A national tax scam targeting black citizens has made its way to Salisbury.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) cautions black people not to be misled by anyone offering to help file for tax credits or refunds related to reparations for slavery. The fictitious claim has circulated around the country but has no foundation in fact or law, said Tamara Ward, a national spokeswoman for the IRS.
The scam surfaced recently at a Salisbury church when a member announced that black residents might be eligible for a $40,000 tax break.
Emma Hunter, a member of Gethsemane Missionary Baptist Church, at 719 S. Caldell Street, is concerned not only about the members of her church, but also for elderly people in general who might fall victim to such a scam.
Hunter said members of the church have had at least one meeting where they filled out the fictitious tax form and sent it to the IRS.
Officials at Gethsemane did not respond to messages left by a Salisbury Post reporter.
This scam came in the form of a letter. This letter — claiming to be from the Department of Treasury of the IRS — says that a Washington lawyer named Robert Brock won a default judgment from the government changing the “architecture” of the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments.
Therefore, the letter claims, black people can receive a tax rebate as a result of the
“Separate-but-Equal” policy, “which made racial discrimination the law of the land” because the policy reduces black people to “second class citizens.”
“We did not get the tax break to offset the loss of our basic rights we were still assessed at the same tax rates as whites,” the letter says.
Those interested in applying for the rebate fill out a tax form, providing information including social security numbers for themselves and their spouses, home address and personal income.
Individuals who send in this form are told that they will receive $40,000 if they are single and $80,000 for couples.
Since there is no law providing such tax refunds, the IRS does not honor such claims.
Tammy Jones of Greensboro, whose friends attend Gethsemane Baptist, first heard about the scam when her father came home excited about the prospect of a tax break. She asked him not to send in any information until she investigated.
After calling the IRS and other agencies, she realized how potentially dangerous it could be.
She said that many of the people targeted have never had $40,000 to $80,000 offered to them in one lump some with such little effort. “All they have to do is give out a little information,” Jones said. She, too, is afraid that people will use residents’ personal financial information to take advantage of of them.
In many cases, promoters of the scam charge a fee, often as high as $50, to assist individuals in filling out the forms. Promoters of such scams have been convicted and imprisoned, and the IRS continues to investigate such cases. According to Ward, the IRS has not received any reports of individuals using this information for identity fraud.
The IRS has received a growing number of such claims this year. The scam has two main forms: a credit for “black investment taxes” or a claim for “reparations for African-Americans.”
Taxpayers who repeatedly submit the false claims after the IRS sends them a denial notice can face a $500 penalty for filing a frivolous tax return.
Hunter, the Gethsemane member, is concerned that the individuals behind the scam are targeting vulnerable elderly people.
“I just don’t want people to lose their identity,” she said. “I think it’s a fraud and a hoax, and I want to speak out as a black American.”
“This is definitely a scam,” Barbara Albright, IRS media relations specialist for North and South Carolina, said. “The African-American community loses all around.”
Today's News