Identified Abusive Schemes

The following are examples of schemes and abuses identified to date:

• Embezzlement from tribal enterprises
• Use of fictitious corporate status to avoid the filing of Forms 1099
• Conversion of tribal assets/property for personal use
• Disguising of enterprises to appear as tribally-owned, so as to evade federal taxation and/or various federal or state laws
• Improper sheltering of taxable gains by passing third party transactions through Indian tribes
• Improper treatment of net gaming revenue, including misclassified distributions to tribal members
• Selling memberships in tribal groups not recognized by the federal government, and purporting such membership confers special tax benefits
• Claiming Native American individuals are not subject to federal taxation under any circumstances
• Misrepresentation of federal status of a tribe to attempt to obtain tax advantages
• Misrepresentation of treaty provisions to claim improper tax relief

If you suspect these or other schemes may be occurring, you can report them via e-mail or by contacting us at: