Forensic Exposure Diagnostic
Forensic Exposure Diagnostic
$7,500
Granular analysis of cross-border holdings, moving beyond the Triage Assessment scorecard to map specific liabilities within PFIC, CFC, and Foreign Grantor Trust regimes, identifying the precise roots of regulatory risks.
Our Exposure Diagnostic decodes woeful fund reporting before it begets willful tax failure.
How It Works
-
Step 1
Tell me about your investment. A short intake describing your fund, subscription date, amount, holding period, and any redemptions or distributions.
If you started with a Triage Assessment, we’ll begin at Step 2.
-
Step 2
Share your documents and authorize data access. Upload whatever fund documents you've received. Acquire the fund's books and records on your own using the checklist I provide, or leave it to me and execute a limited Letter of Authority so I can request additional fund records on your behalf using your books-and-records inspection rights as a fund unit owner.
-
Step 3
Receive your Forensic Exposure Diagnostic. Your comprehensive personalized report documents what I found, what it means for your specific U.S. obligations, and what decisions it puts in front of you. From there, you and your tax advisor determine your next steps.
Briefings are available for CPAs and counsel.
What We Examine
-
1. Investment Documents
The subscription documents, side letters, and representations made at the time of investment, tested against what was actually delivered.
-
2. Publicly Available Data
The fund's marketing materials, regulatory filings, and public representations, tested against what the fund actually does.
-
3. Books and Records
The fund's capitalization table, management regulations, and portfolio assets, obtained from the fund and verified independently.*
-
4. CFC Testing
Whether the fund's structure and investor composition created Controlled Foreign Corporations at any level or any timeframe, and if the client has ever met the definition of U.S. Shareholder of a CFC.
-
5. PFIC Testing
Whether the fund itself is a Passive Foreign Investment Company, whether it issues a PFIC AIS, whether it holds assets that require separate U.S. reporting, and whether the fund's reporting accounts for them.
-
6. QEF Viability
Whether the fund's PFIC Annual Information Statement meets the statutory requirements to support a defensible QEF election. This includes examination of income character from portfolio assets.**
-
7. Custody Arrangements
Whether the custody arrangements for the investor’s fund units bear hallmarks of a foreign grantor trust, and what reporting obligations may result.
-
8. IRA/ ERISA Compliance
Whether an IRA-funded investment triggered prohibited transactions, whether asset custody is compliant, and how a deemed distribution interacts with cross-border tax regimes.
-
9. SEC Compliance
Whether the offer, sale, and ongoing management of the fund interest complies with U.S. securities law, and what recourse is available based on the investor's holding period.
Each Forensic Exposure Diagnostic will contain:
-
Tax Exposure Reality: CPA Foundation
You and your tax preparer receive the factual and analytical basis for determining the correct reporting position, preparing amended returns, and computing refund claims where applicable. We examine exposure to PFIC, CFC, FATCA, foreign grantor trust, IRA, and ERISA regimes. SEC compliance is also examined. -
Willfulness Defense Documentation
The ruling in United States v. Reyes (2d Cir. 2026), equated reckless disregard to willfulness under Title 31. To protect against similar findings of willfulness under Title 26, U.S. investors are wise to demonstrate their diligence and seek independent verification of foreign fund reporting. This report serves to document that diligence. -
IRS Private Letter Ruling Support
For investors seeking retroactive QEF elections under Rev. Proc. 2026-10, the diagnostic documents how the professional infrastructure provided information that misled the investor. Batch PLR applications with fellow fund investors may significantly reduce costs. Join the Investor Registry. -
Legal Foundation for Civil Claims
For investors or counsel evaluating securities law claims, the diagnostic provides the factual record of what was disclosed, what was omitted, and what was misrepresented in obtainable fund data.
Deeper diagnostics for legal work may be available upon request.
Forensic Exposure Diagnostic Terms
$7,500 paid at booking.
Each Forensic Exposure Diagnostic is per fund, per year.
Each Forensic Exposure Diagnostic is personalized to your specific investment, holding period, and circumstances.
The Forensic Exposure Diagnostic will be delivered within 45 days of receipt of adequate fund documentation in our secure portal. Receipt of adequate fund documentation often requires repeated requests over the span of several months. This will delay the production of the Forensic Exposure Diagnostic accordingly.
Deliverables are suitable for use as a Reyes/Horowitz willfulness defense.
Deliverables are suitable for use in support of a Private Letter Ruling (PLR) application per Rev. Proc. 2026-10 for retroactive QEF repair.
The Forensic Exposure Diagnostic is a forensic analytical report. It is not tax advice, not investment advice, not legal advice, and is not a solicitation for the purchase or sale of securities.
Not Included in the Forensic Exposure Diagnostic
Accounting translation is not included in the Forensic Exposure Diagnostic, but all relevant data, including PFIC Help’s workpapers, will be shared with the client’s CPA through our secure portal upon request. *Books and Records are critical for any necessary accounting translation work.
**Deep analysis of portfolio assets may be required for entities that are not readily classifiable. If necessary, this work and will be offered at $3,000 per asset and a brief cost-benefit analysis will be provided.
Fund-Level Forensic Audit work to evaluate the internal governance and health of the fund to ensure the fund remains a viable vehicle for U.S. investors.
The Triage Assessment identifies the questions. The Forensic Exposure Diagnostic answers them. The Fund-Level Audit assesses the health and viability of the fund and whether the fund manager is acting in the best interest of the investors.
Fund-Level Analysis, Auditing Investment Health
For Fund-Level analysis of the viability and ongoing health of the fund investment that supported your Golden Visa application, choose the Fund-Level Forensic Audit. The resulting report is suitable for use in legal claims. The analysis can be shared among all investors in the fund.
You didn’t create this problem. Misleading marketing practices, fund structure, gaps in reporting, and the professional infrastructure around it created this problem. But under U.S. tax law, the consequences land on you unless you act. The window to mitigate them is limited.