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I have a cousin that convinced my parents that there was an IRS Levy against property they owned that she wanted to get her hands on. There was an IRS Lien NOT a Levy against their property as a result of declining business at their local restaurant that they owned and operated for 17 years. If the stress of owing money to the IRS wasn't enough, they became even more vulnerable after this business was destroyed by a fire caused by 100+ year old electrical wiring. She definitely used their vulnerable frame of minds to her advantage. This cousin of mine was my dad's niece, they never had any reason to not trust that she was telling them the truth. She convinced them to sell her property located on Bois Blanc Island that my parents had owned for years for about 1/3 of its value. The fact is that they would have NEVER sold this property to anyone as it holds tremendous sentimental value to my parents children and only grandchild. She convinced them that if they didn't sell the property to her by a specific date (which I have in writing from the deceitful cousin) that the IRS would seize the property and sell it to the highest bidder. She persuaded them into selling it to her by telling them that this was the best thing for our family, as it would keep it at least within the family, and she also told them that their children and granddaughter would be able to use it whenever they wanted to. Feeling this was better than losing the property to strangers, they agreed to sell the property to her.

They have since contacted the cousin on numerous occasions requesting the documentation she claimed to have in her possesion stating that unless a substantial payment was received by the IRS the property would be seized and sold. These requests have gone unanswered, which leads us all to believe that she did in fact fabricate the entire story.

We feel that she defrauded them out of the property she wanted by pressuring them with losing the property with information that was not true, as there is a very big difference between an IRS Lien vs IRS Levy. Do we stand a chance of getting this sacred piece of "heaven on earth" back?

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Yes you can get this property back based on fraud, theft by deception, and exploitation of the elderly. I would also look into the possibility of this greedy cousin being involved someway in the fire. You need to contact a criminal law attorney who is also knowledgeable of elder issues. I would start out by reporting this to your office on aging in your area and filing a police report. Just horrible. May she rot in h***!
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Thank you so much for your quick reply "norestforweary"! After researching "fraud against the elderly", I too, feel quite confident that we can regain possession of the family property that was stolen. However, I also learned after meeting with two attorneys that legal vultures won't touch the case for less than $50,000, I wasn't surprised! So we did file a police report and the officer took our case directly to the Prosecuting Attorney. The prosecutor showed interest and wants us to put the facts in writing and submit them to his office. I am in the process of writing this book (as there are sooooo many gut-wrenching details that prove the guilt of my cousin) and intend to get a copy to Adult Protective Services, as well.

My daughter and brother are so disturbed by what this so-called relative stole from us that I felt I needed to reach out to someone that could help to put their minds at ease. I feel that the actions of this cousin actually killed my Dad, for less than 6 weeks after the papers were signed and all of the family turmoil started regarding her actions, he passed away. I haven't dismissed the idea of bringing a wrongful death suit against her.

Your emotional support is greatly appreciated!!!! We too, hope she rots in hell!!!
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When found guilty, she probably will be required to pay attorney fees.
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From what I've read about defrauding the elderly, it seems to me that she could actually spend a little time behind bars, as well!
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Yes, that is correct..... try not to give too much info on a public forum of the case of what you will be doing. I am pretty sure your parent's can request the info from IRS, letters regarding the lien if you don't have them. She is not immediate family, so her relationship will carry less weight in court.
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She will have a criminal record for life for sure!
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No question in my mind that this is fraud, financial exploitation of the elderly, punishable by reversal of transaction, fines ,time in jail, felony charges that will keep cousin out of work as well. Except for maybe making license plates. I would think the DA would be very interested as would APS.
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Thank you for your input "gladimhere"...is the District Attorney (DA) different than the Prosecuting Attorney? I feel 99.9 percent positive, from all I've read and learned, that the Prosecuting Attorney and Adult Protective Services will be willing to get to the bottom of this, however, I'm having a very difficult time convincing my daughter and brother of this. The emotional ties to what we lost run deeper than mere words can express - sadly, the cousin knew this and it just didn't matter to her even though she knew that we would all be shattered, as she attempted to get my parents to sell it to her a few years back and at that time she was told that the property would NEVER BE SOLD! Even gave all of us her word that she would never attempt to purchase it again. My cousin's parents (my Dad's brother) have a family home on Bois Blanc Island right next to my parents that she will end up with someday...if we purchased her parents place behind her back she would be as devastated as we all are...she evidently didn't put the shoe on the other foot to see how it felt before she walked off in those shoes...if she did, she wouldn't have been able to do this to us. Still have a hard time believing that she could do this to us behind our backs while being so loving the entire time she was plotting her premeditated scheme! It does cut like a knife...

