2009

2009

   Silver Investors Ordered to Keep Gripes Off Web (Judge bars Monex customers from posting negative comments, even if true) (Informer), Forbes.com, December 28, 2009.
   Orange County Tax Rat Saga Takes New Turn (Judge says attack on IRS lawyer’s veracity on Monex case was unwarranted) (Informer), Forbes.com, December 22, 2009.
   Old Lawsuits Allege Sexual Impropriety by Woods (Judges quickly dismissed 2006 cases against Tiger as “frivolous” and “delusional”) (Informer), Forbes.com, December 18, 2009.
   IRS Sues Ex-Texas Congressman Over Old Tax Debt (Houston’s Craig Washington accused of using “sham” to avoid $610,000 bill) (Informer), Forbes.com, December 18, 2009.
   From the Grave, Tax Lawyer to Rich Beats IRS Again (Court hands another big victory to estate of Chicago’s famed Burton Kanter, who died in 2001) (Informer), Forbes.com, December 15, 2009.
   Lawyer: Oliver Wang Tax Audit is Result of IRS Offshore “Zeal” (But furniture boss reported just $150,000 in salary from big business) (Informer), Forbes.com, December 11, 2009.
   Holiday Scams: ‘Tis The Season to Be Wary (Credit card, charity and Internet scams flourish at this time of year) with SLIDE SHOW OF 10 HOLIDAY SCAMS (Informer), Forbes.com, December 10, 2009.
   Is Oliver Wang Another Tycoon With Empty Pockets? (U.S. citizens tells IRS he doesn’t own big furniture business he runs) (Informer, with co-author), Forbes.com, December 7, 2009.
   How To Be A Tax-Smart Charitable Giver (As you make year-end donations, beware rules that could limit your tax deduction), with SLIDE SHOW OF TIPS, Forbes.com, December 3, 2009.
   IRS Ordered to Surrender Informant Documents (Federal judge’s ruling in California Monex case undercuts IRS Whistleblower Office), Forbes.com, December 1, 2009.  
   Tax Snitches Are On the Loose (A new federal rewards program dishes out cash to people who turn in friends, relatives and employers for fudging their tax returns) (cover story, with co-author), Forbes, December 14, 2009, p. 104.
   America’s 200 Largest Charities (annual list, with overview and advice for donors), Forbes.com, November 24, 2009.
   Fool’s Gold (Despite no revenue, Affinity Gold Corp. shares have risen 73,000% this year and trade at 685 times book value), Forbes, November 30, 2009, p. 58.
   American Bar Association Affiliate Sues to Avoid Tax (Lawyers’ group wants to promote retirement plans without paying tax on royalties) (Informer), Forbes.com, November 9, 2009.
   Cheesecake Factory Gets IRS Indigestion (Restaurant chain fights tax bill linked to stock option backdating)(Informer), Forbes.com, November 5, 2009.
   IRS and Offshore Cheats Plot Next Moves (With special program over for UBS, lawyer pushes “quiet” disclosure), Forbes.com, October 28, 2009.
   Ruling Says Talbots Used Tax “Sham” (Massachusetts tribunal rejects use of Delaware ploy by women’s clothier famous for also hiding unflattering body figures)(Informer), Forbes.com, October 16, 2009
   Expensive Drugs (Shares of Omni Bio Pharmaceutical have risen 2,100% this year despite no revenues, no product and a going-concern warning in its financials), Forbes, November 2, 2009, p. 102.
   Could Self-Employed Be Barred From Deducting Some Losses? (With cheating rampant, GAO says Congress may want to consider loss limit), Forbes.com, October 13, 2009.
   How Old Money Fades Away (Descendants of Marjorie Merriweather Post, once America’s richest woman, fight over the estate of daughter Eleanor Close Barzin), Forbes, October 19, 2009 (The Forbes 400 List), p. 42.
   The IRS Has Its Own Audit Problems (Inspector probes agency workers’ role in questionable tax refunds), Forbes.com, October 8, 2009.
   Reverse Mortgages Lose Their Luster (Housing slump, new rules add to problem of high fees), Forbes.com, October 6, 2009.
   Death Squads (Life settlement is a way of selling unwanted life insurance polices, but beware the operators), Forbes, October 5, 2009, p. 48.
   Questionable Web Pitches for Charities Pulled (After Forbes story, Crescendo Interactive changes charitable gift annuities claims) (Informer, with co-author), Forbes.com, October 2, 2009.
