US syndicated conservation easement tax shelters (EcoVest, Fisher and Sinnott)
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
Investors in US partnerships bought land and donated conservation easements, claiming federal tax deductions that an IRS preliminary analysis put at an average of $9 per $1 invested. The IRS, a Senate investigation, courts and Congress acted over several years, and two promoters were convicted in 2023.
The court allowed about $2.18 million of $180 million claimed and applied a 40% penalty. Across the Tax Court cases the IRS described in May 2026, the average allowed was about 6%.
Status As of May 2026: the IRS reported more than 1,100 open cases and an investor settlement offer; the 2.5-times cap has applied since 29 December 2022; Fisher and Sinnott were convicted in September 2023 and the appeal outcome was not found.
- EcoVest — Generated deductions of about $3 billion from 58 transactions in 2013-2018.
- A related affiliate of the Atlantic Coast Conservancy — Paid $602,432 in 2015 to the director of the land trust, who also received a $156,750 salary from the foundation (ProPublica). ProPublica
- The lobbying firm of former Representative Henry Waxman — Received $485,000 from organizers. ProPublica
- US federal revenue — Deductions of $6.8 billion (2017) and $9.2 billion (2018) were claimed. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimated about $6.4 billion in revenue from the cap applied only to future transactions. ProPublica / Salon
- Investors in the Mississippi case — About 1.2% of a $180 million claim allowed and a 40% penalty applied.
What happened
Under US tax law a landowner who donates a conservation easement to a land trust can deduct the development value the land loses. In the syndicated version, an organizer pools investors in a partnership, which buys land; an appraiser values the land on an assumed development scenario; the easement is donated and the investors claim deductions. Deductions claimed through these transactions were $6.8 billion in 2017 and $9.2 billion in 2018 (the 2018 figure from IRS data).
In December 2017 ProPublica reported that a preliminary IRS analysis found an average of $9 in deductions for every $1 invested. It described a former golf course in South Carolina, bought for about $5.4 million, that was valued at more than $40 million on the assumption that 1,404 homes would be built, and said that Georgia taxpayers claimed about 36% of easement deductions while owning 2.5% of the land under easement. It also reported that the director of the land trust that accepted most of the transactions, Atlantic Coast Conservancy, received a salary of $156,750 from the foundation in 2015 and $602,432 from a related affiliate.
The IRS declared these transactions a listed transaction in December 2016 and put them on its list of worst tax scams in 2019; organizers lobbied Congress against IRS enforcement funding. A bipartisan Senate Finance Committee investigation led by Senators Grassley and Wyden characterised the structures in August 2020 as abusive tax shelters. On 29 December 2022 Congress limited partnership deductions to 2.5 times the investment through the SECURE 2.0 law. In 2022 the Tax Court set aside the IRS notice on procedural grounds, and the IRS reissued the rule in October 2024.
EcoVest, described as the largest organizer, generated deductions of about $3 billion from 58 transactions between 2013 and 2018; one appraiser valued 51 of them. In the criminal case, Jack Fisher, a former IRS employee, and James Sinnott were convicted in September 2023 over more than $1.3 billion in false deductions and sentenced to 25 and 23 years in prison.
In March 2026 a court in a Mississippi case concerning a 236-acre property allowed about $2.18 million of a $180 million deduction claimed on a sand-mine income model, and applied a 40% penalty. In May 2026 the IRS said more than 1,100 cases were open and that the Tax Court had allowed an average of about 6% of the deductions claimed. It offered investors a settlement under which they pay a penalty of 10 to 20% and deduct the money they invested.
- 2013EcoVest begins the 2013-2018 run of 58 transactions generating about $3 billion in deductions
- 2016December: IRS declares syndicated conservation easements a listed transaction
- 2017ProPublica reports the average of $9 in deductions per $1 invested (December). Deductions claimed: $6.8 billion
- 2018Deductions claimed: $9.2 billion, by 16,900 people
- 2019IRS places the transactions on its list of worst tax scams
- 2020August: bipartisan Senate Finance Committee investigation characterises the structures as abusive tax shelters
- 2022Tax Court sets aside the IRS notice on procedural grounds. 29 December: SECURE 2.0 caps partnership deductions at 2.5 times the investment
- 2023September: Fisher and Sinnott convicted in the criminal case
- 2024October: IRS reissues the notice
- 2026March: Mississippi court allows about 1.2% of a $180 million claim. May: IRS reports more than 1,100 open cases and offers an investor settlement
What was said
Where accounts differ
Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.
An IRS preliminary analysis found an average of $9 in deductions per $1 invested; a golf course bought for about $5.4 million was valued at more than $40 million.
ProPublicaAn email cited in its investigation showed land bought for under $3 million valued at $81 million.
Claimed a $180 million deduction based on a sand-mine income model for a 236-acre property.
Allowed about $2.18 million, about 1.2%, and applied a 40% penalty.