To my knowledge, there is a two year statute of limitations regarding taking action against such matters...can anyone confirm for me that this is true?

You know, for years leading up to her succeeding at getting her hands on this property, her and her husband were up my parents butts - mowing their grass, plowing their driveway, re-roofing their home, cutting wood for their woodstove to last the entire winter - once the papers were signed my parents literally never heard from them again! They didn't even attend my Dad's funeral!!!

So many more twisted details that haunt my family every day...it's emotionally exhausting. Thank you all for letting me vent!! All words of encouragement and/or legal advice are appreciated more than you know!
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I think you should let the IRS continue to make her life miserable, and buy it back when the IRS puts it up for sale. It makes no sense to try and get it back when the IRS is about to seize it.
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Often the statute of limitations begins when the effected parties realize there is a problem, depending on the law. I would suggest the website AVVO to ask attorneys in your area questions, receive responses at no charge. You may find one willing to take this on contingency.
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DA and prosecuting attorney are the same thing.
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I believe that you are confused "pstegman"...there never was any risk of an IRS seizure, as my stepmother had been working with them regarding money owed to the IRS. There was a lien placed on the property by the IRS, this is normal procedure for anyone that owes money on back taxes...if you own property they put a lien on it until you bring your taxes current. My cousin scared them into the sale of the property by telling them that while she was staying at my parents place on Bois Blanc Island she was notified by the IRS that if a substantial payment was not made by my parents on their outstanding taxes by April 16th, 2012 they were going to seize the property and sell it to the highest bidder...I don't think she even realized that by stretching the truth regarding this matter, that she was in fact committing fraud.

They have since sold their home in this area and have moved into our home on Bois Blanc to spend the rest of their lives...my cousin's husband has been committing disability fraud for years...I'm sure they got tired of always looking over their shoulders in fear of getting caught doing something that a disabled person wouldn't be able to do...what better place to live than a secluded island that you have to board a ferry boat to get to, as we all know that this agency does not have the funds to check into reports of disability fraud, so it wouldn't be likely that they would go to this extent to check on her husband.

This whole thing is so twisted, I could write a book...it's heartbreaking to lose the place that reminds all of us so much of my Dad, especially now that he's gone...
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A sad note to add to all of this...any action that was in the process of being taken by the IRS was put on hold after fire destroyed their business, as that was their means of generating income to pay the IRS debt, therefore NONE of this had to happen!
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There could have been insurance on the property? Or did they let that lapse? I wish you well in all of this.......
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There was insurance to cover the fire loss, however, not enough to rebuild. Once the IRS learned of the fire, the liens that had been placed on their other properties became frozen and no further action was taken by the IRS as they would receive the money my parents owed from funds received from the insurance payout. So you see, our island home that she was hell-bent on getting, would have also been released from the IRS lien to my parents, once they paid the back taxes owed

