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ANR: Another California City with Accounting Problems; IRS Employees Want Apology From Maine Gov; More Bad Math From GMCR | 07.12.12

Clock Is Ticking on Crisis Charges [WSJ]
Federal laws under which the Securities and Exchange Commission usually goes after alleged fraud and other misdeeds have a five-year statute of limitations. The five-year limit is causing SEC officials to race to file lawsuits in some cases and ask lawyers representing the targets of certain investigations to give the agency more time, according to people close to the investigation. The SEC intends to file charges against firms and people involved in the creation of a $1.6 billion mortgage-bond deal called Delphinus CDO 2007-1, people close to the investigation said. The collateralized debt obligation—which is a pool of subprime mortgages or other loans, slices of which are sold to investors—imploded within months.

California city goes bust amid claim of false accounting [Reuters]
Officials in San Bernardino, California, scrambled on Wednesday to explain the city's surprise decision to seek bankruptcy protection, with the city attorney backing away from his suggestion that fraudulent accounting may have contributed to the city's problems. At a late afternoon news conference, City Attorney James Penman, who the day before had told the city council that financial documents had been falsified for years, said: "I do not know if there was criminal intent or not." Penman added that "evidence of suggested wrongdoing" had been turned over to unnamed government agencies. He declined to elaborate on his comments to the city council.

Clients of Swiss Bank Raided in Tax Probe [WSJ]
German tax inspectors in recent weeks have been raiding the homes of Credit Suisse Group AG clients suspected of evading taxes, according to bank and German government officials. The investigation is centering on about 5,000 clients who between 2005 and 2009 allegedly bought insurance policies at a Bermuda-based subsidiary of the Swiss bank. The policies were sold to clients as a way of earning tax-free interest on savings, people familiar with the investigation said. A Credit Suisse spokesman said in a statement the bank has told clients who bought the policies to talk to their tax advisers. He added that Credit Suisse told its clients they were responsible for determining their tax obligations when they bought the products, which the spokesman said were legal in Switzerland.
 
IRS workers seek apology from Maine governor [AP, Earlier]

Internal Revenue Service workers are demanding an apology from Maine Gov. Paul LePage, who compared the federal tax collection agency to the Gestapo. The president of IRS employees' union sent a letter dated Tuesday to the Republican governor calling the comments "scurrilous and absurd."
'The Bachelor' Accountant Accused of Stealing $600,000 [THR]
The production company behind ABC’s The Bachelor and The Bachelorette filed suit Wednesday against one of its production accountants charging that he misappropriated at least $600,000 with the intent to defraud the company. The suit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by AND Syndicated Productions of Burbank charges Iain Anderson, who is alleged to reside in Ventura, with “bogus transactions” and converting money he was not entitled to for his own use. The suit says after AND did an investigation, “Anderson was unable to provide a reasonable explanation regarding any of these issues,” but did admit he “routinely deposited AND’s petty cash into his personal bank accounts.” The suit adds that Anderson refused to provide a full accounting for those deposits.
 
Jackson Hewitt Opens Tax School [AT]

The nationwide program will offer a curriculum to meet what Jackson Hewitt calls "the tax education needs of individuals who are new to the tax preparation field, as well as the ongoing training requirements of experienced tax professionals."
 
Green Mountain Coffee’s Numbers Submitted to S.E.C. Examiners Don’t Add Up [WCF]
Sam Antar suggests GMCR get a calculator that works.
 
Neb. Man Jailed for Bomb Threat on Job Application [AP]
The Legacy 272 Lounge employee who reviewed 38-year-old Jason Dornhoff's application last Thursday called police when he read the threat that closed with: "If you be quiet and help me, you won't die." Police arrested Dornhoff, of Heartwell, Neb., at gunpoint and searched his truck, but didn't find any bomb. Court documents say Dornhoff told police he uses methamphetamines and went to the restaurant hoping to find a way to fulfill his sexual fantasies.

 

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