The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) was—and is—a pandemic relief program that allows qualifying businesses to claim refundable tax credits for the 2020 and 2021 tax years. Qualifying businesses can retroactively claim the ERC through 2025, and they can receive refunds from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) if they paid more than necessary during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is targeting Malta pension scams in criminal tax audits and investigations. These audits and investigations present substantial risks for targeted taxpayers—including the risk of prison time in some cases.

If you filed a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan application, you are at risk of facing federal scrutiny. With reports suggesting that at least 10 percent of the roughly $800 billion disbursed under the program went to applicants that didn’t qualify, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS CI) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) are continuing to investigate and prosecute PPP loan fraud in 2023.

Fraud under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Employee Retention Credit (ERC) program has cost the federal government hundreds of billions of dollars. While these programs were intended to help businesses struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic, investigations have revealed that they quickly became prime targets for fraud.

As a U.S. taxpayer, you are required to report your income to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). You must report your income annually, and when you file your annual tax return, you must pay any tax you owe.