It sounds like from what some others are posting that it’s irrelevant if he had the money withheld, and that if it didn’t reach the IRS, the OP is still responsible for it.  That’s sounds unfair but possibly true!

Sorry for your troubles, OP.  Our medical clinic is being dissolved and it’s been a paperwork/IRS/state tax/lawsuit nightmare for the last 3 years.  Just when you think it’s finally over, some other fuck-up pops up!

Dude, read the thread.  Yes, he did get W-2’s and he did file.

I'm dumbfounded by the number of people here that have had this happen to them or know someone it happened to.  Amazing
I used to be dumbfounded by the number of people here who cant read but I quickly got over that.

Oof.  Good luck OP.  Have these assholes absconded yet or are they still around such that you and the IRS can each get a pound of flesh?

Here’s a stray thought.  


The company (Husband and wife) are in deep shit, obviously.  They may have limited assets to confiscate to cover only a portion of their crimes.  Where do you stand in getting your FICA credits toward social security?  The well could go dry before you get yours.  7 years in wages is a significant amount.  

Could you get involved in the investigation?  Maybe.  Should you put a lien on their property and would that give any insurance to getting them to pay for your credits towards SS?  

How does one file a lien?

@TheOldRepublic

I suggest you report your company’s crimes in writing.
The IRS, Secret Service, and FBI all investigate fraud to some degree, including the pay loan fraud. At times, the government will even reward witnesses.

IRS:
Las Vegas
Phoenix FO, Las Vegas POD
IRS - CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION
Attn: Asset Forfeiture Unit
110 North City Parkway, Suite 200, M/S 9000
Las Vegas, NV 89106
(702) 868-5107

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/how-do-you-report-suspected-tax-fraud-activity

Secret Service Las Vegas:
[email protected]
LAS VEGAS FIELD OFFICE702-868-3000

FBI Las Vegas:
You can report suspicious activities and crime by contacting us 24/7 at (702) 385-1281 or tips.fbi.gov.



FBI

Not entirely accurate. I have a client who is somewhat consistently late by a couple days at least 1-2x (he has semi-monthly payroll and is a semi-weekly depositor so six 941 deposits every quarter) per quarterly 941 filing and the IRS always cuts him a break. They send a letter saying even though you were late with a (or some) payment(s), we decided not to charge you any penalties this time.

Imagine you’re an IRS agent. I know most of us would probably rather pretend to be an outhouse pumper, but for the sake of this exercise, let’s try to be an IRS agent.

You’re sitting at your desk and your computer alerts you to a suspicious situation. OP’s account just got flagged because he’s getting a big return but there’s not actually any record of him having any withholdings.

You get to looking, and notice that OP has filed tax returns every year for the last 7 years, and gotten a refund magically just below the “flag” limit every year, despite having no withholdings actually on file. You ALSO notice that his “employer” also applied for, and received, a PPP loan….despite not having any employee withholdings reported.

You contact the OP. “Hey OP….looks like you’ve been filing taxes every year and getting a refund you don’t actually deserve, because you didn’t actually pay any taxes. Wanna tell us about that?

OP: “oh…yeah…about that….um..my former employer withheld those taxes from me! Honest! They gave me W2s and everything.”

IRS: “well, there’s nothing on file here from your ‘employer.’ We’re going to need to see the actual W2s that they gave you.”

OP: “uh….I don’t actually have any. I mean I DID….I think they’re around somewhere…maybe in a storage unit out of state….”

IRS: “how about some pay stubs….anything you can provide to indicate you actually worked for this company for the last 7 years.”

OP: “well, I think I have a couple pay stubs from 2021 around here somewhere, but that’s about it.”

I gotta be honest….unless there’s something I’m not seeing here, if I’m the IRS I’m going to be really, really suspicious of OP’s story. I’m going to be even more suspicious if the half-dozen paystubs he can find just happen to be from the pay periods that would have had to have been documented for the PPP loan.

Someone filing fraudulent returns for a job they never had to get a refund on taxes they never paid (just below the apparent limit for flagging) would look exactly like the OP.

That same someone who then applies for a PPP loan for a business that doesn’t exist, to pay employees that don’t exist, would look exactly like the OP.

They’d look even more like the OP when they’re asked to produce paperwork proving that their employer or their business actually existed and they can’t produce a shred of documentation from the last SEVEN YEARS.

I’m not saying that OP is lying to us. What I’m saying is that if OP is telling us the truth, he should probably be hiring an attorney, tearing his house apart, driving his ass to his storage unit, calling H&R Block, and compiling every shred of evidence he can find to prove that his former employer actually existed, and that this entire thing isn’t just a big tax fraud scheme which he is actually part of. Because if I was the IRS, given what I’ve read here today, I would not be convinced of OP’s innocence. And I would never, ever believe the IRS when they told me, “oh, don’t worry…you didn’t do anything wrong…we’re just after your employer.”

