IRS Special Agent on Crypto: ‘We See Mountains of Fraud in This Area’

https://motleybloggers.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/irs-special-agent-on-crypto-we-see-mountains-of-fraud-in-this-area.jpg

A special agent with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) says the tax agency is “seeing mountains and mountains of fraud” in the cryptocurrency space. The IRS criminal investigation unit is trying to train all of its agents on crypto and non-fungible token (NFT) issues because “this space is the future,” he stressed.

IRS Special Agent Says Crypto Is Rife With ‘Mountains and Mountains of Fraud’

A special agent in charge of the IRS’ criminal investigation division in Los Angeles, Ryan Korner, talked about cryptocurrency at a virtual event hosted by the USC Gould School of Law Tuesday. He was quoted by Bloomberg as saying:

We’re just seeing mountains and mountains of fraud in this area.

He explained that non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and crypto in general are prone to market manipulation, adding that high-profile individuals could influence crypto prices with just one tweet.

Noting that celebrities are not immune to the tax authority’s criminal probes, the special agent clarified: “We’re not necessarily out there looking for celebrities, but when they make a blatant or open comment that says ‘Hey, IRS, you should probably come look at me,’ that’s what we do.”

Korner detailed that a range of crypto-related activities are of concern to law enforcement agencies, such as people paying millions of dollars for assets, like NFTs, that don’t seem to have that kind of inherent value. He noted that criminals can use that to their advantage to launder money.

The IRS seized $3.5 billion in crypto during the fiscal year 2021, which represents 93% of all funds seized by its criminal investigation unit during the same time period. The tax agency expects to seize billions of dollars more in cryptocurrency this year.

The IRS’ criminal investigation division is trying to train all of its agents on crypto and NFT issues because “this space is the future,” the special agent opined, adding that the agency is also looking to increase collaboration and share information with other federal agencies.

What do you think about the IRS special agent’s comments? Let us know in the comments section below.

Origina post from
https://motleybloggers.com/irs-special-agent-on-crypto-we-see-mountains-of-fraud-in-this-area/

Comments

P2P Bitcoin Traders in Nigeria Think Outside the Box in the Wake of CBN Restrictions

After the Central Bank of Nigeria issued a directive targeting the country’s cryptocurrency industry, bitcoin and altcoin trade volumes on centralized exchanges immediately plunged. Nevertheless, the new regulations seem to have succeeded in boosting crypto trade volumes on informal markets or on peer-to-peer trading platforms. Nigerian Crypto Traders Get Creative Still, the increasing trades on informal platforms have also led to increased reports of users losing money to con artists. Moreover, with the CBN seemingly eager to see volumes of crypto trades plummet, Nigerian users had to find ingenious but legal ways of getting around the central bank’s imposed restrictions. As shown in one local report , one such legal way is through an app created by one local crypto start-up, Patricia. According to the report, this application is already enabling Nigerian users to buy or sell their crypto assets securely and without running afoul of CBN regulations. Therefore, in this report, we relis

A Jacobin Podcast Review: Critiques on Crypto and Sterlin’s Response

https://motleybloggers.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/a-jacobin-podcast-review-critiques-on-crypto-and-sterlins-response.jpg The following opinion editorial is a Jacobin Podcast review written by the author Sterlin Lujan , the chief risk officer with Cryptospace. The Jacobin Podcast episode called: “ Dig: Cryptocurrency w/ Edward Ongweso Jr & Jacob Silverman, ” touches upon “cryptocurrency, NFTs, Elon Musk, the metaverse, meme stocks, and techno-utopianism amid the crushing reality of our neoliberal hellscape.” Cryptocurrency isn’t fringe technology anymore. Over the last decade, it has become embedded into finance, culture, and even our social life. It’s drastically changing the way we think about money, economics, and human action. However, some people, primarily on the left, are skeptical of cryptocurrency. Many of them hate it, regardless of how much of a godsend it has been for many. My friend, thought leader, author, and psychedelic visionary, Daniel Pinchbeck, pointed out a

Bitcoin, Ethereum Technical Analysis: ETH Back Under $2,000 as Balenciaga Gains Lose Steam

https://motleybloggers.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/bitcoin-ethereum-technical-analysis-eth-back-under-2000-as-balenciaga-gains-lose-steam.jpg Following strong gains to start the week, BTC once again fell under $30,000, as crypto prices moved lower on Tuesday. The downturn follows up from yesterday’s rally, which came as Balenciaga announced it would be accepting crypto payments. ETH also dropped, falling under $2,000 today. Bitcoin Bitcoin fell under $30,000 on Tuesday, as bears returned to action following a green start to the week. Following a high of $30,547.50 during Monday’s session, BTC /USD fell to an intraday low of $28,975.56 earlier today. Today’s drop saw BTC fall by over 5% in the day, as bullish sentiment following the Balenciaga crypto announcement faded. BTC /USD – Daily Chart Since then, bears have now pushed prices closer to support at $28,800, which is an area where BTC has resided over the past few weeks. Looking at the chart, the 14-day Relative Strength Ind

motleybloggers

Search This Blog