April 16,2009
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News: First Data Inquiry.
Suspected tax evasion ignited the IRS to seek a summons to look into credit card processor First Data Corporation's records. First Data is a privately held company in Colorado that offers a variety of financial services including the processing of credit card and debit card transactions for retail merchants. The Department of Justice petitioned a Denver, CO federal court to grant a "John Doe" summons on First Data Corporation. Such a summons allows the IRS to gather information of U.S. taxpayers who have not yet been identified. The IRS hopes to discover information leading to the identification of merchants who have set up off shore accounts to funnel funds in an attempt to evade paying taxes. The petition claims that merchants have directed their credit card and debit card payment processors to deposit their proceeds into these off shore accounts. First Data is listed as one of those processors.
First Data is a global technology leader that provides credit card payment processing services at over 5.4 million retail locations worldwide. The company also operates debit card transactions for the STAR Network system. In addition, they service more than 2,000 credit card issuers plus millions of consumers worldwide. Virtually every type of business utilizes the services of First Data. In addition to servicing some of the world's most exclusive and largest financial leaders, the company provides payment processing for small mom and pop merchants, government agencies, and businesses of all sizes in between. First Data boasts of their continued investment in technology which positions them as a global leader in the credit card processing industry.
In an interview with the Washington Post, Christa Goeson, a First Data spokeswoman said the company has yet to see the summons and, therefore, is unable to comment at this time. However, Ms. Goeson commented that First Data has an excellent record of cooperating with the government and the company plans to continue compliance of all lawful requests. This is not the first time the IRS has gone after merchants with the use of a John Doe summons to assist them in identifying merchants who hide income in off shore accounts to avoid paying taxes. The Justice Department's John DiCicco, says that the department vows to identify all individuals and businesses and not just credit card merchants that are participating in tax evasion.