AUGUST 2015
In This Issue

 

 



 
The goal of this e-newsletter is to provide you critical, inside information that will help you prevail when defending an IRS criminal case. We will do this by sharing the knowledge we have from our 25+ years of experience as an IRS Special Agent. 
 
We are grateful to have the opportunity to provide you this valuable information via our monthly e-newsletter and our unparalleled forensic accounting and investigative services.
 
We take special care to ensure the information we provide you in "The Beacon" is the latest and most current information available. In this edition, we have addressed dispersing employee credit cards and intent vs. willfulness.
  
We want to write about topics that will assist you in prevailing with criminal IRS cases. Please e-mail us your topics of interest to Thebeacon@sageinvestigations.com. 
 
We encourage you to share our e-newsletter with others in your sphere of influence.
 
Sincerely,
 
Edmond J. Martin
 
Principal, Chief Investigator
Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE)
Texas Certified Investigator (TCI)
 
Dispersing Employee Credit Cards

As a way to stay on top of company expenses, my credit card company recently recommended I provide my employees with their own business credit card. If you're in business for yourself, this has probably happened to you.

The benefits outlined in their sales brochure included detailed online reports with simple, easy to read graphs which allow employers to access exactly how much employees are spending, and where they're using their business card. They also have a mobile app available, which allows the employee to quickly upload receipts from their mobile phone for matching expenditures. This mobile app allows the owner or office manager to view the receipts online or on a smart phone from anywhere, at anytime.

While technology is great, and the advancements allow a business to do more with less-beware. If you use these innovative techniques, you must establish the infrastructure and procedures for reporting and reconciling. Establishing spending limits on the credit card depending on the job and trust level of the employee is essential. Always remember that credit card expenditures on a business credit card are... Read More 
 
Intent vs. Willfulness

In Austin, TX, an individual convicted of conspiracy recently had his conviction overturned by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. During oral arguments for the appeal, the Austin American-Statesman newspaper stated, "The federal judges weighing his appeal agreed there was a fine line to draw between accomplices and enablers." The Austin American-Statesman continued, "Prosecutors had to show intent, not just that someone had an association with unsavory characters, because that could ensnare everyone from a grocery store cashier to a Lamborghini car dealer."
 
The "requirement that the conduct be strongly corroborative of the firmness of the defendant's criminal intent also relates to the requirement that the conduct be more than 'mere preparation,'...." United States v. Mandujano, 499 F.2d 370, 377 (5th Cir. 1974), cert. denied, 95 S.Ct. 792 (1975) (affirming defendant's conviction of attempted distribution of a controlled substance under 21 U.S.C. § 846); see also Contreras, 950 F.2d at 237 (stating that a substantial step must be conduct strongly corroborative of the firmness of the defendant's criminal intent.)

The legal definition of intent, in many ways, depends on the context of the law being violated. It ranges from:

A state of mind existing... Read More 
 
About Us

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At Sage Investigations we are dedicated to serving our clients nationally, to help them navigate the difficulties of dealing with the IRS, and other complex (forensic) financial fraud investigations both civil and criminal. By narrowing our focus to our primary strength of following the money, we steer our knowledge, efforts, and experience to financial issues. We help our clients propel their cases forward by assisting in the review, acquisition, and organization of financial records, evaluating the elements of their cases, and helping create winning strategies. Through the use of our proprietary advanced financial investigative technology we analyze complex financial data quickly, easily and efficiently, saving our client's time and money.

 

Sage handles all cases with altruism, professionalism, honesty, integrity, passion and respect. When you hire Sage, you hire a team of professionals with skill and knowledge that helps you have more effective solutions. We are innovative with our DIO cutting edge technology, and perform every investigation in an orderly and organized manner to develop a clear investigative roadmap and deliver a quality work product. The compass that guides us is strong leadership and accountability. Learn more...

 

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Austin, TX 78716

Phone: 512-659-3179

Fax: 512-328-6878

Email: info@SageInvestigations.com 

www.sageinvestigations.com

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