Author Archives: Russ

Old Fashioned Theft Leads to New Fashioned Identity Theft

Posted on January 22, 2015 by Russ

A case out of my old home town of Visalia, California lets us know that sometimes there’s just not much you can do to prevent yourself from being a victim of identity theft. Back in 2011 Rebekah Root either stole … Continue reading →

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Fail, Caesar!

Posted on January 19, 2015 by Russ

Last week Caesars Entertainment Operating Company (CEOC) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Chicago. One week ago, second-tier bondholders filed an involuntary bankruptcy petition in Delaware. A company can only be in one bankruptcy court, so there’s an obvious issue: … Continue reading →

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Former Mayor (and Current CPA) Learns of Tax Fraud, Joins the Conspiracy

Posted on January 16, 2015 by Russ

This is for the don’t do this at home file for tax professionals. Kenneth Harycki is the former mayor of Stillwater, Minnesota. He’s also a licensed CPA in Minnesota (but probably not for much longer). Mr. Harycki will provide an … Continue reading →

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Semenza Gets 18 Months

Posted on January 16, 2015 by Russ

Last year I wrote about Lawrence Semenza. Mr. Semenza with the US Attorney for Nevada back in the 1970s. He was the youngest US Attorney at that time and has had a long and successful career since as a defense … Continue reading →

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If You Do Government Work, It Pays to Treat the Government Well

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Russ

Your salary is taxable, of course. What about your bonus? Of course, that’s taxable. One business owner in Texas thought that wasn’t the case. Robert Earl Carter is the owner and Chief Executive Officer of Enterprise Advisory Services Inc. From … Continue reading →

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Waiting for Godot

Posted on January 14, 2015 by Russ

Yesterday, I called the IRS on behalf of a client. The client’s 2013 tax return was not processed correctly, so we had to file an amended return. The client received a CP503 notice demanding payment; however, we believe that she … Continue reading →

Posted in IRS | Tagged | 2 Comments

The Second Time Wasn’t the Charm

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Russ

There’s a cliche I like, “If you don’t succeed, try, try again.” In the Bozo world things work a bit differently; for them it should be, “If you don’t succeed, stop!” Today, the Tax Court looked at Joseph Banister, an … Continue reading →

Posted in Tax Court | 1 Comment

FTC Sponsors Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week

Posted on January 10, 2015 by Russ

Coincidentally (see the previous post), yesterday I received an email from Lisa Lake, Director of Consumer & Business Education of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). She was highlighting the FTC’s Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week. Happily, this is not a … Continue reading →

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Tax Fraud on the Wholesale

Posted on January 10, 2015 by Russ

Out of New York City comes allegations of wholesale tax fraud. Seven individuals were arrested on Thursday and charged with conspiracy to defraud the US, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft. Some of the defendants were charged … Continue reading →

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Tuition for Children Is Not a Business Expense

Posted on January 9, 2015 by Russ

But we already knew that, right? Nor are home improvements are your home itself. A Florida doctor learned that the hard way. Dr. Krishna Tripuraneni pleaded guilty this week to evading tax on $18,128,066 million of income. Dr. Tripuraneni provided … Continue reading →

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