Conservation Easement Syndications – Risks & Loss Potential for Investors

How Syndicated Tax Shelters Cost Investors Billions — and What You Can Do About It If your financial advisor or broker recommended a syndicated conservation easement — a deal that promised you four or five dollars in tax deductions for every dollar you invested — you are likely facing a financial crisis. The IRS has designated these transactions as abusive tax shelters, federal prosecutors have secured the longest tax fraud prison sentences in U.S. history against the promoters, and the Tax Court has rejected more than 90% of the claimed deductions in case after case. But the investors who purchased these deals are not the ones who designed them. In many cases, they relied on the advice of financial professionals who had a duty to investigate the risks and disclose the truth. This article explains how syndicated conservation easement tax shelters worked, why they were fraudulent, what federal enforcement has revealed, and — most importantly — how investors who lost money can pursue recovery through FINRA arbitration and other legal channels.