If Teresa Marty has ever prepared your taxes, I have some bad news for you. Marty, a Placerville, California based tax preparer, and her Advanced Financial Services business have been barred by a federal judge to act as a tax return preparer.
According United States Justice Department, Marty claimed more than $26 million in tax refunds for her customers. The problem is that the tax refunds were allegedly fraudulent. In fact, one single customer got a refund of about $2.7 million by fraudulent means.
It appears as if Marty’s fraud of choice was making up numbers to put on IRS 1099 forms. …read more

Riverwalk Condominiums, an Idaho condominium developer, has been sued by the Justice Department. The lawsuit accuses Riverwalk Condominiums for building condos that aren’t properly accessible by individuals with disabilities and thus violating the Fair Housing Act.
The condo complex in question is in the city of Post Falls and has 36 units. The Justice Department also says that this type of violation has become a pattern for Riverwalk Condominiums. Loretta King of the Justice Department points out that discrimination comes in many forms.
Said King: “Architectural barriers can be as big an obstacle to the housing rights of people with disabilities as …read more

Relief is on the way for the victims of Beazer Homes USA Inc.’s alleged mortgage fraud against those who had federally-insured mortgage loans for its homes. According to the Justice Department’s announcement today, Beazer will pay $53 million as part of the settlement, with $5 million going to the federal government and $48 million to victimized homeowners.
 
Atlanta-based Beazer made the settlement with North Carolina prosecutors so that it would not be held otherwise accountable for mortgage and accounting fraud, including the manipulation of company earnings. Prosecutors argued that Beazer made loans to buyers despite income requirements and then tried to …read more