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My husband has a gambling problem and I’m worried that he may have taken money out of the retirement account for gambling. How can I find out?

Answered By

Tracy Coenen, CPA, CFF

Forensic Accountant and Fraud Investigator at Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting

Question

I checked the retirement accounts last week and the balance seems low. My husband has a gambling problem and I’m worried that he may have taken money out of the retirement account for gambling. How can I find out?

Answer

If you and your husband filed joint tax returns, you can go online with the IRS and get access to all of your account information for the last several years. Within those documents, you may find a 1099-R, which is the form that would be issued if money was cashed out from a retirement account. That will be your proof of exactly how much was taken out and when it was done