IRS pays billions in refunds to identity thieves

-

The IRS has been doling out billions of dollars in fraudulent tax refunds to identity thieves, according to a report released Thursday.

The agency failed to prevent 1.5 million potentially fraudulent tax returns from being processed last year -- resulting in refunds totaling more than $5.2 billion, according to an audit conducted by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

While the IRS successfully detected 938,664 identity-theft related tax returns and blocked $6.5 billion in fraudulent refunds from being issued last year, the inspector general said it is "extremely troubling" that so many others slipped through the cracks.

The government watchdog estimates that the IRS could issue $21 billion in fraudulent tax refunds as a result of identity theft over the next five years.

Identity thieves often use the same address to file hundreds -- and even thousands -- of potentially fraudulent returns, the audit found. The same address in Lansing, Mich., for example, was used on 2,137 tax returns, resulting in more than $3 million in potentially fraudulent refunds, according to the report.

In fact, just five addresses were used to file nearly 5,000 returns -- resulting in a total of $8.1 million in potentially fraudulent refunds.

Tampa was identified as the city with the most tax-related identity theft, with more than $468 million in potentially fraudulent refunds. Roughly $130 million of that amount was uncovered in an identity-theft related tax refund scheme that the Tampa Police Department and federal authorities said involved criminals stealing the identities of the deceased and those who receive public assistance.

Read More: CNN


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Huge Japan Quake Cracked Open Seafloor

-
The March 2011 megaquake off the coast of Japan opened up fissures as wide as 6 feet (3 meters) in the seafloor, a new study finds. The fissures now scar the seafloor where peaceful clam beds once lay, according to Takeshi Tsuji, a researcher at Kyoto University in Japan . Along with seismic studies, the fissures, revealed by manned submersible vehicles that investigated the seafloor after the quake, show how the crust around the quake's epicenter expanded and cracked.
Read more

Index for a million documents on Polish Jewry to go online

-
Researchers of Polish Jewry are set to gain online access to more than 1 million new documents following an agreement signed by the Polish State Archives. Under the agreement signed last week, Jewish Records Indexing-Poland will receive indices to the documents from the Polish archives authority and place them on the website of the online database within one year, a JRI-Poland statement read.
Read more

A lot of the bread in the US will no longer be kosher

-
The largest baking company in the United States will be removing kosher certification from nearly all of its bread and rolls. Bimbo Bakeries USA confirmed to JTA that it will be removing the certification. The company produces brands including Arnold, Sara Lee, Stroehmann, Freihofer’s and others. Two of its major brands, Entenmann’s and Thomas, will remain certified kosher. So, kosher eaters, your crumb doughnuts and English muffins are still safe. A couple of rye breads also will retain their certifications. “Removing the kosher certification from some of our products was strictly a business-process decision to enable more efficient operations, and it was one we did not make lightly,” Bimbo said in a statement. “Thomas’ and Entenmann’s products as well as Arnold’s and Levy’s Rye Breads will remain kosher-certified. It is important to note that we have heard our consumers’ concerns and are working with kosher certification organizations and discussing alternative solutions.” The c
Read more