About a decade ago, Harriet and Jeffrey Taniyama went in search of a financial planner “just to make sure we were headed in the right direction” with respect to retirement, Harriet Taniyama says. The one they found, a former FINRA-licensed advisor named Christopher Dougherty in San Diego, persuaded them that they not only had enough money to retire but also to invest in his own ventures, including an organic farm and a real estate business. To read the full article in Financial Planning, click: ‘We Were Just Conned,’ Client Says of Advisor’s Alleged $8M Ponzi Scheme.
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The Internal Revenue Service has highlighted 12 abusive tax schemes it wants taxpayers and tax practitioners to be on alert for this year. Phishing and scam phone calls are the biggest repeat offenders. To read the full article in the Journal of Accountancy, click: IRS’ “Dirty Dozen” Scams—2019 Edition.
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Elder financial fraud happens “at an alarming rate” and is often perpetrated by relatives, said Ted Sarenski, CPA, PFS. Protect against elder financial fraud by safeguarding assets, following scam alerts, and monitoring accounts. To read the full article in The Lifeline Blog, click: Don’t Get Ripped Off! What You Need to Know About Elder Financial Fraud.
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A financial planner who admitted to defrauding his client out of nearly $1 million through a signature-forging scheme received a prison sentence of four-and-a-half years. William P. Carlson Jr. pleaded guilty to mail fraud in the U.S. District Court in Chicago and agreed to pay restitution of $911,000 in connection with the five-year scam. To read the full article in FinancialPlanning, click: Advisor Gets Prison Time After Pleading Guilty to Bilking Client for $911K.
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An unfamiliar number, an unnatural pause after you say hello…another day, another irritating robocall. If it feels as if your cellphone has increasingly been flooded with them, you’re right. Christopher Mele explains. To read the full article in The New York Times, click: Robocalls Flooding Your Cellphone? Here’s How to Stop Them.
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As cybercriminals become more sophisticated and cast a wider net, tax practitioners should take a number of steps to protect themselves and their clients. Shannon Smith Retzke, Esq., explains that practitioners need to be careful about everything they do online as cybercriminals proliferate. To read the full article in The Tax Adviser, click: Phishing Scams Target Tax Professionals.