I was thinking the other day about how the tax relief industry has really grown and changed in the past 5 years. With a dramatic increase in IRS enforcement, so many companies have entered the scene to offer help to the millions of taxpayers in trouble with the IRS. With claims that that they can help settle your tax debt for a fraction of what you owe, many of these
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Michael W. Slayton, 49, of Tecumseh, Kan., was sentenced to one year in prison.  The former director of operations of Designs 4 Life, a nonprofit created to assist families requiring in-home care, pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion.
From 1999 to 2004, he embezzled $238,097 from Designs 4 Life. He wrote 138 checks to himself and fraudulently avoided paying a total of $44,478 in taxes.
Tax Fraud is not good
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California woman Marjan Pousti pleaded guilty to attempted tax evasion for the 2005 tax year. Pousti and her husband operated a cosmetic surgery business in San Diego County. Pousti was in charge of handling the books for the business. According to court records, Pousti concealed from the IRS, cash income that her family received from the business.  She used the cash payments to purchase money orders to pay bills, including
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My recent appearance on the WealthTV’s The Big Bizz Show had Russ, Sully and I realizing that IRS scams not only can catch you, but the experts too. As a Tax expert I have been dealing with the IRS and taxes for 11 years but even I am not immune to the IRS scams out there. Just the other day I received an email, complete with IRS logo saying if you click here we have $83 that
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Furqan Mian Mehmood, 39, of Boise, Idaho failed to report income from two corporations on his tax returns.According to the indictment, Mehmood is a native of Pakistan who worked as a real estate broker and agent in Boise and formed two corporations through which he conducted his real estate transactionsToo bad he didn’t think “I need tax help”, because then maybe he would have not been charged with two counts
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Question: Why do some people qualify for the Offer in Compromise and others do not? If you don’t qualify, what options do you have?
Answer:  The Offer in Compromise is a unique program. To understand why the IRS uses it, I think it’s beneficial to understand the history.
For years, IRS agents found that chasing deadbeat taxpayers offered only limited success. The cat-and-mouse chase ultimately was costly to taxpayers, what with the
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Every month I choose a very special Tax Client Of The Month.  It’s my way of acknowledging good friends and saying “thanks” to those who support me and my business with referrals, word of mouth and repeat business.
This month’s Client Of The Month is Mr. Robert B.
Imagine owing the IRS over $120,000. That’s what Robert’s IRS debt was when he enlisted our help. Our team of tax experts resulted in
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Some people are forced to do the unthinkable, for instance, Paul Hansen, 57, of Apple Valley, Calif. shot his son in an attempt to develop a “duress” defense after IRS investigators uncovered a tax fraud scheme.
Hansen had a guilty conscience because he filed false claims with the IRS that totaled approximately $629,000 in just seven months in 2002. Additionally, Hansen admitted to engaging in a second scheme in 2005 in
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I’m heading off to Las Vegas with 10 of my TRS folks to attend the ASTPS Advanced Tax Resolution Seminar. Hosted by the American Society of Tax Problem Solvers, this Boot Camp for IRS Problem Solvers features informative and invaluable workshops geared towards tax attorneys, CPAs and EAs.
We attended a great ASTPS tax problem solvers event in August, and I am looking forward to this 3-day seminar, which will
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Dominic Chang, 61, a California auto-repair shop owner was sentenced to four years of probation and ordered to pay $163,498 in restitution for tax evasion.
In pleading guilty, Chang admitted that he owned and operated Dominic’s Auto Service, in Milpitas, Calif., during 1999, 2000 and 2001. Chang filed individual income tax returns reporting taxable income of zero for the calendar years 1999, 2000 and 2001 but knew that his taxable income�
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As it’s the first day of Fall, I’d like to take this time to remind everyone that it’s never to early to start preparing your 2008 taxes. So I’m sharing some essential tax advice that can help you avoid common filing problems, as well as some easy tips for avoiding stress during your tax preparation, plus insider insight for saving time and money when dealing with IRS.
1. Be Careful and
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A Los Angeles man who made donations to several charitable organizations associated with a New York-based orthodox Jewish group — donations that were in fact refunded in many cases — has agreed to plead guilty to federal tax evasion charges.
In the plea agreement, Uri Mandelbaum, 70, also agreed to pay back taxes totaling more than $1.5 million.
The plea agreement with Mandelbaum is the first one involving a “donor” to charitable
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Russ and Sulley had lots of great tax relief questions for me when I appeared on their Big Biz TV show last week. One of them had to do with whether enlisting former IRS help to get out of tax debt is a good idea or not.
And actually, getting former IRS agents to help you with your tax problems is not something I recommend.
Some tax relief firms pride themselves by
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When I appeared on the Wealth TV’s The Big Biz Show recently, I was asked to share a story about one of the biggest IRS problems we’ve helped resolve. I like sharing stories from our client files, not just to brag about TRS’s high tax help success rate, but more because it helps reinforce my message to people who are in trouble or behind in their taxes: There’s a solution
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Nicolas Cage just won a deal with the Internal Revenue Service to pay $666,000 plus interest for improperly deducting $3.3 million in personal expenses from 2002 to 2004. Earlier this year, Cage contested a personal IRS bill for $814,000 in taxes, interest and penalties, while his Saturn Productions of Los Angeles company was stuck with a bill for $988,000.
While Cage’s settlement includes $99,000 for an accuracy related penalty, no penalties
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