The tax-relief industry loves to make IRS problems sound impossible without them. They're not. I'm Darrin Mish. I've been representing taxpayers before the IRS for 32 years. Let me explain how this actually works.<\/p>\n
An IRS agent in the Twin Cities was caught accepting a bribe in a situation set up by the FBI.\u00a0 Roger Anthony Coombs allegedly offered two businessmen in Minneapolis a deal whereby he would slash their tax liability by more than 80% if they would pay him $9,700 for his services.<\/p>\n
Coombs himself had filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy earlier on April 21 in which he declared personal liabilities of $607,676 against assets of only $358,205.\u00a0 He owes creditors on mortgages, second mortgages, 9 different student loans and was behind on his child support among other debts.\u00a0 He claimed that his IRS take-home salary of $2,300 was insufficient for him to pay of his debts.<\/p>\n
Last June, <\/a>40 year old Coombs from Blaine was hired as an auditor for the IRS with the responsibilities of reviewing individual and corporate taxpayers\u2019 filings to ensure they had made them correctly.<\/a>\u00a0 On February 4, Coombs allegedly sent a letter to a businessman, whom the IRS identified only as \u2018customer 1\u2019stating that his 2008 tax return has been chosen for audit.\u00a0 The letter also stated that many documents would be examined, many of which were pertaining to a small business CW1 shared with another businessman, whom the IRS identified as \u2018customer 2\u2019.<\/p>\n On May 6, because of the letter, CW1 and CW2 met up with Coombs to discuss the issue.\u00a0 Coombs revealed that records show that CW1 and CW2\u2019s business owed the IRS between $30,000 and $35,000 in taxes.\u00a0 He went on to ask how much they could pay.\u00a0 CW2 told Coombs they could come up with about $20,000.\u00a0 Then Coombs allegedly told the businessmen that he could help them out and invited them to discuss the matter further at another date and place, without their accountant\u2019s knowledge.<\/p>\n It was then that CW2 became suspicious of Coombs and decided to record their coming conversation.\u00a0 Two days later the three met in a Minneapolis restaurant.\u00a0 Coombs allegedly told the two businessmen that they owed the IRS $60,000.\u00a0 Then he allegedly went on to suggest a scheme where he would arrange for the IRS to accept $11,000 as full payment and solicited for a $9,700 compensation for himself.\u00a0 In order to pull it off, Coombs allegedly claimed he had to lie about some things but that his superiors in the IRS would trust his judgment without question.<\/p>\n The businessmen turned the recordings over to the FBI.\u00a0 In the course of investigations, the FBI arranged with the Treasury to hand over to one of the businessmen $3,000 in marked bills.\u00a0 In a subsequent meeting with Coombs, the money was handed over to Coombs and the incident was secretly filmed by the FBI.\u00a0 The two arranged to meet again June 2 for the next payment.<\/p>\n At the meeting which took place at the parking lot of a fitness club at Silver Lake Road in New Brighton, FBI agents moved in to arrest Coombs.<\/p>\n