How to Protect Yourself from Cyber Crime

Be wary of unsolicited emails and calls asking for personal information. Never share personal information, such as your Social Security number, in response to an unsolicited email or telephone call. If the email or call claims to be from a company with which you do business, call it first to confirm the contact is legitimate.

Secure your mobile devices. Apply software updates that patch known vulnerabilities as soon as they become available. Use security features built into your device such as a passcode, and use programs that encrypt data and remotely wipe contents if the device is lost or stolen.

Be careful with Wi-Fi hotspots. Public wireless hotspots are not secure, which means that anyone could potentially see what you are doing on your mobile device while you are connected. Limit what you do on public Wi-Fi and avoid logging into sensitive accounts.

Know your apps. Be sure to thoroughly review the details and specifications of an app before you download it. Review and understand the privacy policy of each mobile app. Be aware that the app may request access to your location and personal information.

Be cautious about the information you share on social media. Avoid posting your birthdate, telephone number, home address, or images that identify your job or hobbies. This information may often reveal answers to security questions used to reset passwords, making you a possible target of scammers looking to access your accounts and secured information.

Use strong passwords. Create unique passwords for all your accounts. Use 10 to 12 characters in a combination of letters (upper and lower case), numbers and symbols. Individuals should regularly change their passwords as well.

Change your security questions. Don't use the same security questions on multiple accounts. Be careful to select security questions for which only you know the answer. Make sure the answers cannot be guessed or found by searching social media or the internet.

Turn on two-step verification to access accounts. To enhance the security of your account, require your password and an extra security code to verify your identity whenever you sign-in to your accounts, where available.

Beware of phishing. Do not click on links, download files or open attachments in emails from unknown senders. It is best to open attachments only when you are expecting them and know what they contain, even if you know the sender. And be wary of calls or texts asking for your personal information.

Use automatic updates and back-up data. Make sure automatic updates are turned on for your software and that you back up all information.

Monitor your financial accounts. Review your bank, credit card, and account billing statements carefully to check for suspicious activity. Report any suspicious charges immediately to the responsible financial institution.

Check your credit report regularly. If you identify inaccurate, suspicious or unusual activity on your consumer credit report notify the consumer credit reporting agency and the affected financial entity immediately.

Consider placing a security freeze on your credit. New Yorkers can "freeze" their credit to prevent prospective creditors from accessing their credit file and opening accounts in their names. You can do so by contacting:

•                                      Experian: 1-888-397-3742

•                                      TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289

•                                      Equifax: 1-800-525-6285

Keep records. Keep all notes and records about the security breach in the event fraudulent activity arises later.

Free Consultation We Solve Tax and Insurance Problems. To speak with an experienced Federal Tax Practitioner and Attorney call (212) 974-3435 or contact us online. Don't delay another day. Meet with us personally in our conveniently located New York City office. 

Restaurants We specialize in unpaid sales taxes, installment agreements, audit representation and all Department of Labor issues. *Ask us about Debt Restructuring, including settling judgments, renegotiating bank loans and merchant cash advances ("MCA"). For immediate assistance call (212) 974-3435 or contact us online. 

Contractors We specialize in payroll and withholding taxes, installment agreements, audit representation and Workers Compensation insurance audits. To schedule a free consultation call (212) 974-3435 or contact us online. 

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New York Tax Return Preparer Guilty of Tax Crimes & Stolen Identity Refund Fraud Scheme! Were You a Victim of Afolabi Ajelero, Hakeem Bamgbala, Michael Campbell & Mo-Betta Ventures?

 GUILTY AS CHARGED A Springfield Gardens, New York, resident was convicted yesterday by a federal jury for conspiring to commit aggravated identity theft and for two counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division.

GUILTY AS SIN According to the evidence presented at trial, Afolabi Ajelero, the owner of Mo-Betta Ventures Inc., a tax preparation business located in Springfield Gardens, New York, conspired with others to possess and use without lawful authority one or more means of identification of another person. He also filed false corporate income tax returns for the 2014 and 2015 tax years for his business.

 GUILTY AS CHARGED Ajelero was acquitted of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft counts.

Ajelero faces a maximum sentence of five years for the conspiracy conviction and a maximum sentence of three years in prison for each count of aiding or assisting in the preparation of false returns. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, forfeiture and monetary penalties.

GUILTY AS SIN On Feb. 15, 2019, co-defendant Hakeem Bamgbala pleaded guilty to 18 counts of wire fraud, 22 counts of aggravated identity theft, one count of conspiring to commit aggravated identity theft, and one count of aiding and assisting the filing of a false tax return. On July 31, 2018, co-defendant Michael Campbell pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft. A sentencing date has not been set for Bamgbala and Campbell.

Free Consultation We Solve Tax and Insurance Problems. To speak with an experienced Federal Tax Practitioner and Attorney call (212) 974-3435 or contact us online. Don't delay another day. Meet with us personally in our conveniently located New York City office. 

