It’s not just for the big guys
Published 4:12 pm Wednesday, June 23, 2010
The wanton greed of Wall Street, Big Banks, Big Government, Big Insurance and illegal immigrants has been trumpeted loudly in the echo-y halls of this recession.
With the exception of the CNBC show “American Greed,” these accusations tend to focus on Big Greed. But we’ve got plenty of lower-case greed, too, courtesy of our fellow citizens who can’t be voted out of office, but can be put in prison, where there is plenty of time to dream up new scams.
For example, thousands of people — including nearly 1,300 prison inmates — have defrauded the government of millions in home buyer tax credits, it was reported Wednesday.
The federal tax credit of up to $8,000 was available for first-time home buyers and was later extended to repeat home buyers. After early, widespread reports of fraud, the IRS tightened reporting requirements, but still needs more controls, the Treasury inspector general said. His report found:
10,282 taxpayers received credits for homes that were also used by other taxpayers to claim the credit. In one case, 67 taxpayers used the same home to claim the credit. Oops.
The IRS is working to block the claims and recapture the credits, which represent less than one-half of 1 percent of the credits paid out, the Treasury said.
The imagination that goes into various scams is a true testament to American ingenuity. The desire to get something for nothing is a driving force in our society. We love “instant winners” and “overnight millionaires.” And some people who would never think of wasting a dime in Las Vegas nonetheless expected the value of their overpriced McMansion to rise exponentially for life.
So do rail against Big Greed, but don’t forget lower-case greed, which, based on the audacity-to-cost ratio, can be off-the-chart on the Madoffian Scale.
For example, a Lynnwood man, Carlton Henry Wopperer, has been charged with filing false insurance claims … to replace his silk tie collection.
Since 2000, Wopperer made more than $50,000 by reporting the neckwear stolen, investigators say; ties that he returned for cash after buying them. Allegedly. Wopperer likely would’ve gotten away with it if he hadn’t tried it twice with Pemco.
Unfortunately, for Pemco and the rest of us: “Northwest guy who likes to buy expensive ties, return them, and report them stolen for an insurance money, you’re one of us!”
