The results can be harsh. In Georgia, IRS auditors went over the returns of 16,026 individual returns in 1998. Federal judges in Georgia sent 40 people to jail during 1998. If you get tagged for an audit, you can expect it to be thorough. And many tax preparers predict the audit rate will go up sharply in the near future.
Taxpayers have nobody to blame but themselves, even if they bought into a tax avoidance scheme.
But you as the taxpayer are going to pay the price. Tow charts track levels of enforcement and numbers of enforcment officers. This is so new, your CPA doesn't know about it yet. Multiple trusts, partnerships or other entities are involved. Some of the entities involved are foreign for no apparent business reason.