Republican Ohio Representative Jim Jordan sent a letter to the head of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on Friday (June 16) after an alleged home visit by an IRS agent that exhibited “highly concerning” behavior.
According to a letter from Jordan, the House Judiciary Committee and its Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government received a report about an incident involving an IRS agent. The agent allegedly used deception to gain entry into an Ohio taxpayer’s home by providing a fake name instead of their real one. The incident is said to have occurred in late April in Marion, a city located north of Columbus.
The committee chairman Jordan addressed a letter to IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel. In the letter, the Ohio Congressman expressed concerns about “allegations [that] raise serious concerns about the IRS’s commitment to fundamental civil liberties.”
The committee has set a deadline of June 30 for the IRS to provide information regarding the reported field visit, including “documents and communications” about the visit’s rationale and any relevant exchanges between government entities.
During a visit to an Ohio resident’s home, an IRS agent identified himself as “Bill Haus,” which Marion Police Department later discovered was an alias. According to Jordan’s letter, the agent initially stated that his visit was related to “issues concerning an estate for which the taxpayer was the fiduciary,” but later mentioned that it was about some overdue tax returns of a deceased person.
The letter revealed the IRS agent called ‘Haus’ claimed he had the right to enter the taxpayer’s home at any time. When asked to leave by the taxpayer’s attorney, he threatened to freeze assets and put a lien on the house if the balance was not settled in a week. He promised to mail the necessary paperwork.
The letter from Jordan goes on to state that the taxpayer reported the possible scam to an MPD officer who investigated the incident.
The IRS agent involved in the matter then filed a complaint against the MPD officer with the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.
In a footnote, the IRS agent’s supervisor informed the taxpayer that the estate only had one delinquent filing from 2016 and that the decedent’s 1041 final return was completed with no outstanding dues. The taxpayer received a notice in the mail about the tax filings the following day but was advised to ignore it. Later that month, the taxpayer received a written communication stating that the case had been closed.
The IRS agent involved in the incident claimed to be part of the IRS Criminal Investigation unit, which is responsible for investigating possible criminal violations of the Internal Revenue Code and financial crimes, as stated on the agency’s website.
According to the IRS, this division employs over 2,000 special agents and almost 940 professional staff and conducted more than 2,500 investigations during the fiscal year 2022.