Good luck, OP! I hope the situation is actually better than how I’m seeing it from here.

A lawyer

Personally I would be going scorched earth.

Contact:

Irs
Social security
Medicare
State department of labor
State version of irs
State attorney generals office.

@TheOldRepublic

In case no one posted this yet, similar scenario.

The problem is your employer stole your money, but the IRS still wants payment. They don't care if there was fraud. They will fine you, add interest, and throw you in jail.

Definitely retain a tax attorney to handle the IRS and work out a payment plan that won't kill you.

This. If they don't believe you had the money withheld how can they believe you made the money to begin with? They can't believe just part of the W-2. That's an all-or-nothing type thing. I'm not suggesting you file an amended return and omit that income, but as far as the IRS is concerned if you didn't pay the taxes you didn't earn the money either.

damn op....all this time you could have not been claiming all that income.

Good luck bro...get a tax attorney ASAP

I had someone fill out and claim taxes under my Social Security number back in 2010.
I didn't get a return because they had already overpaid me ( according to them).
It took until 2013 to get it straightened out.
Laws are different and have changed since then, but my accountant contacted a 'Tax Advocate' at our state capitol.
This got resolved within a month.
From the was I understand it, the advocate represents you , and works with the IRS to get things fixed.

I got my return, plus interest owed to me from the  govt for taking so long with my return.

I don't know how large the company is that you are working for, but they probably did this with all the employees.
10 employees over 8-10 years = $200k possibly.
The IRS wants that for sure.

Check and see if they have tax advocates where you are

Good luck.

My phrase would be “I gave the money to your agent.”.  “Who?”.

“My employer - your authorized agent for receiving my payroll deductions and a person deputized by law to recover it from me involuntarily.”

Damn, if they're getting investigated for PPP loans they must really be dirty. Seems like everybody got away with that one. Hell I've even got some regrets over not pursuing that free money after seeing how it worked.

I don’t understand how the IRS wasn’t verifying the fed tax paid when he filed his return?

Edit, or the state for that matter.

That's why they needed 87,000 new IRS agents, to catch up on the 9 year backlog of paperwork and audits.

Guessing the bookkeeper booked wages to the employees for the stub period between the last check date and the end of the year creating higher W2 income vs the final paycheck YTD #'s and pocketed the fake payroll (after paying the FICA taxes to cover their tracks), essentially stealing from the employer and also screwing over the employees because they're paying taxes on income they didn't actually receive. What an asshole!

I just talked to another former employee that checked his "my social security" account for the years he worked there.

$0 paid into social security.

3 confirmed employees affected by this with. Many have made appointments.

Thank you @carson19

I worked for 7 years and had working relationships with many clients as well as had an airport security badge through the company for 7 years that required a yearly background check. Claiming I never work there would be dumb on their part

im going to a tax attorney tomorrow, I am told they can subpoena the company for my tax documents

I tried contacting the woman from CI she didn't answer and I left a voicemail.

I tried calling the FBI and their wait line was 50 minutes.

im going to do what Carson suggested and send them a letter lol

I can't believe this is something unusual.  How can people not want to deal with your issue or have the IRS have a standard pipeline of resolution for victims?  Do people not try and fuck over the IRS anymore?  

No state tax in Nevada. My return wasn't flagged until my return was set to be $1000+

I'm drunk. This shot makes me want to become a CI so I can go after people like my former boss.

I hardly ever feel bad for myself but I feel like violated. It's a shitty fucking feeling

The IRS lady said they're severely overwhelmed with all of the fraud that occurred during Covid

Years before I started working at my present job, one of my current clients wasn't remitting payroll taxes to the IRS. The partner on the account said that the IRS actually showed up to this guy's office and for lack of better words said, "Fuck you, pay me " which he did and didn't go to prison.

I don't know how long this went on before IRS intervention, but it seems like if your employer wasn't remitting FICA and FIT, the jig would've been up sooner than 7 years. Maybe your employer just never sent in the W2s and W3 to the IRS.

Idk. You piqued my curiosity and am going to ask some procedural questions about this scenario tomorrow or Friday (if 1099s don't kill me before then).

@TheOldRepublic

Most of the time those phone numbers go to a central hub that’s answered by an admin employee with no criminal investigation knowledge. Or it goes to a voicemail, that no one ever listens to.
When a tip is put in writing, it generally goes to HQ and the district/region/group depending on the agency. You can always go in person to these agencies. Most agencies locations/addresses are listed. Some agencies are a little more secretive of the office.

