Free Republic

Former Treasury Department official Natalie “May” Edwards said she is a whistleblower who sent suspicious activity reports to BuzzFeed News after trying in vain to work through lawful channels. Her actions became the basis for the global FinCEN Files investigation.. Natalie “May” Edwards has made a pact with her 16-year-old daughter: Every night before bed for the next six months, each will say a quiet prayer at the exact same time. Her daughter will be doing so from home in Virginia. Edwards will be doing so from a women’s federal prison in West Virginia. “I am emotionally prepared as far...

The Treasury Department announced March 2 that it will no longer enforce the Corporate Transparency Act or the associated Beneficial Ownership Information reporting requirements. Furthermore, the agency announced that, “Not only will it not enforce any penalties or fines associated with the beneficial ownership information reporting rule under the existing regulatory deadlines, but it will further not enforce any penalties or fines against U.S. citizens or domestic reporting companies or their beneficial owners after the forthcoming rule changes take effect either.” The Treasury Department said it will further be issuing a proposed rule that will narrow the scope of the...

March 21, 2024 Press Release WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY) sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Attorney General Merrick Garland opening an inquiry into the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) use of artificial intelligence (AI) to surveil Americans' financial information. The Committee and its Select Subcommittee have reason to believe that the IRS and Department of Justice (DOJ) are actively monitoring millions of Americans' private transactions, bank accounts, and related financial information—without any legal process—using an AI-powered system. This AI-powered warrantless financial surveillance is highly concerning and raises serious doubts...

KEY POINTS * The Corporate Transparency Act of 2021 requires many businesses to report beneficial ownership information by Jan. 1, 2025, in an effort to curb crime through shell companies. * About 32.6 million businesses are subject to the new BOI reporting, according to federal estimates. * Individuals who “willfully” violate the requirement may be subject to fines of $10,000 or more and possible jail time. * A federal court in Texas temporarily halted enforcement. Small businesses and their owners could face penalties of $10,000 or more if they don't comply with a new U.S. Treasury Department reporting requirement by...

The U.S. government has appealed the nationwide preliminary injunction—and FinCEN has backed off of its position that filings should continue. FinCEN now says that "reporting companies may continue to voluntarily submit beneficial ownership information reports." Earlier this week, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas threw the fate of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) into question, blocking the U.S. Department of Treasury from enforcing the beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirements across the country. Now, the U.S. government has appealed the nationwide preliminary injunction—and FinCEN has backed off of its position that filings should...

The Biden administration has gotten banks to let them 'spy' on the everyday purchases and money transfers of Americans, carrying out millions of searches without getting a warrant typically required for such snooping, a stunning new Congressional report charges. The House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government just released its damning findings, which the panel found skews heavily toward surveillance of Americans inclined to support President-elect Donald Trump. 'The federal government is spying on your bank account,' the Republican-led panel posted in a video on X summarizing its 47-page report. ... Over 14,000 federal employees accessed...

Just when you think that things might be about to turn around with regard to the explosion of unbelievably stupid laws and regulations to harass and annoy the people, along comes another one that’s stupid enough to top them all. This one has sprung up seemingly out of nowhere in the past few weeks, in notices that have gone out among the New York co-op and condo communities. But the law’s application is far broader than just these communities. I suspect that many readers have received such notices in many diverse contexts. The law in question is a federal statute...

I was never informed of this till I received an email from my accountant. A new Federal filing requirement for all incorporated and limited liability companies must be filed on or before December 31, 2024. Called the Business Ownership Information (BOI) report with the U.S. Department of the Treasury Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Disregarded entities are also required to file. Penalties for failure to file are $591 per day! You can also face an additional $10,000 criminal penalty and up to two years in prison. Please see the attached pdf. The link below is the site to register. https://www.fincen.gov/boi-faqs

By year-end, Americans will be required to hand over data on their small businesses to the federal government’s law enforcement database... The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) is an aggressive domestic program to federally register millions of unsuspecting small business owners under the guise of an “anti-money laundering initiative.” By the end of this year, Americans will be required to hand over their small businesses’ private data — such as owners’ names and home addresses — to the federal government’s law enforcement database, operated by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), housed under the Department of the Treasury. Such small businesses...

FinCEN has prepared the following Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) in response to inquiries received relating to the Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Rule and Beneficial Ownership Information Access and Safeguards Rule.

A constitutional battle is shaping up over whether the U.S. government can force the owners and top employees of small businesses to send their addresses and photo IDs to federal financial crime investigators. The Biden administration has appealed a decision by a federal judge in Alabama, who ruled this month the Corporate Transparency Act exceeded the powers granted to Congress by the Constitution. The government says the information collected from small businesses will ferret out shell companies and help law and intelligence officers foil human smugglers, drug traffickers and terrorists. The appeal has a good chance because courts rarely strike...

