In the Media
Richard Weber Discusses Internal Revenue Services Investigations with Gothamist
In the Media
October 10, 2024
Winston & Strawn partner Rich Weber, who formerly served as the Chief of IRS, Criminal Investigations at the U.S. Treasury Department, was quoted in a Gothamist article surrounding the Internal Revenue Service's investigation into former New York Police Department Commissioner Edward Caban for allegations that NYPD officials shook down nightclubs for cash as part of a protection racket.
The presence of special agents with the IRS’s Criminal Investigation team suggests a complex financial investigation requiring an understanding of how money moves, or hides, in modern financial networks. In 2015, the IRS Criminal Investigation unit took the case of missing tax returns to a bribery scandal that led to the indictment of 14 FIFA and corporate executives, rocking the global soccer community.
In the interview, Rich discussed the FIFA case stating, “Initially it was a tax case against [FIFA official] Chuck Blazer, who didn’t ever file a tax return, and he ultimately cooperated. That then broke open the entire corruption case against a lot of the FIFA officials.”
When it comes to the Caban case, Rich said it’s possible that a cash-heavy nightclub owner being investigated for tax evasion flipped and gave the IRS a new case. But, he said, it’s equally conceivable that the U.S. attorneys sought out the IRS’s help.
“It could just be a desire by the prosecutor to want the IRS's financial investigative experience and expertise,” he speculated. “It doesn't necessarily have to be a tax case.”
He said IRS Criminal Investigation is also the foremost federal investigator for cybercrimes because of the complexity around tracing cryptocurrency.
“We started using a lot of data analytics when I was there and they're continuing to do a lot of work with blockchain technology,” he said, adding that the IRS recovers billions just in cryptocurrency each year. “The numbers are staggering in terms of what they're bringing into the treasury.”
