Accountants and tax lawyers are seeing a rise in IRS audits directed at companies using captive insurance arrangements. While big businesses have long used captives as a way of managing risk, IRS efforts appear to be directed at smaller companies that rely on section 831(b) of the tax code. (In July we reported on the […]
FBI, SEC Lose Focus on Recovering Assets for Fraud Victims
by Brian Mahany “With the FBI focusing its efforts on gathering intelligence and information, and the Securities and Exchange Commission dogged by accusations of failing to go after the pocketbooks of the largest Wall Street offenders, it may be time for the private sector to pick up the sword in the fight to recover assets […]
Woman in Her 80's Wins $880,000 from Merrill Lynch
by Brian Mahany Everyone loves a good David versus Goliath story, especially where the winner is a woman in her 80’s and the villain is a Wall Street giant. Harriet Baker and her son won $880,000 against Merrill Lynch for mismanaging her brokerage account. The sad news is that she died the day the award […]
When Auditors Lie
by Brian Mahany In recent months we have run several stories about the sloppy auditing practices of several accounting firms. From David Friehling, the solo practitioner who served as Bernie Madoff’s auditor, to Arthur Andersen LLP, once one of the “big 5” accounting firms and auditors of Enron, sloppy auditing is nothing new. Investors and […]