Restaurants We specialize in unpaid sales taxes, installment agreements, audit representation and all Department of Labor issues. *Ask us about Debt Restructuring, including settling judgments, renegotiating bank loans and merchant cash advances ("MCA"). For immediate assistance call (212) 974-3435 or contact us online. 

Contractors We specialize in payroll and withholding taxes, installment agreements, audit representation and Workers Compensation insurance audits. To schedule a free consultation call (212) 974-3435 or contact us online. 

Businesses We settle and restructure business debts, including MCA's, judgments and most insurance claims. To meet with us personally call (212) 974-3435 or contact us online. 

IRS Wins PTIN Case, another great article by the Learned Tax Attorney Roger Russell

The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has given the IRS a victory in its quest to charge fees for issuing and renewing Preparer Tax Identification Numbers. The IRS was authorized by Congress in 1976 to require a tax preparer to list an identifying number on any returns they prepared, and specified that the number would be the preparer’s Social Security number. Although PTINs as a substitute for the preparer’s Social Security number have been around since 1999, they weren’t required to be used until 2010. That’s when the IRS began charging for them. And although the service’s attempt to regulate preparers was nullified by the D.C. Circuit Court in 2014, the court left intact the IRS’s ability to require and charge for PTINs.  A group of tax return preparers filed a class action lawsuit challenging the PTIN fee, Brittany Montrois, Class of More Than 700,000 Similarly Situated Individuals And Businesses, Et. Al., v. U.S.The IRS lost in the district court, which found the agency lacks statutory authority to charge the fee. On appeal, the circuit court reversed in favor of the IRS, concluding that it acted within its authority under the Independent Offices Appropriations Act in charging the fee. It further concluded that the IRS’s decision to charge the fee was not arbitrary and capricious. However, the circuit court remanded the case to the district court for further proceedings, “including an assessment of whether the amount of the PTIN fee unreasonably exceeds the costs to the IRS to issue and maintain PTINs.” The decision means that preparers won’t be getting any refunds of the fees they paid for PTINs, as the lower court ordered, since the circuit court vacated that part of the district court’s judgment.

Free Consultation We Solve Tax and Insurance Problems. To speak with an experienced Federal Tax Practitioner and Attorney call (212) 974-3435 or contact us online. Don't delay another day. Meet with us personally in our conveniently located New York City office. 

Restaurants We specialize in unpaid sales taxes, installment agreements, audit representation and all Department of Labor issues. *Ask us about Debt Restructuring, including settling judgments, renegotiating bank loans and merchant cash advances ("MCA"). For immediate assistance call (212) 974-3435 or contact us online. 

Contractors We specialize in payroll and withholding taxes, installment agreements, audit representation and Workers Compensation insurance audits. To schedule a free consultation call (212) 974-3435 or contact us online. 

Businesses We settle and restructure business debts, including MCA's, judgments and most insurance claims. To meet with us personally call (212) 974-3435 or contact us online. 

 Count On Us. Guaranteed. 

✔    Same day and emergency appointments available.

✔    We negotiate excellent re-payment plans with IRS and State.

✔    Missing tax returns prepared and filed in 48 hours, guaranteed. 

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TAX CHEATS BEWARE! New York District Attorneys Awarded Grant Funding Through the State's "Crimes Against Revenue Program"

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that more than $13.5 million in grants have been awarded to 29 district attorneys' offices statewide to continue the enhancement of their investigation of state tax evasion and welfare fraud cases. The grants are made available through the state's Crimes Against Revenue Program, which is supported by proceeds from investigations and subsequent prosecutions that result in tax revenues, fines and restitution being paid to the state.

"New York State has zero tolerance for theft of any kind from hardworking men and women and we will continue to do everything in our power to crack down on those who cheat the system," Governor Cuomo said. "This funding will assist prosecutors across the state protect New Yorkers and hold responsible individuals accountable."

CARP, a joint initiative of the State Department of Taxation and Finance and the Division of Criminal Justice Services, targets individuals who deliberately fail to pay tax obligations, as well as those who commit Medicaid, welfare, unemployment and workers' compensation fraud. The Department of Tax and Finance serves as the program expert by providing technical assistance and helping to identify cases for investigation while the Division of Criminal Justice Services administers the grant funding.

The grants fund personnel, including forensic accountants, investigators and assistant district attorneys, who work to build cases for prosecution. CARP investigations focus on the failure to pay any type of taxes, such as excise, sales, and income, by individuals, corporations or industries which can include complex financial fraud and tax evasion schemes orchestrated by major criminal enterprises.

Free Consultation We Solve Tax and Insurance Problems. To speak with an experienced Federal Tax Practitioner and Attorney call (212) 974-3435 or contact us online. Don't delay another day. Meet with us personally in our conveniently located New York City office. 

