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 […]
Feds Charge 89 With Medicare Fraud – Whistleblowers Rejoice
Earlier this month, federal officials arrested 89 people in Miami, Detroit, Tampa, Houston, New York and Los Angeles and charged them with health care fraud. The action was a coordinated effort involving the FBI, Postal Inspectors, IRS, Department of Health and Human Services and local officials. Historically, many of these cases come to light because of […]
Success Trades Securities In Trouble? FINRA Says Yes (stockbroker fraud post)
by Brian Mahany Success Trades Securities has a great name. They also have the financial backing of many NFL and NBA players. Regulators say that some of these players invested in the company in exchange for a promised rate of return between 12 and 26%. Banking news source bank rate.com says the average interest rate […]
Victim Assaults Ponzi Scheme Promoter
by Brian Mahany Losing one’s life savings to a Ponzi scheme promoter would be devastating to anyone. We often see courtroom footage of victim’s families attacking defendants at sentencing hearings when emotions are the highest. Usually these assaults occur in connection with a homicide or sex crime. In Longwood, Florida it was the victim of […]
Whose Responsible For The Housing Market Meltdown? FDIC Settles With IndyMac CEO
by Brian Mahany There is plenty of blame for the housing market meltdown. Ask anyone on Main Street, America and most will quickly (and correctly) point the finger at the Wall Street and the big banks. Those folks, however, will likely deny everything. Last week the FDIC was successfully able to hold one big bank […]
The Forgotten Investor (Protecting Investors From Fraud)
by Brian Mahany The headline in today’s Wall Street Journal reads “Insider – Trading Probe Widens.” Further down on the front page in smaller type is an article titled, “For Many Financial Advisers, Stocks Become A Hard Sell.” Is it any wonder why? While the Dow Jones Industrial Average is sitting at 13,200 this morning, […]
Isn't She The Tax Cheating Judge?
by Brian Mahany A report today from the Detroit News indicates that Justice Department officials have charged Michigan Supreme Court Justice Diane Hathaway with bank fraud. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Detroit claims that Justice Hathaway and her husband hid assets in order to get ING to accept a short sale on their home. According […]
Former Bank of America Executive Indicted For Fraud
by Brian Mahany Anyone reading this blog knows our opinion on big banks. Chase, Wells Fargo, BONY and especially Bank of America have become “to big to care” in our opinion. Treasury officials may say they are to big to fail but we think that they have outlived their usefulness. Although these banks still do […]
As The World Churns – FINRA Socks Stockbroker For $1.9 Million
by Brian Mahany Churning is a bad word in the securities industry. It happens when a stockbroker engages in excessive buying and selling of securities in a customer’s account. The motive is almost always high commissions. Each transaction generates a commission – the more turnover in an account the more the broker makes. (Investment advisers […]
Another Black Eye For KPMG And The Audit World
by Brian Mahany Japan’s Financial Services Agency ordered KPMG affiliate KPMG Azsa to dramatically improve the quality of their audits. The Japanese regulator had similar words for Ernst & Young ShinNihon as well. This action comes on the heels of one of the worst accounting scandals in Japanese history, last year’s revelation that Olympus, a […]