If I have 5 check stubs for 2021 with federal withholding and social security taken out. Shouldn't the IRS have a W2 for those 5 biweekly pay periods?

they have nothing

Also when I was laid off for Covid it took 2 months to get unemployment. The unemployment office straight up said they weren't paying unemployment insurance on its employees

Find all of your records, compile them, make copies, and organize them. Consult a tax advocate or tax attorney. Explain the situation and circumstances. It’s important to be organized, attorneys hourly rate is very expensive. No one on this site is going to have enough information to know exactly what type of fraud your company was committing.

Thanks man. Unfortunately I do not have the money to retain a lawyer. One former employee is well off now and discovered he also got fucked by them. He's reaching out to lawyers he knows to figure out what to do.

eta I'm going to report the fraud tomorrow with the sources listed in this thread.

Not necessarily. If your company never sent anything, then the IRS will not have anything. Additionally, the IRS is understaffed and it’s Tax Season. No one is going to look for your stuff. The Department of Veteran Affairs has lost my medical record many times. My agency has screwed up converting my military service multiple times. The Department of Labor has declined on duty injuries stating that my law enforcement functions are not work related…. The government is difficult to navigate as an employee, it’s harder as an outsider.

Just tell the facts. Do not speculate or report rumors. Just communicate facts that you have direct knowledge of. I always advise speaking to an attorney. A lot of attorneys, will give you a few minutes of their time and give you some suggestions for free. I’d get all of your records from H&R Block, storage, pay stubs, etc.

I'm going to also go to my bank and request all the checks I cashed through them. They keep them for 5 years.

I called H&R after making this thread and they said my records have already been destroyed.

my father has every w2 from the company since 2000. He had issues getting social security but they eventually passed it through when he submitted all of his W2s

You could submit a Freedom of Information (FOIA) request to the IRS, requesting your Tax Returns. It will take a long time to get those records.

https://www.irs.gov/privacy-disclosure/freedom-of-information-act-foia-guidelines

If they didn't pay the income tax withholdings to IRS, I'm going to guess no.

OP: Tax attorney.  Go to Idaho and get all your records out of storage.  Make a copies and give the copies to the tax attorney.  YOU should be in the clear IF you can provide documentation to the IRS.  The company... they'll be fucked hard.

OP said he did file.  If so then I'm at a loss as to why IRS didn't flag his return for investigation the FIRST time it happened.

If you have records, stubs, W2s, of having taxes deducted, it's the employer's problem, isn't it?

I am not sure that is a correct statement. If the IRS didn’t receive the withholding tax money and they paid you a refund, they will come after you for reimbursement of the refund money.

And the taxes owed.  Plus penalties and interest.  OP's only protection is documentation showing the taxes were withheld AND match the numbers he reported on his tax return.  Every W2, and as many pay stubs as he can find, although the W2s should suffice.

OTOH, it isn't outside the real of possibility that the IRS just plain fucked up.

The irs woman said it didn't matter if I had every W2. I could make my own. It all comes down to what the company sent them.

You will need to be finding those W2's and as many paystubs as you can.  With that you can show that the money was deducted from your paycheck.  What happens to it after that is on the employer.

You should be in the clear, but your employer has stomped his dick.

OP, you are going to need a lawyer. The IRS will most likely eventually come after you for taxes they view as owed. The ones your employer stole. They won't care you got fucked over. You will have to try to sue your employer to get that money. You need nothing wrong, but the IRS won't care.

I know a guy that got paid cash all year on a prevailing wage job. He should have been making about 4x more than he did.

I told him to go after the guy.....then the guy died not long after. He won't get it now. Poor bastard got screwed out of a lot of money.

Tell the IRS to use some of the extra money they get from people that use fake SS numbers to pay off your debt.

Looks like someone owes the IRS some money and it aint the employer

Hope they dont fine you much

While this probably true, it may not be too terrible. 401k, etc., he may have had little taxable income and just will be owing his return.

If he has other income, his wife is a Dr or something, it could be low six figures, based on his 40k statement earlier.

too busy doing other stuff I suppose...and zero communication between inter govermental agencies.

I got a bill from the IRS stating I owed about 3K over and above what my tax accountant came up with. I paid it and figured I would sort it out later. I knew I had owed a small amount in interest an penalties but anyhow...

So fast forward 18 months to last September. I get a letter from the IRS stating they fucked up and they owe me damn near all the money back. I still haven't seen it. Nobody can give me any indication of when it'll get deposited.

The IRS is that fucked up right now...

Doesn't sound like your problem. This sounds like a problem the IRS and your former employer need to work out. You filed your W2s every year, so they have them. You proved you worked there every year. Why would you fake it?