Restaurants We specialize in unpaid sales taxes, installment agreements, audit representation and all Department of Labor issues. *Ask us about Debt Restructuring, including settling judgments, renegotiating bank loans and merchant cash advances ("MCA"). For immediate assistance call (212) 974-3435 or contact us online. 

Contractors We specialize in payroll and withholding taxes, installment agreements, audit representation and Workers Compensation insurance audits. To schedule a free consultation call (212) 974-3435 or contact us online. 

Businesses We settle and restructure business debts, including MCA's, judgments and most insurance claims. To meet with us personally call (212) 974-3435 or contact us online. 

 Count On Us. Guaranteed. 

✔    Same day and emergency appointments available.

✔    We negotiate excellent re-payment plans with IRS and State.

✔    Missing tax returns prepared and filed in 48 hours, guaranteed. 

Shapely Woman Sentenced to 46 Months in Prison for Stealing Over $700,000 From Her Employer and Failing to Report Stolen Income on Her 1040 Income Tax Returns

On March 1^st 2019 a woman was sentenced to prison for embezzling from her employer and filing false tax returns, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Louis V. Franklin, Sr. 

According to court documents, from February 2007 through May 2014, Alita Baker Edeker,  embezzled $700,000 of her employer’s funds by diverting payments from clients of the company to debit and credit cards she controlled. Edeker made false entries in the company’s books and records in order to conceal her embezzlement. After embezzling the funds, Edeker willfully filed false tax returns for tax years 2011, 2012, and 2013 that did not report the money.

In addition to the term of imprisonment imposed, Edeker was ordered to serve three years of supervised release and to pay restitution in the amounts of $819,497.29 to her employer and $101,604 to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and United States Attorney Franklin commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, and the Police Department, who investigated the case, and Assistant United States Attorney Ben Baxley and Trial Attorney Grace Albinson of the Tax Division, who prosecuted the case.

Free Consultation We Solve Tax, Business and Insurance Problems. To speak with an experienced Federal Tax Practitioner and Attorney call (212) 974-3435 or contact us online. Don't delay another day. Meet with us personally in our conveniently located New York City office. 

Restaurants We specialize in unpaid sales taxes, installment agreements, audit representation and all Department of Labor issues. For immediate assistance call (212) 974-3435 or contact us online. 

Contractors We specialize in payroll and withholding taxes, installment agreements, audit representation and Workers Compensation insurance audits. To schedule a free consultation call (212) 974-3435 or contact us online. 

Businesses We settle and restructure business debts, including merchant cash advances ("MCA")  judgments and most insurance claims. To meet with us personally call (212) 974-3435 or contact us online. 

 Count On Us. Guaranteed. 

✔    Same day and emergency appointments available.

✔    We negotiate excellent re-payment plans with IRS and State.

✔    Missing tax returns prepared and filed in 48 hours, guaranteed. 

Property Owners 65 & Older Must Enroll in the NY Income Verification Program by March 1 2019 or . . .

The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance today reminded property owners age 65 and over that March 1 is the deadline, in most communities, to apply or reapply to receive the Enhanced STAR exemption in 2019.

A change in 2019 requires Enhanced STAR recipients to enroll in the Income Verification Program (IVP). Those already enrolled in the IVP don’t need to take any action to continue receiving their Enhanced STAR exemption.

IVP program information is now also available in Spanish, Russian, Chinese, and other languages and can be accessed under the Resources heading on the Enhanced STAR Income Verification (IVP) webpage.

In the first year of enrollment, the assessor will verify eligibility based on the income information provided by the homeowner. In subsequent years, the New York State Tax Department will automatically verify income eligibility. As a result, homeowners will no longer need to renew the exemption or share income tax returns with their local assessor’s office.

This change applies only to seniors 65 or older applying for the Enhanced STAR exemption, or those who have the exemption included in their property tax bills. This doesn’t affect those who receive a STAR check for this benefit because the Tax Department already verifies their income eligibility.

“Of the 650,000 seniors receiving the Enhanced STAR exemption, roughly 75% of them are already enrolled in the IVP,” said Acting Commissioner Nonie Manion. “Once enrolled, property owners will automatically receive their exemption as long as they’re eligible and won’t have to reapply with their assessor.”

Next steps

If you already receive the Enhanced STAR exemption but aren’t yet enrolled in the IVP, you must renew your Enhanced STAR exemption and enroll in the IVP. Submit the following forms to your assessor:

• Form RP-425-Rnw, Renewal Application for Enhanced STAR Exemption for the 2019-2020 School Year; and
• Form RP-425-IVP, Supplement for Forms RP-425-E and RP-425-Rnw.