Declared the transactions listed transactions in December 2016 and reissued the notice in October 2024.
Set the notice aside in 2022 on procedural grounds.
Campaigned in Congress to cut the IRS enforcement budget.
ProPublicaIts bipartisan investigation of August 2020 characterised the structures as abusive tax shelters.
How it looked
Shown
- The donation of an easement permanently closing private land to development, the purpose for which US tax law allows the deduction.Description of the deduction's purpose in the sources reviewed
Recorded
- A preliminary IRS analysis found an average of $9 in deductions for every $1 invested; a South Carolina golf course bought for about $5.4 million was valued at more than $40 million on an assumed 1,404 homes.
- Georgia taxpayers claimed about 36% of easement deductions while owning about 2.5% of the land under easement.
- Easement deductions claimed were $6.8 billion in 2017 and $9.2 billion in 2018; 16,900 people claimed the 2018 deductions.
- An email cited in the Senate investigation showed land bought for under $3 million valued at $81 million.
- The sector spent about $11 million on lobbying from 2017, of which the Partnership for Conservation spent $6 million and EcoVest $3.3 million; the lobbying firm of former Representative Henry Waxman received $485,000 from organizers.
- The 2.5-times cap applies only to future transactions; the Joint Committee on Taxation estimated revenue of about $6.4 billion to 2031, against $12.5 billion if it had been retroactive.
- A Mississippi court allowed about $2.18 million (1.2%) of a $180 million deduction on a 236-acre (about 95 ha) property and applied a 40% penalty; investors had raised $23.4 million.
- Fisher and Sinnott were convicted in September 2023 over more than $1.3 billion in false deductions and sentenced to 25 and 23 years.
Who gained
Reached nature or the ground
Gained elsewhere
Responses on record
- Internal Revenue Service (2016-2026): Declared syndicated conservation easements a listed transaction (December 2016) and listed them among the worst tax scams (2019); reissued the notice in October 2024 after the Tax Court set it aside on procedural grounds; in May 2026 offered investors a settlement with a 10-20% penalty.
- Syndicated easement organizers (2016-2022): Campaigned in Congress to cut the IRS enforcement budget; the sector spent about $11 million on lobbying from 2017. · ProPublica
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
- 2023-09 (convictions)Claimant wonUnited States v Fisher and Sinnott (syndicated conservation easement fraud)US federal court, Atlanta · Criminal · United States → Jack Fisher; James Sinnott
A former IRS employee and a co-defendant were convicted in September 2023 over more than $1.3 billion in false deductions and sentenced to 25 and 23 years in prison. The outcome of their appeal was not found.
- 2026-03Outcome not on record$180000bn Deduction claimed; about $2.18 million (1.2%) allowed, 40% penalty appliedHancock County, Mississippi, conservation easement deduction caseCourt not named in the record · Civil · Investors in the partnership (not named in the record) → Not named in the record
On a 236-acre (about 95 ha) property the claim rested on a sand-mine income model. The court allowed about $2.18 million of $180 million and applied a 40% penalty; investors had raised $23.4 million.
- 2022Claimant wonTax Court challenge to the IRS notice on syndicated conservation easementsUS Tax Court · Administrative · Taxpayers (not named in the record) → Internal Revenue Service
The Tax Court set aside the IRS notice on procedural grounds in 2022; the IRS reissued the rule in October 2024.
Insurers
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Court
- Unclear Hancock County, Mississippi, conservation easement deduction case: outcome not on record.
Accounts
Record
- None on record How much of the restitution ordered against Fisher and Sinnott has been collected is not known, and the outcome of their appeal was not found.
- None on record No monetary fine against EcoVest is recorded.
- Unclear The outcomes of the pending US conservation-easement cases were not found.
- None on record The Joint Committee on Taxation's official table could not be opened; the revenue figures come from ProPublica.
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: EcoVest accepted a court injunction in March 2023 without admitting wrongdoing.
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: restitution of about $458 million for Fisher and $444 million for Sinnott.
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: Fisher earned about $60 million from 15 transactions.
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: only 34 appraisers valued 296 transactions.
Did the harm stop?
The 2.5-times cap enacted on 29 December 2022 applies only to future transactions, and the Joint Committee on Taxation estimated about $6.4 billion in revenue to 2031 against $12.5 billion had it been retroactive.
Who paid?
US federal revenue: deductions of $6.8 billion (2017) and $9.2 billion (2018) were claimed. The Tax Court has allowed about 6% of claimed deductions on average, according to the IRS (May 2026).
Sources
Press and investigations
- Conservation Easements: The Billion-Dollar LoopholeProPublica · 2017-12-20
- Syndicated conservation easement IRS tax scamProPublica · 2022-06-17
- How Congress finally cracked down on a massive scam (ProPublica via Salon)ProPublica / Salon · 2023-01-11