Michelle Malkin » Mortgage tax credit fraud by illegal aliens? Shhhhh…

Mortgage tax credit fraud by illegal aliens? Shhhhh…

By Michelle Malkin • October 22, 2009 04:59 PM

Whenever I have noted illegal alien mortgage fraud over the years, I’ve been smacked with the RAAAAACIST card.

Wonder if the Inspector General for Tax Administration is going to get mau-mau-ed by the open borders lobby, too.

The rush to implement a tax credit for first-time home buyers opened the program up to potential fraud by people who hadn’t bought a home or already owned one, Congress was told Thursday.

J. Russell George, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, questioned the eligibility of some 100,000 claims out of the 1.5 million who have sought to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit incorporated in the economic stimulus package enacted last February.

He said claimants include those who could possibly be illegal immigrants and that 580 people seeking $4 million from the first-time home buyer credit were under the age of 18. The youngest taxpayers receiving the credit were 4 years old, his office said.

George and an Internal Revenue Service official testifying before a House Ways and Means Committee subcommittee stressed that many of the questioned claims may eventually be found to be legitimate after further examination.

But the hearing raised a yellow flag as Congress considers whether to extend, or even expand, the popular program that is set to expire at the end of November.

The top Republican on the panel, Rep. Charles Boustany, Jr., of Louisiana, said that while the issue of extending the credit was not the purpose of the hearing, “every time Congress creates a new refundable credit … the incentive for fraud is magnified.”

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Posted in: Immigration,Subprime crisis

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Comments

#1

On October 22nd, 2009 at 5:02 pm, Truesoldier said:

With the governments batting average on detecting fraud it would not surprise me if the 580 number is low.
#2

On October 22nd, 2009 at 5:17 pm, Hangfire said:

The government obviously has not been able to locate the Constitution, either.
#3

On October 22nd, 2009 at 5:17 pm, Pasadena Phil said:

Well what would you expect? They’re so out of practice from so many years of deregulation they forgot how to regulate.
#4

On October 22nd, 2009 at 5:19 pm, walterc said:

Do you have to buy a house or can you just take the credit and hope they don’t catch on? Or is it better to use your kid’s SSN? /sarc

Every time they come up with some scheme this kind of stuff happens.

why can’t they learn? Don’t bother answering that.
#5

On October 22nd, 2009 at 5:22 pm, Hangfire said:

This just in, but OT:

Testosterone level drops in men who voted for McCain:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091022/od_afp/uspoliticsvotehealthoffbeat_20091022173456
#6

On October 22nd, 2009 at 6:10 pm, zyzzyg said:

” . . . could possibly be . . . “

Well, determine if that is the case and stop it. Sounds as if something is working in the system since these breaches are being caught.

Magnification of fraud is not the issue. Fraud is the issue. Find it. Stop it. And, prosecute it.

Larger questions are about incentive. Should the incentive to purchase a house continue? Should the incentive of using the mortgage interest rate deduction be continued to advance homeownership?

Why use incentives at all? If you want to buy a home, buy a home.
#7

On October 22nd, 2009 at 6:25 pm, Little Ma said:

uh oh…..

Mr. George is about to lose his job.
#8

On October 22nd, 2009 at 6:41 pm, stillontheroad said:

Wellllllllllllll call me a Racist then – this type of thing has been going on in San Diego for years and still is. This includes ACORN, LA RAZA and a multitude of other organizations. I am not sure about now but 4 years back BofA activley advertised for business with these fradsters knowing full well that Fannie and Freddie would back them up.
#9

On October 22nd, 2009 at 6:51 pm, nbarry said:

I also hear from reliable sources that banks are going back to giving out loans with no income verification by the borrowers under certain conditions. They must think the Treasury’s gravy train will run forever.
#10

On October 22nd, 2009 at 7:01 pm, Regulus said:

Remember, Michelle, they’re *not* “Illegal Aliens.” You’re dating yourself, young lady… Harry Reid says they’re “Undocumented Americans!”

“Over the border,
There lies the promised land;
Where everything comes easy,
You just hold out your hand!”

- Lyrics from the Genesis song, “It’s no fun being an illegal alien”
#11

On October 22nd, 2009 at 7:09 pm, tiredofit08 said:

and because of a foreclosure due to medical issues I can’t get a loan but an illegal using a kid’s ssn can?? find the fraud and throw everyone involved in jail for 10 years or deport them and their anchors with them…

Calling Michelle a racist is ridiculous…she simply reports the truth and they can’t handle it…la ratza is about as racist as you can get though….their very name is racist…
#12

On October 22nd, 2009 at 7:38 pm, PhredE said:

Some basic numbers to consider:

US Official* Pop. in US: 12,000,000
US Total Pop.: 307,000,000
12,000,000/307,000,000= 0.039

(from story above)
Number Persons Questionable Elig.: 100,000
Total Number Persons Applying: 1,500,000
100,000/1,500,000 = 0.066

0.039 ~= 0.066 It is probably safe to assume that illegal aliens are applying for the tax credit in at least representative levels – if not greater.

