okay so lets look at how she could have gotten away with this for longer than 6 years, here are the primary issues: 1. the corporate structure. she formed an L

okay so lets look at how she could have gotten away with this for longer than 6 years, here are the primary issues: 1. the corporate structure. she formed an LLC whose address was a UPS store mailbox, but deposited the checks into her checking account. 2. she also did not file taxes on this income. while filing taxes on this income likely would have been a problem, so a pass through entity like an LLC would still be some sort of folly. 3. her lifestyle increased eventually, and this was the actual flag according to the quote in article. maybe the indictment is more particular. 4. she didn't stop so, with 3. being the primary prong, the mere existence of a paper trail isn't really the issue. Statute of limitations can run out even if things are subpoenable, so you just have to run out the clock. but even so, you can likely obfuscate this with domestic entities legally too. for example. the LLC isn't inherently a problem, as an LLC can be owned by another artificial person, such as a trust or non-profit. an LLC owned by a South Dakota Trust could have no information at both levels, so the application for the 4-H grant could go there and pass through to the South Dakota Trust. The Trust pays its taxes if it is a taxable transaction. The interest of the government would have stopped there. But if for some reason a subpoena was generated, you'd have to go further to reduce the intermediaries involved in paying you, or the information that the intermediaries have. and of course, if the trust was a non-profit, then there wouldn't have been taxes to pay. an additional LLC can contract to the non-profit as long as the government doesn't think you are a director of the non-profit too. the LLC would be disclosed but this wouldn't be a flag on its own. real question is I wonder how many people are doing this