   Charities Use Dubious Annuity Pitch (Canned come-ons cite fake endorsement and rates unavailable to most buyers) (Informer, with co-author), Forbes.com, September 29, 2009.
   Tax Lawyer Fights Rulings Barring Deduction for Prostitutes (William Halby insists U.S. Constitution protects sex-for-pay writeoffs) (Informer), Forbes.com, September 17, 2009
   SEC (finally) brings civil fraud charges against CellCyte Genetics (Action comes nearly two years after Forbes pointed out problems) (Informer), Forbes.com, September 16, 2009.
   Tax Court Rules Prostitutes Aren’t Deductible (Brooklyn tax lawyer William Halby, 78, claimed visits as medical expense) (Informer), Forbes.com, September 15, 2009.
   Noted Fraud Investigator Fights Big IRS Penalty (Miami’s Lewis B. Freeman denies he helped promote abusive tax shelter) (Informer), Forbes.com, September 4, 2009
   The Library, The Loo and the Fossils (Cash-strapped charities peddling naming opportunities will put donor names on just about anything), with SLIDE SHOW OF RECENT BIG-MONEY NAMINGS, Forbes, September 21, 2009, p. 74.
   Did You Inherit an IRA? Pay Your Bills (Court limits heirs’ protection from creditors), Forbes.com, September 2, 2009.
   Questionable Science (Shares of Scientific Energy have risen 2,400% in three months despite no revenue ever) (Makers & Breakers), Forbes, September 7, 2009, p. 52.
   College Students Face New Credit Card Cutoff (Rules coming next year could make it harder to build a credit score), Forbes.com, August 4, 2009.
   Should Tax Cheats Be Denied Business Licenses? (IRS signals support for California tactic), Forbes.com, July 16, 2009.
   Gambler Claims N.J. Track Winked at Bad Checks (Lawsuit raises questions about practices at Freehold Raceway, joint venture of Penn National Gaming) (Informer), Forbes.com, July 15, 2009.  
   IRS Seeking to Tax Your Hobby (Manual tells agents how to spot improper pastime deductions), with SLIDE SHOW OF TIPS FOR WRITING OFF HOBBY LOSSES, Forbes.com, July 10, 2009.
   Freedom of the Press Means Freedom to Fail (Death of longtime Philadelphia Bulletin publisher Robert E.L. Taylor Jr. recalls his odd memoir of the paper’s demise after countless management blunders—including his own), Forbes.com, July 8, 2009.
   How Does Your Advice Measure Up? (Compare the performance of your portfolio to an appropriate benchmark), Forbes.com, July 1, 2009.
   Nipping the Next Madoff in the Bud (There are cheap and easy ways to vet prospective financial pros), with SLIDE SLOW, Forbes.com, July 1, 2009.
   Recession Feeds a Boom in Scams (Advance fee fraud claims new victims during hard economic times), with SLIDE SHOW ON HOW TO SPOT A SCAM, Forbes.com, June 10, 2009.
   Ex-BDO Seidman CEO Charged in Tax Case (Seven charged with generating $7 billion in phony tax shelter losses), Forbes.com, June 9, 2009.
   Suze Orman Sued for Fraud (Family claims it was misled about insurance policy sold by famous adviser’s firm) (Informer), Forbes.com, May 17, 2009, and Forbes, June 8, 2009, p. 30.
   Sleepless in Spokane (Washington State’s second-largest city is a hotbed of scams and corner-cutting), Forbes, May 25, 2009, p. 106.
   A New Front in War On Offshore Tax Evasion? (IRS seeks data on U.S. merchants who may be diverting online credit card sales revenue to foreign accounts), Forbes.com, May 22, 2009.
   Regulator: Dog’s Top Financial Planner Okay OK (Colorado Securities Commissioner lauds dachshund’s owner for showing award is questionable) (Informer), Forbes.com, May 15, 2009.
   Dog Gets Top Financial Planner Honor (Consumers’ Research Council of America demands return of plaque issued in its name) (Informer), Forbes.com, May 14, 2009.
   Feds Sue Robin Givens For $292,000 Owed IRS (Actress, Mike Tyson’s ex-wife, is unlucky in taxes as well as in love) (Informer), Forbes.com, May 7, 2009.  
   ‘Top’ Financial Planner Honor Less Than It Seems (Consumers’ Research Council of America is an elusive stalking horse for a pricey plaque seller) (Informer), Forbes.com, May 3, 2009.
