including George Jesson, the founder of "We the People Foundation for Constitutional Education”; John McCarthy, the first UBS related FBAR prosecution in California, which attracted more than 2,000 worldwide media reports; and Gene Haas, the owner of two NASCAR teams and Haas Automation, Inc., the 7th largest employer in Ventura County, California, which resulted in one of the largest individual tax assessments fully recovered in a criminal tax case ever prosecuted in this nation. Ms. Brown’s successful handling of a Bivens action (Andersen v. United States, 298 F.3d 803 (9th Cir. 2002)), is cited in Rutter, California Practice Guide, 9th Cir. Appellate Practice as well as Federal Appellate Practice Guide 9th Circuit, making clear that one cannot use a civil injunction action to interfere with an ongoing criminal investigation, even where First Amendment claims may be present. Ms. Brown has been nominated for Attorney General’s awards three times and has been awarded both the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Chief’s Award (the highest recognition given by the IRS to a non-IRS employee) and the IRS’s Mitchell Rogovin National Outstanding Support of the Office of Chief Counsel Award (which recognizes DOJ attorneys for superior abilities to provide support to the Office of Chief Counsel and significant contributions to agency-wide and interagency work). She is the author of the following well-regarded articles: “FBAR Violations: The IRS’s New Tool For Improved Tax Compliance” (published by CCH in its Dec 2008-Jan 2009 issue of Journal of Tax Practice & Procedure); “Appearing for the United States of America” (featured in the 2009 edition of the ABA's publication of Careers in Tax Law); and Key Things To Know In Prosecuting Criminal Tax Cases: A View From the U.S. Attorney’s Office (which appeared in the March 2013 edition of the United States Attorneys’ Bulletin). ABA 34th Annual National Institute on Criminal Tax Fraud December 6, 2017 ABA 7th Annual National Institute on Tax Controversy Criminal Tax Workshop (The Basics) Page 4 of 406 Caroline D. Ciraolo, Partner Kostelanetz & Fink, LLP Washington, D.C. [email protected] Caroline D. Ciraolo, former Acting Assistant Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Tax Division, is a partner with Kostelanetz & Fink and a founder of its Washington, D.C. office. Her practice focuses on complex and sophisticated federal and state civil tax controversies, including representation in sensitive audits, administrative appeals, and litigation in federal and state courts and tax tribunals, providing related tax advice, conducting internal investigations, and representing individuals and institutions in criminal tax investigations and prosecutions. During her tenure with the Justice Department, Ms. Ciraolo was actively involved in all aspects of Tax Division operations. The Division employs more than 360 attorneys in 14 civil, criminal and appellate sections, and is responsible for authorizing nearly all civil and criminal litigation arising under the internal revenue laws. Under Ms. Ciraolo’s leadership, the Division reached agreements with 80 Swiss financial institutions that admitted to facilitating tax evasion and the avoidance of reporting requirements by U.S. accountholders, and imposed and collected more than $1.36 billion in penalties, increased civil and criminal enforcement with respect to offshore tax evasion, employment tax violations, and traditional tax offenses, assisted the IRS through summons enforcement proceedings, and engaged in affirmative and defensive litigation involving abusive tax shelters and schemes, refund claims, and challenges to statues and regulations. In January, 2017, Ms. Ciraolo was recognized by IRS Chief Counsel William Wilkens with the Chief Counsel Award, the highest honor that can be conferred by that office. Caroline is a Fellow and Regent of the American College of Tax Counsel, a recipient of the ABA Section of Taxation’s Janet Spragens Pro Bono Award, and served as an instructor with the IRS Military VITA program at Ft. George G. Meade in Maryland. She has been recognized by Chambers, Best Lawyers in America, Super Lawyers (Top 10 Attorneys in Maryland, cover story in 2013), Euromoney Legal Media Group’s Americas Women in Business Law Awards (Best in Tax Dispute Resolution) (2014), and The Daily Record’s Top 100 Women Circle of Excellence. Ms. Ciraolo served as an Attorney Advisor for the Honorable Stanley J. Goldberg of the U.S. Tax Court from 1994 to 1996. ABA 34th Annual National Institute on Criminal Tax Fraud December 6, 2017 ABA 7th Annual National Institute on Tax Controversy Criminal Tax Workshop (The Basics) Page 5 of 406 Martin A. Schainbaum Martin A. Schainbaum, P.C. San Francisco, California [email protected] Martin A. Schainbaum, founder of Martin A. Schainbaum, P.C., received his law degree and his masters in tax law from New York University. He is a former Assistant United States Attorney in the Northern District of California, Tax division, and former IRS Regional Counsel trial attorney. Marty is recognized in California as a Certified Taxation Specialist, is an active member of the Section of Taxation of the American Bar Association, and is a frequent speaker on tax controversy and litigation matters. He also serves as an adjunct professor of Federal Tax Procedure and Tax Litigation at Golden Gate University in San Francisco, California. His team of professionals is dedicated to the defense of civil and criminal tax matters, including all aspects of litigation, and white-collar crime, involving individual, business and corporate tax and white-collar crime matters. In 2010, Marty received the Bruce Hochman Tax Controversy Litigation Award at the UCLA Tax Controversy Conference. In 2012, he was presented with the prestigious Jules Ritholz Memorial Merit Award “in recognition of outstanding dedication, achievements and integrity in the field of civil and criminal tax controversies” by the ABA Tax Section’s Committee on Civil and Criminal Tax Penalties. In 2015, the Tax Section of the State Bar of California awarded the distinguished JoAnne Garvey Award for lifetime outstanding contribution in the field of tax law. He is admitted to practice in California, New York and the District of Columbia. ABA 34th Annual National Institute on Criminal Tax Fraud December 6, 2017 ABA 7th Annual National Institute on Tax Controversy Criminal Tax Workshop (The Basics) Page 6 of 406 Autumn K. Woodard Special Agent, IRS Criminal Investigation Dallas, Texas [email protected] Autumn Woodard began her career with the Internal Revenue Service in October 1986 as a clerk. She spent ten years as Revenue Officer with the IRS Collection Division, working with taxpayers to resolve outstanding tax liabilities. After attending night school, Agent Woodard earned her degree in accounting and was selected as a Special Agent in the Criminal Investigation Division in June, 2001. In addition to working cases in the field, including leading administrative criminal investigations and assisting with grand jury investigations, Agent Woodard was detailed to the U.S. Department of Justice, Tax Division and played a critical role in the Swiss Bank Program, working closely with teams of civil trial attorneys and prosecutors assigned to Swiss financial institutions that admitted to assisting U.S.