*(As if any person in the US actually believes the official estimate of illegal aliens in the US is correct)
#13

On October 22nd, 2009 at 7:39 pm, PhredE said:

Correction –

“US Official* Pop. in US: 12,000,000″
Should be:
“US Official* Illegal Alien Pop. in US: 12,000,000″
#14

On October 22nd, 2009 at 8:17 pm, WarEagle82 said:

NOW WAY! People unfairly taking advantage of a government program? I don’t believe it.

The next thing you know someone will be saying there are Maoists and Marxists in the government…
#15

On October 22nd, 2009 at 8:20 pm, WarTip said:

On October 22nd, 2009 at 6:51 pm, nbarry said: I also hear from reliable sources that banks are going back to giving out loans with no income verification by the borrowers under certain conditions. They must think the Treasury’s gravy train will run forever.

I think you will find that this is actually due to government regulations going back to the days of Clinton in conjunction with the leaders of Fannie and Freddie … and these loans began being passed to the banks under the promise of federal (Read: taxpayer) backing should anything go wrong and these people who were unable to afford loans be unable to pay them back … uhhh … because they could not afford them.

Govt creates crisis. Govt comes in to “clean up” the crisis caused by undue govt interference in the (formerly) free market. Govt creates new crisis by attempting to repair crisis that never would have existed had they not stepped in in the first place.

Rinse and repeat
#16

On October 22nd, 2009 at 8:56 pm, bjc said:

*I for one refuse to commit mortgage tax credit fraud, so it’s only natural(in a freaking insane world)for the federal government to allow illegal aliens to do the jobs Americans just won’t do; Just ask George Bush!
#17

On October 22nd, 2009 at 9:45 pm, swede said:

Somebody help me out here. How do folks who don’t pay taxes, (illegals) get a tax credit? Sounds loopy to me.
#18

On October 22nd, 2009 at 10:00 pm, AlohaGuy said:

Somebody help me out here. How do folks who don’t pay taxes, (illegals) get a tax credit? Sounds loopy to me.

My guess is these are more liars’ loans, so it’s the house purchase that’s important to them, not the tax credit. With the added benefit of lower prices than last time…

Buy yours now.
#19

On October 22nd, 2009 at 10:27 pm, graysonret said:

And this is the government that people want running their lives and protecting them? A bunch of idiots in D.C..
#20

On October 23rd, 2009 at 10:34 am, cheapseat said:

I HEARD YESTERDAY THAT MANY OF THESE FIRST TIME HOMEBUYERS WERE THE MINOR CHILDREN (ANCHOR BABIES) OF OUR “UNDOCUMENTED WELFARE SCAM ARTISTS”.
#21

On October 23rd, 2009 at 11:13 am, nbarry said:

Swede, to answer your question, Congress has enacted so-called refundable credits, such as the earned income tax credit, which acts effectively as a negative income tax. Filers can get refunds based on these credits even if their taxable income is zilch.
#22

On October 23rd, 2009 at 4:56 pm, fighterDC said:

well, I guess my infant daughter will be buying my house from me this week. I’ll sell it to her for $8,000.

I’ll gift her the $8,000 in cash to buy the house, she can then apply so the government can credit her.
#23

On October 23rd, 2009 at 10:16 pm, WarTip said:

On October 23rd, 2009 at 4:56 pm, fighterDC said:

well, I guess my infant daughter will be buying my house from me this week. I’ll sell it to her for $8,000.

If you are in Nevada, you will have to pay the taxes for what the County Appraisers deem to be a “fair and reasonable rate” as set by them no matter what the actual selling price is. Somehow I doubt Nevada is the only place doing this.
#24

On October 24th, 2009 at 11:16 am, SomeOtherSteve said:

I a couple of headlines related to the first-time buyer credit on Yahoo business next to each other. I got a little chuckle out of it.
#25

On October 24th, 2009 at 9:08 pm, Virginia Patriot said:

Both parties have sold out the citizens of this country. They are allowing foreign nationals to flagrantly ignore our borders and laws. If we do not replace them with people who care about the country, we deserve to lose it.