An IRS agent in the United States of America expressed that cryptocurrencies would be the economy’s future but thinks it could be a space dominated by fraud and other criminal activities.
Special agents for the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the federal tax collection and enforcement agency, view the digital asset space as a terrain dominated by fraud.
Ryan Korner, an agent with the IRS criminal investigation division in Los Angeles, shared the vision among the agency’s investigators during a recent conference. According to the representative, cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens create a perfect scenario for illegal activities like fraud and other tax crimes such as money laundering, and market manipulation. These statements got quoted in a Bloomberg report.
Celebrities and the Investigations of the IRS
The official said the office recognizes the significant growth that the digital currency market has had; however, it considers that there is currently a wide use of said assets for illicit operations.
According to the report, US law enforcement showed concern about many space-related criminal activities, including when they see active users paying millions of dollars for assets like NFTs, which do not seem to have that kind of value. He added that bad actors could be using NFTs as tools to launder money from criminal operations such as drug trafficking.
Korner also spoke about the high-profile investors and their ability to influence the prices with just a simple tweet. In this line, the federal agency warned that social media influencers and celebrities are not immune from criminal investigations by the IRS.
Federal agencies have been targeting celebrities for promoting cryptocurrency projects in the past. Last year, boxer Floyd Mayweather and DJ Khaled had an encounter with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for failing to disclose that they paid to encourage a crypto scheme through online campaigns in social networks.
US Agencies Unite to Fight Crypto Crimes
During his speech, Korner admitted that this digital space has potential. The IRS responds to the growth in the sector by strengthening its capabilities to fight against cryptocurrency and NFT-related crimes.
In this context, the agent explained that the division actively educates its officers with a strong focus on the digital space.
The representative also explained that the IRS is currently looking for greater contributions from other federal agencies, including the Justice Department, to make sure every single player involved in the situation stands aware of these activities and applies their measures against the criminals.
The report suggests that watchdogs are increasingly cracking down on fraud and fraudulent activities involving cryptocurrencies and other digital assets. The IRS investigations team managed to seize at least $3.5 billion confirmed in cryptocurrencies during the fiscal year 2021.
By: Jenson Nuñez
