About the Law
Criminal Statutes Most Frequently Used by IRS Over the years, Congress has enacted thousands of criminal laws. Within certain limits, this means that federal investigative agencies and prosecutors can -- and frequently do -- charge individual defendants with violating numerous different laws. A taxpayer who has sought to cheat the government can be charged with knowingly filing an incorrect return. In recent years, however, if the circumstances warrant, the same taxpayer also might be charged with money laundering. Similarly, an organized crime figure might be charged with various drug crimes, numerous organized crime and conspiracy charges and in some situations even tax violations.
During the data collection process, the Justice Department asks the prosecutors to select the "lead charge" on all criminal referrals they process. Obviously, these judgements often are somewhat subjective when multiple serious violations are involved. On other occasions, the judgements may by influenced by the political needs of the moment: an administration, for example, that wants to show the public it is concentrating on such subjects as organized crime or threats to the nation's internal security.
Here then, as view through the lens of federal prosecutors across the country, are that statutes most frequently cited as being the "lead charge" in the referrals coming from the IRS. The laws are presented in the order of their statute numbers. The complete text of these frequently cited statutes can be viewed by selecting the particular law of interest in the following table.
Click on Statute to View Text
Item Description 18 USC 111 assaulting or intimidating govt employee 18 USC 201 bribery of federal witness 18 USC 286 conspiracy to defraud the U.S. 18 USC 287 false claims against the U.S. 18 USC 371 conspiracy to defraud the U.S. 18 USC 641 embezzlement - theft of federal property 18 USC 912 false impersonation of US official 18 USC 1001 fraud and false statements 18 USC 1341 mail fraud 18 USC 1343 mail fraud - wire, radio, TV 18 USC 1344 bank fraud 18 USC 1347 health care fraud 18 USC 1955 illegal gambling 18 USC 1956 laundering of monetary instrument 18 USC 1957 racketeering - unlawful monetary transaction 21 USC 841 drugs - prohibited acts 21 USC 846 drugs - attempt and conspiracy 26 USC 7201 tax evasion 26 USC 7202 willful failure to collect or pay over tax 26 USC 7203 willful failure to file 26 USC 7206 fraud and false statements 26 USC 7207 fraudulent return 26 USC 7212 interfering with administration of IRS 26 USC 7213 unauthorized disclosure of information 31 USC 5313 coins and currency transaction reporting 31 USC 5324 financial reporting requirement
