Tag: It’s the accountant’s fault
Local Man Sentenced For Accountant Hate Crime
Accountants are a favorite target for blamestorming when your financial situation takes a turn for the worse. Given. However, when a financial ignoramus’s blame manifests itself into physical abuse – especially by faux-celebs – toward his/her accountant (who could also possibly be an ignoramus) that is when an accountant hate crime has occurred, which any functioning society will not tolerate:
Joe Bruner will serve 11 months and 29 days in the county jail for attacking his accountant.
He will also be required to take anger management classes, submit to drug and alcohol evaluation, give up any weapons he has and avoid contact with Wayne Montgomery, the victim.
Circuit Court Judge John Brown imposed the sentence Monday after Bruner, the former owner of Big Kahuna’s water park, spoke at length about his IRS problems, Montgomery’s qualifications as a CPA and a State Attorney’s Office plot against him.
“Mr. Bruner seems to be blaming everyone else for his actions,” prosecutor LaShawn Riggins noted. “He has an excuse for everything.”
Bruner, 57, a former professional football player, was convicted Aug. 20 of felony battery for punching Montgomery several times at a July 21, 2009 business meeting at Bruner’s house.
The conviction was a felony because Bruner had a history of assaulting people. Brown rattled off five other occasions between 2001 and 2010 in which Bruner had faced charges for violence-related incidents.
Bruner gets jail time for assaulting accountant [NWDailyNews]
Car Dealers Indicted for Tax Fraud; Profession’s Shifty Reputation Remains Intact
Plus, one of the (alleged!) tax fraudsters is facing seven counts of manslaughter. Impressive.
James Pflueger, a landowner facing seven counts of manslaughter on Kauai for the deaths of seven people killed when the Kaloko dam broke in 2006, was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury for tax fraud.
Altogether, five defendants were charged with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. for the purpose of obstructing the Internal Revenue Service in its collection of taxes.
They include Pflueger’s son, Charles Alan Pflueger, who owns car dealership Pflueger Inc.; company chief financial officer Randall Ken Kurata; Charles Alan Pflueger’s executive assistant, Julie Ann Kam; and certified public accountant Dennis Lawrence Duban.James Pflueger, 83, is the former owner of the company.
The Plfuegers are proven business people but they simply can’t be expected to have the first damn clue about these tax matters:
Dave Scheper, an attorney representing Charles Alan Pflueger, issued a statement denying any wrongdoing by his client and also vowed a vigorous defense.
“He is a proven businessperson who always acts in good faith, but he is not and has never pretended to be a tax accountant,” Scheper said.
So naturally, the blame is going straight to the CPA in this case, Dennis Duban, but not because he screwed over Pflueger & son and their sterling reputations but because he just plain sucks at preparing tax returns.
An attorney for Duban said he looks forward to arguing the case in court. “We are confident that after a jury hears all of the evidence, Dennis will be completely exonerated,” said attorney Michael Purpura.
This is one of those cases where it will take about five minutes of poking the accountant with a stick and he’ll flip.
It’s Unlikely That the Anti-Muslim Crowd Will Be Appeased By a Single Tax Conviction
Just a hunch.
A federal jury on Thursday convicted the co-founder of an Islamic charity chapter who was accused of helping smuggle $150,000 to Muslim fighters in Chechnya.
Pete Seda was convicted of one count of conspiracy to defraud the government and one count of filing a false tax return. His lawyers said they would appeal.
But forget religion for a minute. What burns us up is that this guy Seda is blaming his accountant for the whole mess:
Seda claimed the money was intended as a tithe that his accountant failed to disclose on a tax return for the U.S. chapter of the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation in Ashland, Ore. The foundation has been declared a terrorist organization by the U.S. government.
On the other hand, isn’t throwing an accountant under the bus something all religions can embrace? We’re searching for the common ground here, people.
In Other Words, Nicolas Cage’s Accountant Is Probably Counting Some Money
“Nic is happy that it is resolved.”
~ A TMZ “source,” on the settlement reached between NC and his former accountant, who were both blaming each other for Cage’s financial trubs.
Accountant Convinces David and Victoria Beckham That They Don’t Need Seven Gardeners
The Beckhams were concerned that “ordinary people were tightening their belts,” so what did they do? They fired a bunch of ordinary people! All it took was a shrewd accountant to tell them, “You’re pouring money down the drain.”
The fun-killing accountant is then quoted by a source in The Sun that employing 50 people around the word isn’t necessary, ” ‘You CAN afford to employ all of these people. But why the hell DO you?’ “
Vic took it to heart, so she cut 14 people off the payroll. This included a housekeeper that worked for them for eight years who was replaced by “two ‘cost efficient’ foreign staff,” so things aren’t completely falling apart.
As for the gardening, they’re down to one and now that poor bastard has to double as a chauffeur. Can you imagine the hell that must be having that guy track muddy shoes into the car? The horror.
American Apparel Goes Two for Two: Q2 Filing Late, Q1 Still Pending
Fashion cannot be rushed people. Ask the gang at Fashionista. They’ll tell you.
