The following are detailed descriptions of the top 10 tax crime cases of 2025 as identified by the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Division. These cases involve a range of financial crimes including pandemic relief fraud, public corruption, cybercrime, and tax evasion.

1. The Feeding Our Future COVID-19 Fraud Scheme

Perpetrator: Abdiaziz Shafii Farah Nature of the Crime: Abdiaziz Shafii Farah was a ringleader in a massive $300 million fraud scheme that exploited the Federal Child Nutrition Program, which was intended to feed low-income children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Farah co-owned Empire Cuisine & Market and enrolled it in the program early in the pandemic, creating fraudulent food distribution sites—often parking lots or vacant commercial spaces—that claimed to serve millions of meals when little to no food was actually provided.

To support these claims, Farah and his co-conspirators created fake rosters using absurd names like "Serious Problem" and "Britishy Melony". To maintain the flow of funds, he paid bribes and kickbacks to personnel at the non-profit Feeding Our Future. Farah personally pocketed over $8 million, using the stolen taxpayer money to purchase luxury vehicles, including a Porsche and a Tesla, and real estate in Kenya and the United States. Additionally, Farah committed passport fraud by lying to federal agencies to obtain a new passport after his was seized, and he was involved in a separate scheme to bribe a juror with $120,000 in cash during his trial.

Ultimate Penalties:

Prison Sentence: 28 years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
Financial Penalties: Ordered to pay $47,920,514 in restitution.
Note: Farah faces additional sentencing for the juror bribery scheme.

2. The Samourai Wallet Cryptocurrency Laundering

Perpetrators: Keonne Rodriguez (CEO) and William Lonergan Hill (CTO) Nature of the Crime: Rodriguez and Hill founded "Samourai Wallet," a cryptocurrency service designed to launder criminal proceeds through features like "Whirlpool" (a mixing service) and "Ricochet" (which added unnecessary transactions to obfuscate the money trail). They knowingly transmitted illicit funds derived from darknet markets, drug trafficking, murder-for-hire schemes, and cyber-intrusions.

The pair actively marketed their services to criminals, describing the process in private communications as "money laundering for bitcoin" and advising users on how to evade detection. The platform processed over $2 billion in Bitcoin, laundering at least $237 million in criminal proceeds.

Ultimate Penalties:

Prison Sentence: Rodriguez was sentenced to five years; Hill was sentenced to four years.
Financial Penalties: Both were ordered to forfeit fees totaling over $6.3 million and satisfy a forfeiture order of over $237.8 million. Each was also fined $250,000.

3. The North Korean IT Worker Fraud

Perpetrator: Christina Marie Chapman Nature of the Crime: Christina Marie Chapman operated a "laptop farm" in Arizona to assist highly skilled North Korean IT workers in posing as U.S. citizens to obtain remote employment at over 300 U.S. companies, including Fortune 500 corporations and government agencies. Chapman hosted computers at her home to make it appear the workers were physically located in the U.S. and facilitated the transfer of wages to North Korea, generating over $17 million in illicit revenue for the regime.

She also forged payroll checks and compromised the identities of more than 60 U.S. persons to facilitate the scheme.

Ultimate Penalties:

Prison Sentence: 102 months (8.5 years) in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
Financial Penalties: Ordered to forfeit $284,555.92 and pay a judgment of $176,850.

4. The Dallas Lifestyle Money Laundering Scheme

Perpetrator: Rahool Amin Makani Nature of the Crime: Rahool Amin Makani defrauded investors of more than $14 million by convincing them to invest in fictitious businesses. Rather than investing the funds, Makani laundered the money to support an extravagant lifestyle, which included leasing private jets, gambling thousands of dollars in Las Vegas, and purchasing a fleet of luxury cars such as a Rolls Royce, Lamborghini, and Ferrari.

Ultimate Penalties:

Prison Sentence: 20 years (240 months) in federal prison.
Financial Penalties: Ordered to pay $14,732,023.31 in restitution.

5. The Hansen Helicopters Aviation Fraud

Perpetrators: John D. Walker (CEO) Nature of the Crime: John D. Walker orchestrated a decades-long conspiracy to defraud the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) through his company, Hansen Helicopters. Walker utilized at least 48 shell companies to lease unairworthy helicopters to tuna fishing boat companies, generating over $400 million in illicit revenue. The company employed uncertified mechanics, utilized counterfeit aircraft parts, and forged documents to conceal that the aircraft were unregistered and unsafe.

