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ALERT:

Representative Michael Grimm joins Co-sponorship of H.R. 1635 – Ponzi Scheme Victims’ Tax Relief Act of 2011.
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Madoff victims hope state drops refund opposition

Attorneys for victims of Bernie Madoff’s multi-billion-dollar ponzi scheme hope New Jersey will stop opposing requests for refunds of taxes paid on earnings and assets that turned out to be fictitious, after the state lost two key tax court cases. If the state does back down, attorneys say, there could be a surge in tax appeals from victims who didn’t file in the past because the Division of Treasury announced that it wouldn’t pay refunds. Attorneys said the cases – one involving a refund of death taxes and the other income taxes – were the first Madoff tax cases in New Jersey to be resolved in the courts. Leland Moore, a spokesman for the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, said six other Madoff-related tax cases are pending. More on NewJersey.com [...]

Judge Orders Refund to Estate That Paid Tax Before Madoff Con Was Revealed

When New Jersey resident Theodore Warshaw died in 2006, his estate was valued at more than $1.8 million. Because in New Jersey any amounts in an estate above $675,000 are subject to estate tax, Mr. Warshaw’s executors paid $88,677 to the state. The bulk of Mr. Warshaw’s assets were held in an IRA, and when he died the IRA went to a trust to benefit his widow. The IRA assets were allegedly being invested in stocks, bonds and other financial instruments by Bernard L. Madoff Securities, LLC. Mr. Madoff’s company reported that at the time of Mr. Warshaw’s death the value of the IRA was more than $1.4 million. In December 2008, Mr. Madoff was arrested and it was revealed that Mr. Warshaw was among the victims of the largest Ponzi scheme in U.S. history. The money in Mr. Warshaw’s IRA was not being invested but instead had been used to pay other “investors.” The IRA’s value was not $1.4 million but $0. More in Elder Law Answers [...]

Sen. Anderson’s tax relief bill for Madoff fraud victims defeated in committee

Senate Bill 157, a measure by Senator Joel Anderson (R – Alpine) to provide tax relief to victims of the Bernie Madoff fraudulent pyramid investment scheme, was defeated by the Senate Governance and Finance Committee. According to a press release sent out by Sen. Anderson’s office, essentially, victims of Madoff Fraud will be re-victimized by the California State Senate. Read more in the Valley News [...]

Madoff Investors Receive New Jersey Tax Refunds

As Madoff investors go John and Cathy Dalton might count themselves lucky. They invested $655,500 in 2000 and $40,000 in January 2003. Between 2002 and 2008 they made 47 withdrawals totalling $572,900. In May 2009 they received $122,600 funded by the SIPC. Being even in the last decade was actually pretty good performance. Still there were tax issues. Every year they received detailed statements showing the gains and loss and interest and dividends from the fictitious investments that Mr. Madoff was pretending to make for them. They dutifully reported these amounts on their federal and state tax returns and paid the appropriate taxes. Read Forbes report [...]

Madoff trustee settlement to recover $326 million from IRS

The trustee seeking money for victims of imprisoned swindler Bernard Madoff has reached an agreement with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to recover $326 million that was earlier transferred to the agency by Madoff’s firm purportedly on behalf of foreign account holders, court documents showed. Read more on Reuters [...]

NJ Ordered To Refund Taxes Paid by Madoff Victims on ‘Phantom Income’

Investors in Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme are entitled to refunds on state taxes paid for gains that never existed, a New Jersey Tax Court judge held in an opinion released Tuesday. Judge Gail Menyuk overturned a decision by state tax authorities to deny a refund to John and Cathy Dalton, a Middletown couple who invested nearly $700,000 with Madoff. Read more on Law.com [...]

H.R. 1635 - Co-sponsore alert:

Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-WI-4) and Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA-29) signs onto H.R. 1635: Ponzi Scheme Victims’ Tax Relief Act of [...]

H.R. 1987 – New Co-sponsor

Representative Adam Schiff [D-CA29] has joined the list of cosponsors for H.R. 1987: Ponzi Scheme Investor Protection Act of [...]

New Co-sponsor for H.R. 1635

Representative Fortney Stark [D-CA13] joins the list of co-sponsors for H.R. 1635: Ponzi Scheme Victims’ Tax Relief Act of [...]