If you receive the Basic STAR exemption now and are eligible for Enhanced STAR in 2019, you must apply for it and enroll in the IVP. Submit the following forms to your assessor:

• Form RP-425-E, Application for Enhanced STAR Exemption for the 2019-2020 School Year; and
• Form RP-425-IVP, Supplement to Forms RP-425-E and RP-425-Rnw.

If you’re a new homeowner or first-time STAR applicant, you need to register for the STAR credit with the Tax Department instead of applying for the exemption. Visit Register for the STAR credit.

Required information

Be sure to complete all forms entirely, including the Social Security numbers of all property owners and any owner’s spouse who resides at the property. You must also provide proof of income.

Deadlines

As mentioned, the deadline for applications is March 1 in most communities, but some communities have a different deadline. Contact your assessor for the deadline in your area.

Senior citizens exemption

If you’re also receiving the senior citizens exemption, you’ll still need to annually renew that benefit with your assessor. To renew your application, file Form RP-467-Rnw with your assessor.

In the past, seniors who qualified for the senior citizens exemption were automatically granted the Enhanced STAR exemption. Beginning in 2019, you must apply separately for both exemptions. Follow the instructions above to apply or renew the Enhanced STAR exemption.

To apply or renew the senior citizens exemption, file the appropriate form with your assessor:

• first-time applicants must file Form RP-467, Application for Partial Tax Exemption for Real Property of Senior Citizens
• renewal applicants must file Form RP-467-Rnw, Renewal Application for Partial Tax Exemption for Real Property of Senior Citizens

For more information

2019 Changes to Exemptions for Property Owners Age 65 and Over

Enhanced STAR Income Verification Program (IVP)

Senior citizens exemption

Free Consultation We Solve Tax, Business and Insurance Problems. To speak with an experienced Federal Tax Practitioner and Attorney call (212) 974-3435 or contact us online. Don't delay another day. Meet with us personally in our conveniently located New York City office. 

Restaurants We specialize in unpaid sales taxes, installment agreements, audit representation and all Department of Labor issues. For immediate assistance call (212) 974-3435 or contact us online. 

Contractors We specialize in payroll and withholding taxes, installment agreements, audit representation and Workers Compensation insurance audits. To schedule a free consultation call (212) 974-3435 or contact us online. 

Businesses We settle and restructure business debts, including merchant cash advances ("MCA")  judgments and most insurance claims. To meet with us personally call (212) 974-3435 or contact us online. 

 Count On Us. Guaranteed. 

✔    Same day and emergency appointments available.

✔    We negotiate excellent re-payment plans with IRS and State.

✔    Missing tax returns prepared and filed in 48 hours, guaranteed. 

Tax Preparer Indicted for Preparing False Tax Returns and Identity Theft

A Gaithersburg, Maryland, woman had her initial appearance today on an indictment charging her with ten counts of aiding or assisting in the preparation of false or fraudulent tax returns, one count of mail fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur of the District of Maryland. 

“The Department of Justice will prosecute fraudulent tax return preparers and protect honest taxpayers whose identities are ensnared in tax return schemes,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman.

“While most tax return preparers provide excellent service to their clients, unscrupulous return preparers give the industry a black eye. IRS-CI works year round to investigate deceitful return preparers and to protect the American taxpayers’ money and personal identification information,” said Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office.

According to the indictment, Maria Espinal owned and operated a tax return preparation business located in Gaithersburg, Maryland.  From at least 2012 through 2016, Espinal allegedly prepared and filed fraudulent tax returns on behalf of her taxpayer-clients with both the IRS and the Comptroller of Maryland.  To generate a refund to which the client was not entitled, Espinal is alleged to have manipulated and altered Forms W-2 in the names of third parties, without their permission or authority, by replacing the listed employee’s name with Espinal’s client’s name. She would then report the third party’s wages and withholdings as those of her own clients in order to generate a fraudulent federal and state tax refund.

If convicted, Espinal faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison for each count of aiding and assisting in the filing of false returns, 20 years in prison on each count of mail fraud, and a statutory minimum sentence of two years in prison for aggravated identity theft.  Espinal also faces potential fines, restitution, and forfeiture. 

An indictment is not a finding of guilt. Individuals charged in indictments are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Hur thanked Trial Attorney Carl F. Brooker, IV of the Tax Division and Assistant United States Attorney Ray McKenzie, who are prosecuting the case.

Free Consultation We Solve Tax, Business and Insurance Problems. To speak with an experienced Federal Tax Practitioner and Attorney call (212) 974-3435 or contact us online. Don't delay another day. Meet with us personally in our conveniently located New York City office. 

Restaurants We specialize in unpaid sales taxes, installment agreements, audit representation and all Department of Labor issues. For immediate assistance call (212) 974-3435 or contact us online. 

Contractors We specialize in payroll and withholding taxes, installment agreements, audit representation and Workers Compensation insurance audits. To schedule a free consultation call (212) 974-3435 or contact us online.