Category Archives: Homestead Exemption Fraud

Today’s “Fraud of the Day” is based on an article entitled, “Mayor Wants to Expand Property-tax Effort,” written by Jamie Smith Hopkins and published by The Baltimore Sun on March 21, 2012.

The number of city workers charged with rooting out property tax fraud and errors would triple — from one employee to three — under Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake’s budget proposal for next fiscal year.

The “billing integrity” program, launched last spring, has focused on finding homestead property tax credits that go to owners who don’t live in the homes receiving the break, which violates the rules. The Finance Department wants extra staff to audit all tax credits and investigate the accuracy of property assessments.

Today’s “Fraud of the Day” is based on an article entitled, “County uses fraud solution to unearth $1.5 million,” written by Brian Heaton and published by GovTech.com on March 8, 2012.

A fraud solution that combines analytics technology and investigative research has helped Delaware County, Ind., uncover $1.5 million in lost property tax revenue.

Developed by LexisNexis and Tax Management Associates Inc. (TMA), the program pinpointed homeowners in the county who shouldn’t have claimed a homestead exemption benefit on their property taxes. Background data on the individuals in question was gathered by LexisNexis and reviewed by the county auditor’s office. A bill was then issued for the unpaid taxes along with a 10 percent penalty on the amount.

Today’s “Fraud of the Day” is based on an article entitled, “Baltimore asks state to strip tax credits from 2,157 homes,” by Jamie Smith Hopkins, published by The Baltimore Sun, October 13, 2011.

Baltimore, MD — Baltimore officials are asking the state to strip more than $1.3 million in property-tax credits they say were improperly granted to 2,157 homes, an early example of what city officials vow will be a continuing battle against tax-credit scofflaws.

The city’s finance department also intends to collect up to seven years of back taxes, penalties and interest from the property owners unless they can prove they lived in the homes during those tax years. The city says those owners don’t occupy the homes, as the tax break requires. The properties are a mix of rental, empty and boarded-up homes.