COMPTROLLER STRINGER AUDIT FINDS CITY GAVE OUT $59.2 MILLION IN SENIOR CITIZEN TAX BREAKS TO DECEASED NEW YORKERS AND CORPORATIONS

Comptroller Stringer has identified nearly $75 million in lost tax revenue as a result of six audits of DOF since 2014.

  

Audit Report on the New York City Department of Finance’s Administration of the Senior Citizen Homeowners’ Exemption Program

SR16-087A

July 7, 2016

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This audit of the New York City Department of Finance (DOF) concerns its administration of tax benefits granted to property owners under the Senior Citizen Homeowners’ Exemption program (SCHE), which provides a partial property tax exemption for senior citizens who own one, two, or three family homes, condominiums, or cooperative apartments in New York City.  The Senior Citizen Homeowners’ Exemption appears as a reduction of the assessed value of the property, which is used to determine the property tax.  The assessment value of the property can be reduced by a maximum of 50 percent depending on the owners’ income.

New York State Real Property Tax Law (RPTL), Section 467 (Section 467), established a partial property tax exemption for senior citizens who own one, two, or three family homes, condominiums, or cooperative apartments.1  Section 467 states that any homeowner who has been granted an exemption must file a completed application every twenty-four months from the date such exemption was granted.  In 1974, the New York State Board of Equalization and Assessment (SBEA) issued an opinion stating that property owned in the name of a corporation may not be granted the SCHE.2  In 1998, the New York State Board of Real Property Services (SBRPS) issued an opinion stating that a property with four or more units would require the SCHE to be prorated to the unit being utilized as the owner’s primary residence; however an entire structure would qualify for the exemption if the property contains three or fewer units.3

Homeowners who receive a SCHE also automatically qualify for and receive an Enhanced School Tax Relief (STAR) exemption based on their income and homeownership status.4  If SCHE was found to be inappropriately applied in prior years, New York State’s Exemption Administration Manual Pertaining to the Partial Tax Exemption on Real Property of Senior Citizens states that a “municipality may rescind the exemption in a subsequent year.”

Audit Findings and Conclusion

DOF improperly credited the SCHE to 3,890 properties that were not eligible resulting in a loss to the City of at least $48,529,687. DOF failed to remove the SCHE from at least 3,246 properties after the homeowners had died.  This resulted in a loss of property tax revenue of at least $35,976,029 from Fiscal Years 2012 through 2017.  In addition, DOF failed to correctly prorate the exemption amounts granted to 573 properties that contain four or more units.  These properties received 3,219 excessive exemption amounts to which they were not entitled, which resulted in a loss of property tax revenue of at least $11,176,036 from Fiscal Years 2011 through 2016.  DOF also allowed corporate owners of at least 71 properties to receive 307 exemptions for which they were not eligible.  This resulted in a loss of property tax revenue of at least $1,377,622 from Fiscal Years 2011 through 2016.  Additionally, DOF improperly credited properties of deceased homeowners and corporate owned properties with Enhanced STAR exemptions totaling $10,647,896.  Thus, this audit identified $59.2 million in lost tax revenue to the City.

Finally, DOF failed to enforce the requirement that homeowners reapply for SCHE every two years as required by Section 467.   The lack of a reapplication process may have allowed properties to continue getting the SCHE and the Enhanced STAR exemptions for many years after they were no longer eligible.

Audit Recommendations

The audit made 12 recommendations, including that DOF should:

• Verify whether all the homeowners that applied for the SCHE are deceased and remove the SCHE and Enhanced STAR exemption from those properties retroactively from the date of death.
• Ensure that it implements controls to remove the exemptions from properties whose owners are deceased, retroactively to the date of death.
• Recover the $35,976,029 in erroneous SCHE exemptions that were applied to properties after the qualifying homeowner(s) were deceased if DOF determines that the subsequent owner was not eligible for SCHE.
• Recover the $10,460,540 in erroneous Enhanced STAR exemptions that were applied to properties after the qualifying homeowner(s) were deceased if DOF determines that the subsequent owner was not eligible for the Enhanced STAR.
• Recover the $11,176,036 in excessive exemptions that were granted to properties containing four or more units.
• Recover the $1,564,978 in erroneous exemptions ($1,377,622 in SCHE and $187,356 in Enhanced STAR) that were granted to the properties owned by either a corporation or LLC.

