FEDS Raid Caterpillar Offices

Crooks at Caterpillar:

Law enforcement officials searching Caterpillar offices

PEORIA — Federal officials executed a search warrant at three Caterpillar, Inc. facilities in the Tri-County Area — including the corporate headquarters — Thursday morning. Company officials confirmed the presence in a statement without specifying which agency was performing the search or what the search was in regard to. A spokeswoman declined by email to provide further details. "Caterpillar is cooperating," the brief statement said. The spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois confirmed that facilities in three communities were the subject of the activity — Peoria, East Peoria and Morton. The investigation appears to stem from revelations about the company's tax strategy as outlined in a 2009 federal wrongful termination lawsuit brought by Daniel Schlicksup. The lawsuit alleged the company shifted profits to offshore shell companies to avoid paying more than $2 billion in U.S. taxes. Schlicksup settled the suit in 2012. Source

Caterpillar Hit With Derivative Suit Over $2.4B Tax Evasion 

Law360, Wilmington (February 26, 2016, 8:18 PM EST) -- A Caterpillar Inc. shareholder has hit the company with a derivative suit in Delaware Chancery Court, alleging Caterpillar brass exposed the company to billions of dollars in liabilities by signing off on a plan to avoid $2.4 billion in U.S. taxes by shifting profits to a Swiss affiliate. Shareholder Judy Pill filed a derivative suit against Caterpillar’s board of directors and the company auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, claiming they breached their fiduciary duties to the construction manufacturer by approving what a Senate committee report in 2014 said. Source

BREAKING: Federal Agents Execute Search Warrant Inside Caterpillar  

Federal officials are executing a search warrant at several Caterpillar offices. People wearing navy blue jackets labeled IRS and Federal Agents are loading boxes out of the headquarters building. The number of vehicles and reports from inside Caterpillar indicate this is a multi-agency effort, including the IRS, FDIC, and The Department of Commerce-Bureau of Industry and Security. The Illinois State Police also appear to be assisting. Some reports suggest this may be related to import-export matters. While many employees seem to be unaffected by the federal search, others are being interviewed individually by authorities. Some have been sent home. A statement from the company says only that a federal search warrant is indeed being executed at several Caterpillar facilities and that the company is cooperating to the fullest extent. Source