   Looking for A Little Love (Steve Jobs told the feds that personal pride enmeshed him in that Apple Inc. option backdating scandal), with SLIDE SHOW and ACTUAL DEPOSITION, Forbes, May 11, 2009, p. 32.
   Tax-Hungry States Resort to Amnesties (But miscreants who fess up could face a bill from the IRS, too), Forbes.com, April 6, 2009.
   How to Check Out Your Financial Advisor (There are cheap and easy ways to vet prospective financial pros), with SLIDE SHOW, Forbes.com, April 2, 2009.
   IRS offers deal to offshore evaders (Those who fess up won’t face criminal prosecution or confiscatory penalties), Forbes.com, March 26, 2009.
   Traps for the unemployed (New federal COBRA health insurance subsidy contains pitfall), Forbes.com, March 25, 2009.
   Cash is King (There are safe places to park your green), Forbes, March 30, 2009, p. 60.
   There’s Something About Mary (At her former job, SEC chairman Mary L. Schapiro might have been the country’s highest paid financial regulator), Forbes, March 30, 2009, p. 42.
   Foundation Left New SEC Head Off Forms (FINRA charity said IRS disclosure rules unclear about listing CEO Mary L. Schapiro as a director), Forbes.com, March 11, 2009.
   Coming Soon to Ebay: The Taxman (New reporting rules aim at spare-bedroom merchants), Forbes.com, March 18, 2009.
   Bankrupt Charity Calls in the Cops (National Heritage Foundation says ex-employee made “unauthorized transfers”), Forbes.com, March 5, 2009.
   Charity Moved $1 Million Before Bankruptcy Filing (National Heritage Foundation wired money to affiliate two days earlier), Forbes.com, March 2, 2009.
   Boss Got Raise as Philly Papers Tanked (Brian Tierney received 38% pay boost as Philadelphia Inquirer headed toward bankruptcy) (Informer), Forbes.com, February 23, 2009. FOLLOW UP:          Tierney to Give Back Raise, Philadelphia Business Journal, February 24, 2009.
   IRS Calls Foul on Vikings Part-Owner (Reggie Fowler reported no taxable income while bidding $600 million for team) (Informer), Forbes.com, February 23, 2009.
   Leash Tightening Around Bodog? (Judge orders forfeiture of nearly $10 million linked to online gambling operation Bodog), Forbes.com, February 19, 2009.
52,000 Had Secret UBS Accounts (IRS says Swiss authorities provided no help in expanding tax-evasion probe) (with co-author), Forbes.com, February 19, 2009.
   UBS Agrees to Pay $780 million (Swiss bank avoids criminal prosecution in tax fraud) (with co-author), Forbes.com, February 18, 2009.
   Charity Began at Home (Family-run, investment-challenged National Heritage Foundation seeks bankruptcy court protection from $6 million judgment won by doctor alleging he was misled), Forbes, March 2, 2009, p. 36, and Forbes.com, January 28, 2009.
   More Tax Blues for Koko Taylor (Grammy-winning singer loses suit against the IRS) (Informer, with co-author), Forbes.com, February 5, 2009.
   Hiding Money Carries Risks (Billionaire tax felon Igor Olenicoff says his offshore stash was put in dodgy stocks) (with co-author), Forbes.com, January 28, 2009, and Forbes, February 16, 2009, p. 38.
   Judge Yanks Snipes’ Passport (Convicted tax cheat Wesley Snipes made unauthorized trip to Dubai) (Informer), Forbes.com, January 21, 2009.
   Hot Tip: Get Your Annuity Now (Rates on a new charitable gift annuity are scheduled to drop sharply on February 1), Forbes.com, January 14, 2009.  
   New Dog, Old Tricks (Bernard Madoff scandal shows how little financial scams change over time), Forbes, January 12, 2009, p. 35.
   Mixed Motives (In these volatile financial times a charitable gift annuity looks pretty good), Forbes, January 12, 2009, p. 46.
   Someone to Watch Over Me (Financial Analysts Journal article co-authored by Alan Brav says a company’s stock rises 7% when bought by an “activist” hedge fund) (Informer), Forbes, January 12, 2009, p. 28.
   Like its Probe of Madoff (Rushing to gin up enforcement stats, the SEC tries to deregister Alcar Chemicals Group, which was never registered) (Informer), Forbes, January 12, 2009, p. 28.
   Even in a Down Market, Sad Performance (Mostly) (Table lists 55 stocks that, after INFORMER over three years pointed out problems, dropped an average 77% in value, double the fall in the S&P 500) (Informer), Forbes, January 12, 2009, p. 28 (expanded table online).