Fraud Friday: Hit by a shopping cart


In 1989, Mrs. Green was hit by a shopping cart while at a grocery store, sustaining injuries that she claimed made it impossible for her to continue to work at her job. The Greens claimed $53,888 and $102,242 in medical expenses for 2004 and 2005 respectively, which included a personal driver to take her to doctor appointments, the grocery store, and hair and nail appointments; two housekeepers to cook, clean, and serve the Greens; and accrued but not yet paid medical expenses (the Greens argued that they were accrual basis taxpayers). While the Greens did not meet enough of the badges of fraud to prove that there was intent to evade tax, the court did find the taxpayers guilty of negligence. Note: Mr. Green was an IRS tax service representative and auditor for 20 years. (Theodore M. Green, et ux. v. Comm., TCM 2010-109)

CPAs, get four hours of fraud CPE with our 2020 Fundamentals of Fraud Prevention and Detection On-Demand WebinarClick here for more information.