These hundred pages were just produced by the IRS in response to my FOIA request. They admitted they should have been included in their last 335-page production but were somehow overlooked.
I uploaded the entire production so you can see how much has been redacted. The same was true for the prior 335 pages. I have a lawsuit against the IRS to force them to unredact the text, as the exemptions they have cited do not apply.
I have asked for emails that relate to a public press conference the IRS arranged and heavily promoted in the media. None of this information should be privileged. It is being illegally redacted to prevent me from uncovering more evidence of the illegal conspiracy to frame my bank for financial crimes it did not commit and allow the J5 to take credit for having it shut down.
I will call your attention to the following pages in particular.
On page 11 an email from IRS CI agent Gary A. Sharply to OCIF Commissioner Natalia Zequeira written two days before the June 30th press conference to announce the closure of the bank, Sharply indicates that Zequeira meet with an IRS case agent back in March. Obviously that meeting was to discuss the bank and it took place over three months before the press conference was held. That’s more evidence that the press conference and the action announced was negotiated by the IRS.
Page 35 includes a J5 press media announcement related to two press conferences to be held on June 30th in in Puerto Rico to announcement the suspensions of the bank the J5 had been investigating. There are zoom links to both events. My FOIA request also asked for written or audio transcripts of the second event, but none have been supplied. I’m sure they exist. I have no idea what was said, or who said it. But its clear the J5 was promoting this event to falsely imply the bank was guilty of committing the financial crimes that were the basis for the J5 investigation.
Page 56 contains an email from Julie Hunt, the Director of Crime and Fraud Marketing and Communication, of the ATO, which is the Australian tax office. The email dated April 12th, was sent to Justin Cole, the Director of Communication for IRS Criminal Investigations. It referenced the press conference that the 0CIF was considering having about Atlantis. Operation Atlantis is was the code name for the J5 investigation of my bank. The press conference its self was not held until two and a half months later. This strongly suggests OCIF was considering the press conference at the request of the IRS. It’s also interesting that the subject of the email, and all similar emails, is the “Atlantis Press Conference,” and not the “OCIF” press conference. This further confirms the entire event was done as a public relations stunt for the J5, so they could pretend their failed Atlantis Investigation was a success.
Also it’s not a coincidence that almost all the emails between a J5 partner and the IRS are from the ATO in Australia. That’s where stories of the Atlantis Investigation of my bank first broke, and where I sued 60 Minutes for defamation. I think the ATO may have been the instigator of the entire thing, as a favor to Nick Mckenzie, so he could use the action against the bank as part of his defense to my defamation lawsuit. That is exactly what he did, but he lost anyway.
Page 63 is an email form Justin Cole of the IRS to IRS Agent Gary Sharply and a number of redacted recipients express a stong desire to quickly pitch the press conference through a media advisory to interested parties.
Page 68 is an email from IRS Special Agent Gary Sharply to four other IRS agents, in which he writes
“I cannot stress enough how important this outcome is for the J5 partners.” The outcome he was referring to was the shutdown of the bank, and the J5 press conference to announce it to the world.
Page 69 is an email from IRS Special Agent Mathew D. Line, of the Miami field office, to what looks like six other IRS agents, that reads “congrats on this outcome in this case! I’m excited for your team, CI, and the J5 on this win!” So they are being congratulated for the shutdown of my bank, even though according to Chief Jim Lee the IRS had no official role in the shutdown. The official reason given by OCIF for the shutdown of the bank was insufficient capital. So why congratulate the IRS CI or J5 on that. No criminal charges were filed, and the J5 investigation came up empty. Clearly Agent Line was not aware of those facts, as he was also likely mislead into believing the bank was guilty.
Page 95 includes an email from Justin Cole of the IRS to five other IRS agent, include the then Chief Jim Lee and the current Chief Guy Fuccio, letting them know that the OCIF press conference will be held in Puerto Rico on June 6th or 7th at the Governor’s Mansion with the participation of the Governor. However, the event was later moved to June 30th due to a scheduling conflict with Jim Lee and it was held at OCIF’s office, not at the Governor’s Mansion. So they had originally hoped to make an even bigger spectacle of the event, with an even stronger statement.