Agency Response

DOF generally agreed with the audit’s recommendations and stated that it would address the issues identified.  Further, the agency stated that it “appreciates the Comptroller’s audit findings regarding the administration of the Senior Citizen Homeowner Exemption (SCHE) Program.”  However, with regard to the recommendations that DOF recoup prior erroneous exemptions, DOF officials stated that “[w]hile DOF agrees that benefits to business entities should be recouped, the agency is still reviewing the issue with regard to individuals. Our main concern is unfair treatment to ‘innocent purchasers’ who might have been unaware of a benefit on their property — for example, after an ownership change.  Many home owners pay their taxes through mortgage service companies and may not be fully aware of the specifics as to how their taxes are computed.”

__________________________________________________

1 NYS RPTL § 467(6)(c)

2 NYS SBEA Volume 3 – Opinions of Counsel SBEA No. 54

3 NYS Volume 10 – Opinions of Counsel SBRPS No. 64

4 A prior audit by our office reviewed instances where corporations and LLCs improperly received STAR exemptions, although they were not entitled to receive such an exemption.  Audit Report on the Department of Finance’s Administration of the School Tax Relief Program, Audit Number FM15-070A, issued June 17, 2015.

Reception in Support of Mark Gjonaj - Monday - July 11, 2016

You Are Cordially Invited to  A Reception in Support of  Mark Gjonaj's Re-Election Campaign for New York State Assembly 80th Assembly District Monday - July 11, 2016 6:00 pm- 9:00p m    F&J Pine Restaurant  1913 Bronxdale Avenue Bronx, NY 10462 Please click HERE to download contribution form For those who cannot attend, contributions can be mailed to: Friends of Mark Gjonaj 2018 Williamsbridge Road Bronx, NY 10461 For more information, please contact 347-671-4355  or email friendsofmarkgjonaj@gmail.com ~ Thank you for your continued support! ~

click it to make it larger

Bronx LGBTQ - 2016 Bronx LGBTQ Pride & Health Fair - Saturday, July 16th

  The Bronx LGBTQ Center and Montefiore Hospital are pleased to announce the 2016 Bronx LGBTQ Pride & Health Fair, which returns this year on Saturday, July 16th from Noon to 6PM at the amphitheatre in Crotona Park, which is located just south of Indian Lake in the park.

Entertainment:
Hosting this year's pride event will be The Bronx Diva herself, Ms. Appolonia Cruz,Lady Clover, and Vivika Westwood Mugler

Headline Performer: Kevin Aviance

Spinning: DJ TK
Performances by: 

Hazee Reyes aka Tiffany Alofukit
Alexa DU Mont
Rob Vassilarakis Poet
Lucy Rodriguez Rios LIVE Performance
Brianna Lez-brianna
Constance Bústi-ae
Samore Love Princess Seqouia
Fern Gilford LIVE Performance
Damion Anthony LIVE Performance
Daniella Mendez Trans Activist
Eve Black
R Walton aka #BeX LIVE Performance
MsBamboo LIVE Performance
Chanel International
Lola L. Mendez
Ova Floh LIVE Performance
Randy Amadis Cruz LIVE Performance
BeBe Sweetbriar LIVE Performance
Tiffany Lazarre Diamondz LIVE Performance
Frankie Allday LIVE Performance

Speakers:
In addition to the performers who will entertain us, and we will have a number of guest speakers who will address the crowd for just a few minutes on topics as diverse as HIV, Suicide Prevention, LGBTQ History, Pride, and more.

Elected Officials:
Local elected officials will return this year in a strong show of support.