The Biden Administration has admitted to surveilling the private financial transactions of Americans for words including 'MAGA', 'Trump' and 'Kamala' following the January 6 riots. Federal investigators in the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) instructed banks to comb through records to look for 'extremists'. A letter from the Treasury Department, seen by Fox News, was sent to Senator Tim Scott on Friday which states 'Exchange events' began 'shortly after January 6 under the prior Administration'. It said it 'included terms such as "antifa," "MAGA," "Trump," "Biden," "Kamala," "Schumer," and "Pelosi."' The federal government was specifically 'watching' Trump supporters and...

A shocking report from Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the Judiciary Committee and the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, indicates that federal law enforcement agencies wanted financial institutions to identify potential extremists by flagging otherwise benign purchases and search terms affiliated with former President Donald Trump in the wake of the incident at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. On Wednesday, Jordan sent an alarming letter to Noah Bishoff, the former director of the Treasury Department's Office of Stakeholder Integration and Engagement in the Strategic Operations Division of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, better known as...

On Wednesday, the Republican majority on the House Judiciary Committee revealed even more drastic examples of government surveillance and breaches of privacy in the aftermath of the peaceful protest on January 6th, including the searching of Americans’ private bank transactions. According to Fox News, the Judiciary Committee and the subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government described their latest findings in a letter obtained by Fox. The letter states that investigators ordered banks to search through their customers’ private transactions for key terms such as “MAGA” and “Trump,” while also claiming that the purchasing of “religious texts” were a...

I Bought A Bible, Slingshot, And Sports Gear. So I’m Probably On A ‘Domestic Terrorist’ WatchlistAll-American consumerism by a completely peaceful and law-abiding citizen somehow threatens the people running my own country into the ground.Americans who shopped at sporting goods stores and bought religious books “like a Bible” were flagged through their banks as potential domestic terrorists, Rep. Jim Jordan revealed Jan. 17. The federal government also flagged as potential criminals any transactions that involved the terms “MAGA” or “Trump,” the House Judiciary Committee chairman said. These Americans were tagged as possible “violent extremists” with zero due process or even...

Federal investigators asked banks to search and filter customer transactions by using terms like "MAGA" and "Trump" as part of an investigation into Jan. 6, warning that purchases of "religious texts" could indicate "extremism," the House Judiciary Committee revealed Wednesday. Fox News Digital has learned the committee also obtained documents that indicate officials suggested that banks query transactions with keywords like Dick's Sporting Goods, Cabela's, Bass Pro Shops and more. The House Judiciary Committee and its subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government have been conducting oversight of federal law enforcement’s "receipt of information about American citizens without legal...

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is requesting a transcribed interview with a former Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) official for allegedly flagging consumer transactions that had the phrases “TRUMP” or “MAGA” in them. On behalf of the Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on the weaponization of the federal government, Jordan sent a letter requesting testimony to Noah Bishoff, the former director of an office in the Strategic Operations Division of FinCEN, which is part of the Treasury Department. Jordan said the committee had obtained documents showing that FinCEN outlined “typologies” of persons of interest in materials distributed to financial institutions. He said these...

The 2021 National Defense Authorization Act created the Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting rule to ostensibly target money laundering. Beginning January 1, 2024, the Act mandates U.S. companies, regardless of size, to register their beneficial and controlling owners with the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). FinCEN claims the corporate ownership database will be used exclusively to identify anonymous shell companies involved in money laundering and terrorist activities. Once again, like the Patriot Act, it grants surveillance powers violating the Constitution. There is no provision for judicial oversight to protect individual rights as if that ever mattered. Reporting requirements apply...

Have you heard of the Corporate Transparency Act? Most of the estimated 32 million small business owners, including sole proprietors, whom the new law affects have not. It was just recently put on my radar by a handful of people — quite a shock for a measure that takes effect at the start of the new year! A new reporting rule under the law means that businesses will need to file information with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (a bureau within the U.S. Department of Treasury), including personal information about the people who are associated with the business, or risk...

...she is a whistleblower who sent suspicious activity reports to BuzzFeed News after trying in vain to work through lawful channels. Her actions became the basis for the global FinCEN Files investigation. They also described her disclosures as “unparalleled in FinCEN’s history,” having sent approximately 50,000 documents, including 2,000 SARs, to Leopold over the course of a year and running searches within internal systems at his request.