DOJ Tax Attorney, Jordan Howlette, In the News (10/11/21)

A Tax Division Attorney, Jordan Howlette (LinkedIn here), is mentioned prominently in this Thomson Reuters article:  Natalie Runyon, Meaningful Work: How the pursuit of fairness leads some lawyers to the DOJ, here.  Here are the relevant excerpts:

In reading the U.S. Department of Justice’s mission, it is hard not to get chills in digesting the magnitude of it. In particular, the parts about “defending the interests of the United States according to the law” and ensuring “fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans,” produce a resounding emotional response on its significance.

It is this very mission that inspires thousands of attorneys to join the department. Jordan Howlette and Jessica Massey are two of these lawyers.

The DOJ as a ‘beacon of hope’

Howlette pursued his dream of becoming a Department of Justice (DOJ) attorney, after serving in the military and taking the bar exam while deployed in Afghanistan. He says that he viewed the agency as a “beacon of hope, in that the agency served as a bulwark against those seeking to harm others and a staunch defender of our civil liberties.”

Now, working on the civil side of the tax division as the litigating arm of the Internal Revenue Service, Howlette says he finds meaning each day because he gets to pursue justice through prosecutions by “seeking injunctions against dishonest tax return preparers who promoted fraudulent tax schemes and arrangements.” Many victims are from low-income backgrounds and are usually people of color, and Howlette says he finds this aspect of his work in particular, meaningful as an attorney of color himself.

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Autonomy, prosecutorial discretion & development opportunities

Main Justice Article on End of DOJ Tax Attorney Detail to USAOs (10/1012)

Main Justice has this article:  Tax Division Back to Full Force as Detail Program Ends (Main Justice 9/28/12), here.  The article discusses the end of the temporary detail of DOJ Tax lawyers to local AUSA offices.

Ihlo and Daly Named DOJ Tax Senior Litigation Counsel (9/3/12)

U.S. Department of Justice
Tax Division
Assistant Attorney General Washington, D. C. 20530

August 15, 2012

MEMORANDUM

To:   Tax Division
From: Kathryn Keneally
         Assistant Attorney General
Subject: Selection of Senior Litigation Counsel

I am pleased to announce that I have selected Jennifer E. Ihlo and Mark F. Daly as Senior Litigation Counsel. Senior Litigation Counsel handle the Tax Division's most challenging and important cases. Please join me in congratulating Jen and Mark, and in thanking them for taking on the additional responsibilities of the position.

Jennifer Ihlo- CATEPS

Jen is a graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University and the South Texas College of Law. She joined the Tax Division as a trial attorney in 1989. Prior to joining the Division, Jen served as an Assistant District Attorney in Beaumont, Texas, and as Assistant Counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary. Since joining the Tax Division, Jen has served as lead counsel in numerous investigations and jury trials, many involving tax defier schemes. Among those cases was United States v. Flowers, et al. (D. Ore.), a multi-defendant case involving the trial of promoters of a fraudulent warehouse banking scheme, for which Jen and her co-counsel received the Department of Justice's John Marshall award. Over the years, Jen has developed tremendous expertise concerning tax defier and domestic terrorism issues and is highly regarded within the Division, Department, and the broader law enforcement community for her leading roles as both a litigator and an educator on those matters. In 1996, her expertise and the importance of those law enforcement issues led to her appointment as Special Counsel for Tax Protest Matters (Criminal) and, in 2008, as National Director of the Tax Defier Initiative.

Mark Daly - Criminal 

Mark is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Duke University School of Law. He joined the Department of Justice in 2002 and the Tax Division in 2006. Prior to joining the Division, he handled complex civil litigation in the Department's Civil Rights Division and in private practice with the well-regarded law firms Drinker, Biddle & Reath, LLP and Goodwin Proctor LLP. Since joining Tax Division, Mark has successfully handled the investigation and prosecution of numerous complex criminal tax cases. During the past 3 years, he has also taken a leading role in three separate grand jury investigations of major financial institutions involved in schemes to defraud the United States by aiding and assisting U.S. taxpayers to evade their taxes through undeclared offshore bank accounts. In that role, he has been actively engaged in developing overall strategy and managing teams of Tax Division prosecutors and IRS Special Agents, while assisting other prosecutors and investigating agents throughout the country. In 20 I 0, Mark conducted the grand jury investigation and served as lead trial counsel for the first trial arising from the offshore initiative, United States v. Cohen, et al. (S.D. Fla.), which involved a decades-long, $30 million scheme by father and son international hotel developers who evaded taxes through the use of nominees, sham corporations, and offshore bank accounts. After a monthlong trial, both defendants were convicted and later sentenced to ten years imprisonment and millions of dollars in fines and restitution.

I would also like to thank the other applicants. All of the applications reflected strong litigating experience, a dedication to public service, and a superior work ethic. The Tax Division is fortunate to have so many formidable litigators in its ranks.