Frank Richard Ahlgren III of Austin has been indicted by a federal grand jury for filing false tax returns and structuring cash transactions to avoid reporting requirements in connection with more than $4 million in Bitcoin sales.
The indictment claims that from 2017 to 2019, Ahlgren allegedly falsified his tax returns by not accurately reporting large sums of money he received from selling Bitcoin.
Apparently, he used $3.7 million from the sale of Bitcoin in 2017 to buy a house, but then overstated the price he paid for it on his tax return, making his capital gains appear lower. Additionally, he allegedly sold more than $650,000 worth of Bitcoins in 2018 and 2019 without informing tax authorities.
The IRS treats cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin as property, so if you make any profit or loss from selling them, you’ll have to report it on your tax return. Not reporting your crypto transactions properly is a big red flag.
After Ahlgren sold the bitcoins for cash, it looks like he made a bunch of bank deposits of less than $10,000 to avoid reporting rules for currency transactions. If people try to adopt this trick to keep the government in the dark, they may get into trouble with the law.
Ahlgren could potentially be sentenced to a maximum of 5 years in the slammer for each of the structure charges and up to 3 years for the false tax return charge. The final decision on his sentence will depend on a federal judge who will take into account sentencing guidelines and other factors.
If you don’t report your income from virtual currency transactions, you will be in big trouble, friends. This indictment is a reminder that you must report your income, whether it is cash or cryptocurrency.
IRS Criminal Investigation Chief Jim Lee said:
“The IRS is committed to pursuing cryptocurrency transactions to uncover the proceeds used to commit crimes.” We will continue to pursue those who avoid their legal responsibilities by investing in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies without reporting.
The case shows that the Justice Department is really cracking down on cryptocurrency-related tax crimes. They are taking this seriously and want people to know that they should report all of their income, including money received from virtual currency transactions, to avoid trouble with the law.
The IRS said they will take action against people who do not report their cryptocurrency taxes. Over the past ten years, new ways to trace Bitcoin and other cryptos and who owns them have emerged. With these methods, the IRS can find out if someone has not reported their crypto income or if they have lied about their transactions.
This case basically tells taxpayers that IRS criminal investigators can still go after people involved in crypto. If you don’t accurately report your Bitcoin or other crypto income, you may face criminal charges.
Ahlgren allegedly carried out a massive Bitcoin tax avoidance and secret wealth management scheme, which shows how cryptocurrencies and tax evasion are becoming more and more intertwined. The Justice Department and IRS are cracking down on this thing, so we can expect to see more legal battles over undisclosed crypto deals.