Exhibitors:
Several health care organizations and medical providers will be on-site offering free health screenings and limited medical services.

We look forward to celebrating pride with you on July 16th at Crotona Park in The Bronx!

NYS ESD Outreach Reminder: LaGuardia Central Terminal B Redevelopment Project Informational Event

REGISTER TO ATTEND:

Learn about the Upcoming Subcontracting Opportunities Available with the

LaGuardia Central Terminal B Redevelopment Project.

July 20, 2016

9:30AM- 12:30PM

Bronx Museum of the Arts

1040 Grand Concourse

Bronx, NY 10456

REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT. VISIT

LAGUARDIAGATEWAYPARTNERS.COM

For more information.

Mtg notice agenda - Full Community Board 6 - July 14, 2016

THE CITY OF NEW YORK BRONX COMMUNITY BOARD 6

1932 Arthur Avenue, Room Telephone: (718) 579-6990

Fax: (718) 579-6875 Email: brxcb6@optonline.net

MS. WENDY RODRIGUEZ                                       MS. IVINE GALARZA
Board Chairperson                                                       District Manager

TO: All interested parties.

FROM: Wendy Rodriguez, Board Chairperson

DATE: July 6, 2016

RE: Upcoming community board meeting.

________________________________________________

Please be advised that the next meeting of Bronx Community Board #6 will be held as follows:

DATE: Thursday, July 14, 2016

LOCATION: Bronx Community Board #6 district office

1932 Arthur Avenue – Room 403-A (Corner of East Tremont Avenue)

Bronx, New York

TIME: 6:00 p.m.

Please also take note that the sole item on the meeting’s agenda will be

the selection and hiring of the community board’s new District Manager.

Andrew Caspersen Pleads Guilty In Manhattan Federal Court To Defrauding Investors Of Over $38 Million And Misappropriating Over $8 Million From His Former Employer

  Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that ANDREW CASPERSEN pled guilty to defrauding investors of over $38 million and misappropriating over $8 million from his former employer.  CASPERSEN pled guilty to one count of securities fraud and one count of wire fraud before U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff. 

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated:  “Andrew Caspersen’s guilty plea today closes a sad chapter in a tale of deception and betrayal.  Parlaying his privileged background, Caspersen concocted a wild fraud scheme that involved made-up private equity ventures, fake email addresses, and fictional financiers.  Through a litany of lies, Caspersen took millions from unwitting investors, including some of his own family and friends.”

According to allegations contained in the Information filed against CASPERSEN and statements made in related court filings and proceedings:

The Scheme to Defraud Investors

Beginning in November 2014 and continuing until his arrest in March 2016, CASPERSEN engaged in a Ponzi-like scheme to defraud investors, including his close friends, family members, and college classmates, by falsely claiming that their funds would be used to make secured loans to private equity firms and would thereby earn an annual rate of return of 15 to 20 percent.  In total, CASPERSEN attempted to defraud more than a dozen investors of nearly $150 million.  As a result of the false and fraudulent representations made by CASPERSEN, investors wired a total of approximately $38.5 million to shell company bank accounts controlled by CASPERSEN.  In truth and in fact, CASPERSEN never used investor funds to make the secured loans that had been promised.  Instead, CASPESEN used investor funds for purposes that investors had not authorized, including to make securities trades in his own brokerage account and to make periodic interest payments to earlier investors.

In order to carry out his scheme to defraud investors, CASPERSEN incorporated entities with names closely resembling those of legitimate private equity funds (the “Legitimate Funds”).  However, the entities incorporated by CASPERSEN (the “Fake Funds”) were merely shell companies created by CASPERSEN solely for the purpose of perpetrating his fraud scheme, and were in no way affiliated with or authorized by the Legitimate Funds.  CASPERSEN opened and controlled bank accounts for each of the Fake Funds (the “Fake Fund Accounts”).