However, it is still a business which sometimes includes dealing with auditors and other outsiders that want various documentation and whatnot that can simply be delayed if it hinders the creative process. That is, if you keep your company private.
But the second you want to give the American public the opportunity to invest in your skinny jeans, leggings, and thong tanks, you’re playing on the SEC’s turf. This means things happen on a schedule. Delays, excuses or pervy CEO behavior will not be tolerated if it results in late filings.
American Apparel expects to report a loss in the second quarter and requested additional time to file its financial report after the resignation of its auditor, Deloitte & Touche.
It is the latest bump for the hipster clothing chain. The company said in May that it expected a loss for the first quarter, but it hasn’t filed that quarterly report with the Securities and Exchange Commission either.
[…]
Deloitte & Touche resigned as American Apparel’s auditor after the accounting firm said it found material weaknesses in internal controls over financial reporting. Deloitte requested more information from the company to determine if there were problems in previous financial reports. American Apparel said Tuesday it was working to provide that information.
Dov! These 10-Qs are not optional! Plus, it doesn’t help that the financial data that you provide is less reliable than what the federal government issues.
Presumably Marcum was persistent (and comfortable) enough to get you to push the button before so what the hell man? You’ve got them back on your team so this should NBD. You best get the house in order before your stock gets banished to the sheets that are the same color as your undies.
American Apparel expects 2Q loss; request 2Q delay [Bloomberg BusinessWeek]
Earlier:
Deloitte Resigns as American Apparel Auditor; Hotness of Engagement Team Presumably Not an Issue
Sometimes Billionaires Get Bad Tax Advice, Just Like Us!
It’s probably safe to say that billionaire hedge fund manager Leon Cooperman doesn’t get poor service very often. As the founder of Omega Advisors and #655 by Forbes‘ last count, the man has arguably earned the right to demand only the best, especially when it comes to something as important as tax services.
How that Cooperman is just the latest billionaire to have tax issues (McCombs, Anschutz have had troubles recently) that might cause a less prudent mega-rich person to flip their lid (e.g. Ted Turner, Steve Jobs).
Cooperman recently received a letter from the IRS informing him that despite the generous gift of $43 million to his own foundation, the contribution could not be allowed because the donation was a non-marketable security made to a private foundation, which is not allowed by the IRS. Had he made the donation to say, NORML (he looks like he could get behind it, couldn’t he?), or some other public charity everything would have been hunky-dory.
Unfortunately for Mr Cooperman, this isn’t the case and the IRS sent him a bill for $14 million in back taxes and $5 million in penalties. Understandably, this aggression will not stand and the “plain-speaking” Coop has taken the case to court to insist that he relied on his accountants to get this shit right. It’s complicated, after all. It’s not about the money, it’s the principle. Coop would gladly schlep in suitcases of consecutively numbered hundos to settle this here and now but the penalties are uncalled for and he’s bound and determined to prove that. But who actually is to blame?
The lawsuit says Cooperman’s two personal returns claiming the deductions were prepared by his longtime accountant, Mark I. Gittelman, a CPA with Gittelman & Co., Clifton, N.J. The formal appraisals to support the claimed deductions were done by RSM Business Services and Duff & Phelps, Cooperman’s suit adds.
[…]
McGladrey does tax work for other Cooperman entities, including his hedge fund, Omega Advisors. Cooperman told Forbes that McGladrey knew he was planning to donate a nonmarketable security to his private foundation and take a deduction when the firm rendered its appraisal for a fee that Cooperman said was about $20,000.
Again, the money isn’t important but for crissakes, McGladrey, you just don’t half-ass your work for Leon Cooperman. Forbes was all over this issue back in ’04. Where were you in 2004? Stumping for John Kerry?
Of course we all know where this is eventually going – litigation! When rich people get wronged, someone inevitably pays and it sounds like LC is happy to sit tight and let the tax court do its thing. Once that’s resolved, he’ll turn his sights towards the responsible parties:
Cooperman clearly is thinking about malpractice litigation. He acknowledged McGladrey is likely to assert it didn’t prepare or sign the tax returns with the disallowed deductions, although the firm’s formal appraisal was attached.
Best of luck to everyone involved!
Those IRS Shotguns Are Seeing Some Action
When Young Buck woke up yesterday morning, he probably wasn’t expecting IRS agents armed to the teeth barging in and taking everything in sight.
But according to TMZ, that’s exactly what happened.
According to Young’s rep, IRS agents rolled up to the platinum-selling rapper’s house in Nashville this morning to go on a repossession rampage over the alleged tax debt — seizing assets like recording equipment, jewelry, furniture, his platinum wall plaques … and even his kids’ PlayStation.
Allegedly YB owes $300k in back taxes which isn’t the largest sum but it’s sizable enough. When TMZ asked Mr Buck how he got himself into such a pickle he responded, “This IRS situation came about because I trusted accountants, lawyers, and managers to handle my business for me while I focused on making music. From now on, I am going to stay on top of my own business.”
Hopefully this doesn’t mean that the music doesn’t suffer like the business did. We can’t imagine such a huge blow to the culture.