Criminal tax preparation · A practical guide
Offshore Accounts and FBAR Criminal Investigations
Foreign-account reporting, income-tax reporting and individual account authority can raise different questions. Build a precise account history for counsel without treating them as one issue.
By Joseph De Gregorio · Federal Sentencing Reduction and Early Release Strategist
Founder and President, Sentencing Advocacy Group
Published November 5, 2026
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Separate the reporting questions
The IRS explains that FBAR reporting concerns foreign financial accounts and can involve civil or criminal penalties depending on the circumstances. An FBAR is not the same document as an income-tax return. Counsel should identify which reporting duties and allegations apply.
This guide does not determine whether an account was reportable or whether conduct was willful. Identify the actual notices, periods and accounts under review. Avoid assuming that every offshore account is unlawful or that every reporting error is criminal.
Build an account-by-account inventory
For each account, identify the institution, country, currency, opening and closing dates, known owners, signature authority and available statements. Use a secure record reference rather than exposing account numbers in a public narrative.
Ownership, signature authority and actual use are distinct facts. Keep supporting documents for each, such as account-opening records, powers of attorney or company authorizations. Counsel determines their legal significance; a job title or family relationship should not stand in for documentation.
Track transfers without double counting
A transfer between accounts can appear in multiple statements. Identify both sides where records permit and distinguish principal movements, income, fees and currency conversions. Financial specialists should determine the appropriate calculations and methods.
Maintain the original currency, date and source alongside any converted figure. If a statement is translated or reconstructed, identify that process and preserve the original. Do not present an estimate as a bank-confirmed balance.
Reconcile filings and advice history
Collect the relevant returns, FBAR records and correspondence with professional advisers as counsel directs. Preserve filing versions and confirmations. Identify the information supplied to each professional without assuming what advice was given or what another person knew.
Questions about corrective filings, disclosure options and communications with agencies require qualified legal and tax advice. SAG does not recommend moving assets, closing accounts or making a disclosure to address criminal exposure.
Prepare the individual record
Joseph can help organize the person’s chronology, actual responsibilities, family circumstances and documented corrective work. For internationally mobile clients, employment locations and changes in account authority may require careful factual explanation.
Counsel receives an indexed record and a list of unresolved questions within the agreed scope. International reporting analysis, criminal defense, tax calculations and foreign-law issues remain with the appropriate professionals.
Sources and related preparation
IRS guidance on foreign bank and financial account reporting. Source checked November 5, 2026. Counsel must evaluate the rules and facts applicable to your case.
Is a foreign account balance automatically the tax loss?
No such assumption should be made. Reporting obligations, income, account values and sentencing calculations answer different questions for counsel and qualified financial professionals.
A defined engagement with Joseph De Gregorio
Retain qualified federal defense counsel first for an investigation or criminal charge. Agree on the scope, records, authorized recipients and review dates before SAG’s work begins. Counsel retains legal advice, strategy and submissions. SAG can deliver an indexed personal record, a chronology, a factual gap list and an agreed preparation schedule. An engagement does not automatically make every communication privileged; counsel determines the appropriate arrangements.
SAG serves clients nationwide from Freehold, New Jersey, with travel arranged for cases. Tell Joseph your current stage and next deadline. Do not send case documents or sensitive allegations through the initial website form.
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SAG is not a law firm and does not provide legal or tax advice. Courts and agencies determine outcomes. No sentence, charging decision or release date is guaranteed.