In soliciting investments in the Fake Funds, CASPERSEN made the following false representations to investors, among others: in recognition for his prior work with Park Hill Group, CASPERSEN had been offered a “friends and family” investment allocation in a security that was allegedly offered by a private equity firm; CASPERSEN was personally investing in the security, and offering it to his family and a limited number of friends; the investment was a credit facility secured by a portfolio of assets owned by one of the Legitimate Funds; the investor would receive quarterly interest payments, ranging from 15 to 20 percent; the investment was practically risk-free, as the loaned funds would remain in a bank account; the investor could withdraw the principal at any time with 90 days’ notice; and investor funds should be wired to one of the Fake Fund Accounts.  The purported involvement of the Legitimate Funds was an attractive selling point for investors.   

As the scheme evolved, CASPERSEN also made additional misrepresentations in soliciting investors in connection with a purported investment opportunity in one of the Fake Funds CASPERSEN had created (“Fake Firm-5 Fund”) to resemble one of the Legitimate Funds (“Firm-5 Fund”).  CASPERSEN had been employed at a multinational firm as an investment principal from 2003 through 2012 (“Firm-1”).  According to CASPERSEN’s false statements to investors, Firm-1 wanted to purchase secondary ownership interests in Firm-5 Fund.  Due to uncertainty that Firm-1 could buy out all the original investors, Park Hill Group offered to make a loan to Firm-1, and Firm-1 agreed to take a loan from Park Hill Group.  CASPERSEN and Park Hill Group were working on behalf of Firm-1 to solicit investors for the loan, but, at some point after Firm-1 agreed to take the loan, it transpired that Firm-1 did not need the loan in order to purchase the secondary private equity interests.  However, because Firm-1 had already agreed to the loan, Firm-1 was obligated to pay interest on the loan.  CASPERSEN told potential investors that the loan was risk-free, as it was collateralized by the assets of Firm-1.  As with the earlier solicitations in the Fake Funds, investors were similarly misled by the purported involvement of the legitimate Firm-5 Fund in this investment.

To carry out the scheme, CASPERSEN registered a domain name and created a fake email address to make it appear that a “John Nelson” from Firm-1 was communicating with investors. CASPERSEN obtained recent quarterly and annual reports for the Legitimate Funds, and sent such reports to prospective investors to induce them into believing that their investments would be secured by the assets of the Legitimate Funds, when in fact they were not.  CASPERSEN also drafted promissory notes between investors and the Fake Funds, in which CASPERSEN made one or more of the following misrepresentations, among others: the Fake Fund would pay the investor his or her principal “in immediately available funds” together with interest on the unpaid principal; the interest on the outstanding unpaid balance would accrue at an annual rate of 15 to 20 percent; interest would be paid quarterly; upon 90 days’ notice to the Fake Fund, the investor may redeem his or her principal; and the Fake Fund “shall maintain cash or cash equivalents in an amount equal to or greater than” the total of the outstanding principal and accrued but unpaid interest.

In connection with the scheme, CASPERSEN received approximately 18 payments, in a total amount of approximately $38.5 million, from more than 10 individuals and entities for investments in the Fake Funds.  Notwithstanding CASPERSEN’s statements to the contrary, CASPERSEN never used any investor funds to make any loan to any entity, or otherwise invest in any fund or investment vehicle associated with any private equity fund.  Rather, CASPERSEN operated a Ponzi-like scheme in which he misappropriated investor funds from the Fake Fund Accounts and converted them to his own use and use by others, including by using investor funds to meet CASPERSEN’s periodic interest payment commitments to earlier investors. CASPERSEN transferred the funds he received from investors into his personal brokerage accounts, and used the funds to execute securities trades for his own benefit.  Specifically, CASPERSEN traded heavily in options, including options based on the Standard & Poor’s Depository Receipts S&P 500, an exchange-traded fund based on the S&P 500 with ticker symbol “SPY,” and options based on PowerShares QQQ, an exchange-traded fund based on the Nasdaq 100 Index.  For example, CASPERSEN’s trades of SPY options with November 2015 expiration dates caused approximately $14.5 million in losses.  By mid-February 2016, as a result of CASPERSEN’s trading activity, his brokerage account contained approximately $112.8 million in cash, an amount which would have been more than sufficient for CASPSERSEN to repay all of his investors.  Rather than repay his investors, however, CASPERSEN continued trading in options based on the performance of the S&P 500 Index.  From February 11, 2016, through March 9, 2016, CASPERSEN lost approximately $108.2 million in options trading.