My cousin was very disgruntled a few years ago when she learned that my parents would never sell that home to anyone...she realized that she would have to fabricate something to ever realize her dream of making it her home, so she did just that! She's definitely a stupid criminal...should have done her homework regarding how much trouble she could get into by scaring an elderly couple into selling them property by intentionally giving them false information. I have a feeling that in the upcoming months it's going to suck to be her...all I can say is "KARMA"!
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The IRS never lets go, a freeze just means they will get to it later. Your cousin paid 1/3 of the value, but did she pay the lien? If she bought it on a simple quit claim deed, the lien would still be there. So she will have to pay the IRS. I'm not sure it's worth going after. Add up the numbers before you go after it. You may be looking at a financial black hole.
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It was not a quick claim deed...the cousin took out a mortgage on her home and paid my parents the ridiculous price stated in the bogus appraisal...this money went right to the IRS and the lien was removed from the property. My parents gave her the authority to deal with the IRS as there was no sense in them being the middle man, they were to distraught over the IRS debt, the fire and losing something that meant the world to their children. I believe that when my cousin talked to the IRS to work out her plan, that in the initial conversation she was told that there was currently a lien on the property and that if the debt was not satisfied, that eventually they would issue a levy that would only allow a certain amount of time before the property would be seized and auctioned to the highest bidder. The way my cousin explained it to my parents was that there was CURRENTLY a levy and that they had to have a sizeable payment to the IRS before April 16th, 2012 or it would absolutely be seized and sold. That is where she committed the fraud, that deadline was a bold faced lie that she told them (and I DO have this in writing) to make them want to sell the property to her. The next lie she told was that by selling it to her my Dad's family would still be able to use it (this too I have in writing)! She knew that by the property staying "in the family", and holding the IRS at bay with the money from the sale, my parents would go for it...and they did!!!! The ink wasn't even dry on the contract before she sent them a letter stating that NO ONE was going to be allowed to use the place....lie after lie, after lie, after lie!!!!! If she would have done the right thing and told the IRS about the fire, as she claimed that all she wanted to do was help the family (yeah, right), everything could have stayed just as it was, because the fire put the brakes on any further action from the IRS because they knew they would get their money from the insurance claim. She could have continued to use it whenever she wanted to (other than the few weeks a year that my family would be there) just as she has done for years and my family wouldn't have been shattered into a million pieces! Losing the property was back enough...but to have my parents defrauded by a relative that for years prior was at their beck and call whenever they needed anything, was just absolutely devastating...
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So the simple solution is for her to sell it back to them for the price and whatever capital improvements the cousin made, for example the roof. However, your parents no longer have the funds. Now what? Does anyone have that much money?
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SHE COMMITTED FRAUD!!!!!!!! I believe she'll be prosecuted for FRAUD...she will return what she stole and serve a little time behind bars...
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Dads, If you recall the Madoff scandal, there was fraud because people gave him money and got $0000 in return. She will not go to jail if she sells the property back. If you think the judge will order her to return the property without a refund, you may be very disappointed. If your parents cannot pay the total amount back to her, she will get to keep it. This is simple business law, no refund, no item returned.
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Good grief. First, if you expect someone to be prosecuted, don't wait to write a book about it. Second, do they still owe the IRS taxes? If no, then the IRS was paid in full and any liens or levys would have been released (apparently from the le y on the insurance proceeds). Was there even a lien filed in the county where the property was located? To apply to real property it has to be filed in the right place. Was the tax due from the individuals or from their incorporated business? Those are different tax identities. If a corp owed the taxes the lien would not apply to property owned by the individuals. The Notice of Federal Tax Lien is a public document filed in an appropriate place. You can locate it in county records. Also, when it is paid off, a release of the lien is filed, again as a public record. If taxes were still owed and a lien filed in the right place then a discharge of the lien is requested from the IRS, and granted if the money to be paid is right. If the relative scammed them out of the property for less than full value you would have to show that they didn't mean to sell for that.. Pretty hard to do if they are competent and were just overwhelmed at the time and made a bad decision.
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BTW,I am a retired Revenue Officer for the IRS and have seized and sold plenty of real and personal property in my time.
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I have to agree with vegaslady, they were overwhelmed, didn't know what to do, and decided to keep the property in the family if the cousin agreed to pay off the IRS. Unfortunately, Dads, for whatever reason, didn't offer to bail out his parents with this plan. Maybe he didn't think of it, maybe he didn't have the resources. Water over the dam now.
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I give up, I don't have the time to tackle that reply...if you're going to give someone advice you really should know what you're talking about, or do some research first, as some may be very disturbed by your inaccuracies.

