<prompt> Human: Long story short, I was working for a company, and the CEO decided to stop paying the employees. Between the start of non-payment and finally quittingstarting a new job, a few months passed, and Im owed 37k.Ive already come to accept Ill never see that money, which is unfortunate, but okay. However, I was wondering if there is any tax implications that I may be able to take advantage of, for what essentially amounts to several months of unemployment.A friend suggested I may be able to claim it as a loss, but seeing as it wasnt my money actually invested in the company, I didnt think that was correct. Wanted to turn to reddit to see if theres anything obvious Im missing, otherwise Ill need to try to find a full-fledged tax adviser.  <response>: Have you already contacted the DOL to report the non-payment of wages? Have you already notified a lawyer of the same? If not, do so. If you have, then thats all you can do.As far as taxes are concerned: as far as the IRS is concerned, what you didnt get paid doesnt have to get reported as taxable income, so you dont have to pay taxes on it. 