In Tampa, Florida, drug dealers have disappeared from the streets. Apparently, slinging crack was not doing it for them anymore. There wasn't enough money in it.
Instead, the Tampa gangs have moved into tax fraud. Basically, they used stolen identities to trick the IRS into giving them money. Lots of money. As in, $1 billion worth of money. And that's just in Tampa.
This went so far that they started giving seminars to 50-100 people at a time on how to 'make it rain'. They called it Turbo Tax. People started buying $100,000 cars. In cash.
Here's the hilarious part: they couldn't be charged with tax fraud, because the police couldn't access their tax returns because of privacy laws. Instead, they've been charged with identity theft and money laundering.
Read the entire article. It sounds like the perfect next season of The Wire.
Instead, the Tampa gangs have moved into tax fraud. Basically, they used stolen identities to trick the IRS into giving them money. Lots of money. As in, $1 billion worth of money. And that's just in Tampa.
This went so far that they started giving seminars to 50-100 people at a time on how to 'make it rain'. They called it Turbo Tax. People started buying $100,000 cars. In cash.
Here's the hilarious part: they couldn't be charged with tax fraud, because the police couldn't access their tax returns because of privacy laws. Instead, they've been charged with identity theft and money laundering.
Read the entire article. It sounds like the perfect next season of The Wire.