As for the Madoff scandal...I believe he IS sitting in prison because he DEFRAUDED people, period!! Whether or not he was able to repay the money had nothing to do with his sentencing. FRAUD is a very serious crime, especially when it's committed against the elderly!
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I'm not sure who you are referring to as to the inaccuracies of their statement. If you think family members were defrauded I still think that one of the least productive things to do is write a book about your family. Why don't you go about setting right the wrong, and THEN write your book. At the rate you're going it sounds like Madoff will be out of prison before you get the issue you are concerned about handled. If you want your cousin to go to prison get on it. Otherwise if there are only civil actions to be taken and you can't afford the cost of representation and can't do it yourself, give it up. Your parents could contact the count to get copies of the Notice of Federal Tax Lien and the release. Or contact the IRS, I would suggest the Taxpayers Advocates office if they want help in understanding what happened in their tax situation. If you have questions or comments on IRS liens and levies I can answer in general.
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I worked for an elderlaw attorney for over 11 years. I cannot tell you how common this is. It is very important for all of us to have conversations with our elderly parents to let them know that they should not do anything, sell, transfer, land, money, property without consulting the family or POA. It is important to keep in touch with parents and talk about money, end of life matters etc. several visits a year are best as you cannot always know the situation over the phone.
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I sincerely apologize, vegaslady, I did not see your comment before I made my last reply...my comment about inaccuracies certainly was not directed at you! My reason for spending any time sharing my personal dilemma on forums such as this, was to hopefully stumble upon someone like you that could maybe give me a little insight as to what I'm facing - I needed a little positive reinforcement to push me to see this through to the end. If I were battling a total stranger, believe me I wouldn't be looking for any additional courage, the fact that I am looking to prosecute a cousin that I grew up with and would have trusted with my life, makes this just a bit difficult!

I know, and I can prove that the actions of my cousin to obtain this property were definitely premeditated. She knowingly set out to obtain possession of this property via undue influence and/or fraud - she duped them into parting with this property by convincing them that it was for their own good! I have all of the lies that she told in black and white via a personal chat that we had regarding this matter.

My family is hoping to regain possession of the property by pressing fraud charges, they also feel very strongly about her spending some time locked away, as she is a very twisted woman that destroyed my family with her selfishness and greed. The Prosecuting Attorney in our county has already expressed interest in our case and I'm working diligently to finalize the statement he needs to go forward. The level of family betrayal that we've endured is paralyzing at times...we'll all be so relieved to get to the bottom of this and put it behind us!

I'm so thankful that you noticed and responded to my thread, any insight you could share would be greatly appreciated!!
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Thanks. Let's see if I've got this right...after the building fire there was insurance and the IRS levied, or was planning to levy, the insurance company for the proceeds. I'm not clear if it was paid or not, and if paid it must not have paid the taxes in full. Now when the cousin sets up the deal to buy the property, and the lien is on the property, if the remaining taxes were to be paid full the IRS would be happy to collect the money and move on to the next case. However, if the sale of the property did NOT pay the taxes off in full, someone, typically the buyer, applies for a "discharge" of the tax lien. The IRS investigates the value of the property and the priorities of claims on the proceeds, and issues the discharge in exchange for the amount of equity that the lien attaches to. Then the buyer gets the property clear of the lien. Are the taxes now completely paid off? If the IRS is still owed money and got too little money out of the sale because somebody doctored the appraisal and didn't disclose the relationship between buyer and seller there may be a problem. The fraud involved in taxes is usually the delinquent taxpayer evading payment. Because the property was sold for (apparently) less than Fair Market Value and if the result was the IRS got shorted then the IRS might be interested in pursuing fraud, if enough money is involved. If the taxes are paid off the IRS could care less. Your "remedies" to the apparent scam of getting the property on the sly are what you have already started to work. Hope this isn't too confusing. Let me know.
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Good Morning Vegaslady -
I don't sleep real well these days, this whole mess is very disturbing. I wish we could do an instant chat, there are so many more disheartening aspects to this transaction that's it's hard for me to paint a clear picture for you without writing a book. But I'm going to try...
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dads....You maybe able to private message LV lady if her settings allow...... click on her name and see if private message is enabled
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