December 18,2024

Wyden, Cortez Masto Investigate Billy Long’s Work Promoting Fraud-Ridden Tax Credits to Small Businesses

After Leaving Congress, Trump IRS Nominee Advised Small Businesses on Claims of Employee Retention Tax Credit, a Widely-Abused Pandemic Recovery Tax Program; Senators Seek to Learn How Many Clients Long Advised, How He Was Compensated, Whether Long’s Advice Resulted in Fraudulent or Improper Claims

Washington, D.C. – Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) wrote today to two organizations seeking information about the involvement of former Congressman Billy Long, Trump nominee for IRS Commissioner, in the sale of advice related to the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC), a fraud-ridden program that has cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars. 

Letters went to Lifetime Advisors and Commerce Terrace Consulting, tax advisory firms that reportedly paid Long on a contingency basis for ERTC refunds received by clients he referred. In those letters, the Senators noted that Long appears to have neither a background in tax preparation nor any credential as a licensed accountant, attorney or enrolled agent, yet he spoke publicly about pushing small business clients to file ERTC claims against the advice of their CPAs. 

Long falsely stated in one appearance that “everybody qualifies” for the ERTC, and in another that he attracted clients who had seen him “getting this money for their compadres.” He also described his clients asking their accountants, “Hey, this auctioneer, real estate broker, former Congressman told me, I’m going to get $1.2 million back. You’re my CPA, why didn’t you tell me that?”

“Long’s work peddling ERTC claims is deeply concerning in light of the industrial level of fraud that has taken place across the scam-plagued ERTC industry. Over the past few years, ERTC mills led by abusive promoters and preparers have aggressively marketed the ERTC to millions of American businesses, leading to fraudulent claims that have cost taxpayers billions of dollars,” Wyden and Cortez Masto wrote. “As the Senate weighs Mr. Long’s qualifications to serve as the next IRS Commissioner, it is imperative that it understand the full extent of his involvement with the ERTC and any concomitant waste, fraud or abuse.”

The letter to Lifetime Advisors is available here, and the letter to Commerce Terrace Consulting is available here. The questions submitted to Commerce Terrace Consulting follow below. (The same set of questions went to both firms.) 

  1. How many ERTC claims have Commerce Terrace clients submitted since the creation of the ERTC program in 2020? Please provide the number of claims submitted broken down by calendar year. Please also provide the total dollar value of all ERTC refunds claimed (whether or not received) and received by Commerce Terrace clients. 
  2. How many ERTC claims have Commerce Terrace clients submitted to the IRS since President Biden formally ended the federal public health emergency for COVID-19 on May 11, 2023? How many since the IRS placed a moratorium on ERTC claims submitted after September 14, 2023? 
  3. How many ERTC refunds involving Commerce Terrace clients have exceeded $1 million? 
  4. How much has Commerce Terrace been paid by clients in relation to services related to ERTC claims? Please provide this compensation broken down by calendar year. 
  5. Please describe how Commerce Terrace is compensated for ERTC services by clients. Does Commerce Terrace get paid a percentage of the ERTC refund received by clients? If so, what is the percentage of the ERTC refund Commerce Terrace charges its clients? 
  6. Please describe the services performed by Billy Long in relation to ERTC claims submitted by Commerce Terrace clients. Does Billy Long assist with the preparation and submission of ERTC claims for clients? 
  7. How many ERTC refunds received by Commerce Terrace clients originated with a referral from Billy Long? 
  8. Does Billy Long have any professional certifications authorizing him to represent taxpayers before the IRS, including licensed attorney, CPA or enrolled agent? If so, please identify them. 
  9. Please provide all compensation agreements between Billy Long and Commerce Terrace, including any agreements where Billy Long is paid a percentage of ERTC refunds received by Commerce Terrace clients. 
  10. Have any ERTC refunds received by Commerce Terrace clients ever been disallowed and deemed improper/fraudulent? If so, please describe how many refunds were disallowed and the dollar value of each refund.
  11. How many ERTC claims submitted by Commerce Terrace clients are currently under audit by the IRS? 
  12. In a 2023 podcast interview, Mr. Long stated that if any ERTC claim is revoked or disallowed by the IRS, he and his associates would return any fees collected to the clients. If any ERTC refund received by a Commerce Terrace client has been disallowed, has Commerce Terrace repaid all of such clients for any fees it received for ERTC refunds that were later disallowed or deemed improper/fraudulent by the IRS? If so, what is the total amount of fees repaid? If not, why not? 
  13. Has Commerce Terrace ever been contacted by the DOJ, the IRS or the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) in relation to any criminal investigations into any tax credits or incentives claimed by its clients? If so, please describe the end result of each individual criminal investigation.
  14. Has Commerce Terrace ever been contacted by the DOJ, the IRS or TIGTA in relation to any criminal investigations related to ERTC refunds received by any Commerce Terrace clients? If so, please describe the end result of each individual criminal investigation into ERTC refunds received by Commerce Terrace clients. 
  15. Has Commerce Terrace ever been contacted by the DOJ, the IRS or TIGTA in relation to any investigations by the IRS Office of Promoter Investigations related to ERTC refunds received by Commerce Terrace clients? If so, please provide all records related to those investigations. 

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