This fraud resulted in at least 38 accidents or incidents, involving deaths and serious bodily injuries. Walker bribed aviation officials and disregarded safety laws to maximize profit, building helicopters from discarded frames and counterfeit parts.

Ultimate Penalties:

Prison Sentence: 405 months (33.75 years) in prison.
Financial Penalties: Forfeiture of $58,407,513 (fraud proceeds) and $11,770,000 (money laundering funds); a $250,000 fine; and special assessment fees.

6. The Santa Cruz County Treasurer Embezzlement

Perpetrator: Elizabeth Gutfahr Nature of the Crime: While serving as the Treasurer for Santa Cruz County, Arizona, Elizabeth Gutfahr embezzled approximately $38.7 million in public funds over a decade. She bypassed security protocols by using a subordinate's security token to approve her own wire transfers, sending money to fake companies she controlled.

Gutfahr laundered the stolen funds to purchase real estate, 20 vehicles, and cover expenses for her cattle ranch. She also evaded taxes by failing to report the stolen funds as income and falsified county records to hide the theft.

Ultimate Penalties:

Prison Sentence: 120 months (10 years) in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
Financial Penalties: Ordered to pay approximately $51.8 million in restitution to the U.S. Treasury and Santa Cruz County.

7. The "Magician" Tax Preparer Scheme

Perpetrator: Rafael Alvarez (a.k.a. "the Magician") Nature of the Crime: Rafael Alvarez, the CEO of ATAX New York in the Bronx, ran a high-volume tax preparation firm that filed approximately 90,000 returns between 2010 and 2020. Known to his clients as "the Magician," Alvarez directed a scheme to falsify tax returns by including bogus itemized deductions, fictitious capital losses, and phony business expenses to fraudulently reduce tax liabilities and inflate refunds.

Alvarez recruited impressionable employees and intimidated those who questioned his methods to keep the scheme running. His actions caused a tax loss of approximately $145 million to the IRS and generated $12 million in fraudulent proceeds for his company.

Ultimate Penalties:

Prison Sentence: Four years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
Financial Penalties: Ordered to pay $145 million in restitution to the IRS and forfeit over $11.84 million in fraudulent proceeds.

8. The Catalytic Converter Theft Ring

Perpetrator: Tou Sue Vang Nature of the Crime: Vang operated a massive theft ring based in Sacramento, trafficking thousands of stolen catalytic converters. Working with family members, he purchased stolen parts from thieves and sold them to a firm in New Jersey for over $38 million. The ring targeted high-value converters, such as those from Toyota Prius vehicles, and operated without licenses from private homes and storage units. Vang used the proceeds to purchase luxury items, real estate, and vehicles.

Ultimate Penalties:

Prison Sentence: 12 years in prison.
Financial Penalties: Forfeiture of more than $150,000 in currency, 13 motor vehicles, real estate, and jewelry.

9. The Muscogee (Creek) Nation Casino Theft

Perpetrator: Michael Anthony Houser Nature of the Crime: Michael Anthony Houser, a manager for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Gaming Enterprises, embezzled over $24.9 million from the tribe. He systematically stole funds from the gaming operations and failed to report the illicit income to the IRS. In the 2022 tax year alone, he failed to report over $7.8 million in income.

Ultimate Penalties:

Prison Sentence: 70 months for theft and 36 months for tax fraud (served concurrently).
Financial Penalties: Ordered to pay $17,337,949.50 in restitution to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and $8,205,834.00 to the IRS.

10. The Orange County COVID Fund Bribery

Perpetrator: Andrew Hoang Do Nature of the Crime: Andrew Hoang Do, a former Orange County Supervisor, engaged in a conspiracy to commit bribery involving federal COVID-19 relief funds. He directed more than $10 million in public funds—intended to feed the elderly and disabled—to the Viet America Society, a charity affiliated with his daughter.

In exchange, Do received over $550,000 in bribes, which were funneled through outside companies to his daughters and used to purchase a home in Tustin, California, and pay property taxes.

Ultimate Penalties:

Prison Sentence: 60 months (5 years) in federal prison.
Financial Penalties: Do agreed to pay full restitution and forfeited assets, including the Tustin property and his pension credit. A specific restitution hearing was scheduled for August 2025.

Prepared with assistance from NotebookLM.