New member. The long hard road. Identity theft/Tax Refund Fraud, health and bankruptcy....

[6speed8]

Long story....  In December 2008, I attended an audit with the IRS. Turned out the person doing my taxes from 04-08, submitted false returns for 06 and 07. Tens of thousands in fake expenses,deductions and income and pocketed $20,000 in fraudulent refunds. Two weeks later with the economy falling apart, I lost my job and was unemployed for 19 months. Then got sick. Cancer. So I admittedly dropped the ball a bit in being on top of this. But the IRS was still no help. After nearly a 2 hour audit with my jaw on the auditors desk in disbelief and stating a number of times that I did not submit those false returns, I was told to: 1 - Justify the deductions, 2 - Pay the money back with fines and penalties - $40,000+, or 3 - File an appeal. ZERO training to establish this as tax refund fraud. I was even accused of being the criminal and not the victim. "How do we know you weren't right there with him splitting the money?" is a direct quote from an IRS employee

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It took some time to get back to reasonable health but wound up permanently disabled from nerve damage. In January 2012 I started the good solid fight with the IRS. I finally got the $50,000+ lien imposed in the county court removed December 2014. Now being on a fixed income, even though my total debt was only about $35,000, I had to file bankruptcy. A friend recommended the law firm they used. They accepted $50 min a month until the $2000 fee was paid. It took me 2 1/2 years but it's filed. I signed the paperwork February 11th and had my trustee meeting April 7th. Scheduled for discharge June 8th. I never bothered following my credit until I signed the papers because I just figured it was horrible. Signed up for Credit Karma and my Trans Union was 505, Equifax 515. Poor but better than I expected. Once I reported to all three agencies the lien was removed/satisfied in early January, with no other actions, I've come up to 588/594. (I plan on subscribing to FICO once I finish typing this). After reading the "Chapter 7 to 700 in 24 months or less" article on here, I decided to try applying for a card before my discharge and my numbers tank for a while. Sure enough, I got First Premier for $300 unsecured. My friend told me I should have applied to Capital One. SO an hour later I did. I figured what the hell. They approved $500 unsecured. My fiance added me as an authorized user to her original Credit One card she's had for years (much better credit rating than me now lol) so on a whim, applied on my own with them. $300 unsecured approved. SO luckily(?) I already have $1100 in unsecured credit BEFORE my discharge. I can start showing my credit worthiness immediately rather than waiting 6+ months to apply for a card or even starting with a secured card. Hopefully I can achieve the 700 in less than 24 months lol.

I've protected myself as much as possible. The IRS has me flagged with Identity Theft so I get a PIN number every December. If that PIN is not on my tax return, it is not accepted. I had Social Security flag me as well. ANY changes or information requests have to be done in person by me. I have sitting on my desk right now ready to be sent to all credit reporting agencies, requests for Extended Fraud Protection since I have a police report AND received notices from two lab facilities that my doctor sent my information to, having been compromised. It just never ends lol. My plan is to start saving a decent down payment to get myself a new car late next year. I've been without my own car for 3 years because of all this.

[Anonymous]

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@6speed8 wrote:

Long story....  In December 2008, I attended an audit with the IRS. Turned out the person doing my taxes from 04-08, submitted false returns for 06 and 07. Tens of thousands in fake expenses,deductions and income and pocketed $20,000 in fraudulent refunds. Two weeks later with the economy falling apart, I lost my job and was unemployed for 19 months. Then got sick. Cancer. So I admittedly dropped the ball a bit in being on top of this. But the IRS was still no help. After nearly a 2 hour audit with my jaw on the auditors desk in disbelief and stating a number of times that I did not submit those false returns, I was told to: 1 - Justify the deductions, 2 - Pay the money back with fines and penalties - $40,000+, or 3 - File an appeal. ZERO training to establish this as tax refund fraud. I was even accused of being the criminal and not the victim. "How do we know you weren't right there with him splitting the money?" is a direct quote from an IRS employee

.

It took some time to get back to reasonable health but wound up permanently disabled from nerve damage. In January 2012 I started the good solid fight with the IRS. I finally got the $50,000+ lien imposed in the county court removed December 2014. Now being on a fixed income, even though my total debt was only about $35,000, I had to file bankruptcy. A friend recommended the law firm they used. They accepted $50 min a month until the $2000 fee was paid. It took me 2 1/2 years but it's filed. I signed the paperwork February 11th and had my trustee meeting April 7th. Scheduled for discharge June 8th. I never bothered following my credit until I signed the papers because I just figured it was horrible. Signed up for Credit Karma and my Trans Union was 505, Equifax 515. Poor but better than I expected. Once I reported to all three agencies the lien was removed/satisfied in early January, with no other actions, I've come up to 588/594. (I plan on subscribing to FICO once I finish typing this). After reading the "Chapter 7 to 700 in 24 months or less" article on here, I decided to try applying for a card before my discharge and my numbers tank for a while. Sure enough, I got First Premier for $300 unsecured. My friend told me I should have applied to Capital One. SO an hour later I did. I figured what the hell. They approved $500 unsecured. My fiance added me as an authorized user to her original Credit One card she's had for years (much better credit rating than me now lol) so on a whim, applied on my own with them. $300 unsecured approved. SO luckily(?) I already have $1100 in unsecured credit BEFORE my discharge. I can start showing my credit worthiness immediately rather than waiting 6+ months to apply for a card or even starting with a secured card. Hopefully I can achieve the 700 in less than 24 months lol.

I've protected myself as much as possible. The IRS has me flagged with Identity Theft so I get a PIN number every December. If that PIN is not on my tax return, it is not accepted. I had Social Security flag me as well. ANY changes or information requests have to be done in person by me. I have sitting on my desk right now ready to be sent to all credit reporting agencies, requests for Extended Fraud Protection since I have a police report AND received notices from two lab facilities that my doctor sent my information to, having been compromised. It just never ends lol. My plan is to start saving a decent down payment to get myself a new car late next year. I've been without my own car for 3 years because of all this.

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Welcome to the forums.    

That's one heck of a story. I'm sorry for the setbacks you suffered, both in your health and financial situation in the past.  You have appear to have turned the corner and I wish you the best in your continued recoveries.  Make sure you take a look at both our bankruptcy and rebuilding your credit forums for great information.  Good luck.

  Y