The Scheme to Divert Funds from the Park Hill Group

From January 2013 through March 2016, CASPERSEN was employed in the secondary advisory group at Park Hill Group.  In July 2015, CASPERSEN opened a bank account under the name “PHG Operating LLC,” which was controlled by CASPERSEN for his own benefit and was unknown to Park Hill Group (the “Fake PHG Account”).

In September 2015, following instructions provided by CASPERSEN, Firm-5 sent a wire transfer in the amount of $8,137,453, representing payment for legitimate work that Park Hill Group had done, to the Fake PHG Account, believing it to be a legitimate account used by Park Hill Group.  On or about the same day, CASPERSEN transferred $8 million from the Fake PHG Account to his brokerage account, in order to execute trades in securities for his own benefit, largely in SPY options.  In November 2015, CASPERSEN transferred approximately $8.1 million to an account belonging to Park Hill Group, thereby replacing the payment from Firm-5 that he had misappropriated.  The $8.1 million transfer was traceable to funds that CASPERSEN had obtained by defrauding investors as described above.  Also in the fall of 2015, CASPERSEN engaged in a similar fraud with respect to a $762,267 payment that he misappropriated from Park Hill Group, and later repaid using the proceeds of his securities fraud scheme.

CASPERSEN, 39, pled guilty to one count of securities fraud and one count of wire fraud.  Each count carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison.  The maximum fine on these counts is $5 million, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.  The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

CASPERSEN’s sentencing is scheduled for November 2, 2016.

IDC LEADER JEFF KLEIN - Hidden Dangers in Day Care

STATEMENT FROM
INDEPENDENT DEMOCRATIC CONFERENCE LEADER JEFF KLEIN

Knowing children are safe while in day care will bring great relief to parents across this state. In November, I released an alarming investigation, "The Hidden Dangers in Day Care," exposing violation-ridden facilities. We've unfortunately seen cases where under providers' watches children were seriously injured and in nightmarish cases children have died. This is simply unacceptable. That's why I carried the torch in the Senate to increase transparency for our parents and crack down on bad actors. We unanimously passed this measure in the Senate. I also led the charge to place report cards on every day care in New York City, letting parents see vital information right at the door. This passed both houses and will soon be signed into law. I applaud Governor Cuomo for taking emergency action yesterday to ensure that children across this state are safe while in day care.

NYPD SEEKS INPUT ON PROPOSED BODY CAMERA POLICY

The NYPD wants input from the communities we serve on an important NYPD policy before it is finalized: our body camera policy.

 

The NYPD will be equipping 1,000 officers in 20 precincts throughout the city with body-worn cameras.  In partnership with the Policing Project at NYU School of Law, the NYPD is seeking input from the people who live, work or go to school in New York City into the policy that will govern the use of these cameras through an online questionnaire.

 

The questionnaire can be completed in minutes, is mobile-friendly, and can be submitted anonymously. It is designed to get community input on important policy issues, including the types of events that should be recorded and who should be allowed to see the body camera footage. The questionnaire may be found at www.nypdbodycameras.org. This website contains a summary of the proposed policy, the full draft of the proposed policy, and the confidential questionnaire. 

 

The site will remain open until July 31, 2016.  NYU will collect the responses and comments and provide them to the NYPD for the NYPD's consideration in drafting the final policy.

 

Please provide your input, and please forward this email to other members of your organization or community. The NYPD wants to hear what New Yorkers think.

THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK

OFFICE OF COUNCIL MEMBER 

JUMAANE D. WILLIAMS