Green Tax Break Promoter Indicted as IRS Escalates Crackdown (2)

A major promoter of land conservation deals and six others were indicted as the Internal Revenue Service escalated a crackdown on what it says are fraudulent syndicated deals that cost the U.S. billions of dollars in taxes.

The U.S. charged Jack Fisher, an accountant and developer, with creating deals that helped wealthy investors claim at least $1.3 billion in fraudulent charitable deductions, according to an indictment unsealed Tuesday in federal court in Atlanta. The fraud involves land easements that bar development and rely on “grossly inflated” appraisals, prosecutors said.

The Internal Revenue Service is auditing at least 28,000 taxpayers ...