(CA) State sues TV's 'tax lady' for alleged swindles (Roni Deutch)

[RamboLiberal]

Source: San Francisco Chronicle


A Sacramento County attorney who bills herself as the "tax lady," appearing in nationwide television ads offering to help people with tax problems, was sued today for $34 million by state Attorney General Jerry Brown for allegedly swindling thousands of people.

Instead of reducing clients' tax bills, Roni Deutch put people deeper in debt by placing them "in an endless loop of requests" for duplicate documents that resulted only higher fees and penalties from the Internal Revenue Service and by falsely billing them for services she never rendered, Brown said.

His lawsuit, filed in Sacramento County Superior Court, claims that Deutch made misleading representations and engaged in unfair competition while victimizing thousands of people in California and elsewhere.

An attorney for Deutch did not immediately respond to a request for comment today.

Deutch operates a law firm in North Highlands (Sacramento County) that employs 160 people and generates about $25 million a year in revenue while spending $3 million annually on TV and radio ads, the suit said.





Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/08/23/BAO01F220N.DTL&tsp=1#ixzz0xTGCo4SU

[KingFlorez]

1. I've seen her commercials so many times on cable

In fact, I don't think there are many people who have seen her commercials, she's been running them for a few years now.

[rhett o rick]

2. did you mean "havent seen"..? nm

[KingFlorez]

3. Yes

[rocktivity]

13. I've seen her so many times on Cable

I thought she was based in New York City.

x(
rocktivity

[alp227]

4. Daytime TV commercial quackery.

And you wonder why you only see her ads during the daytime not primetime or late night? Only on syndicated shows not the broadcast networks? She could be targeting unemployed people who have nothing to do but watch TV all day on purpose or something. But it's good to see my AG targeting a scam artist who uses the media for promotion. Now, what about those "financial products" on Newsmax that use Bill O'Reilly?

[LiberalFighter]

5. I abhor the ads suggesting that taxpayers owing a lot can reduce their taxes.

And the examples are of people owing substantial amounts that us everyday people wouldn't come close to paying in one year.

[hughee99]

6. That's their target audience,

no one hires a consultant to get them out of a $200 tax bill.

[Lightning Count]

8. I did have a friend who owed 20K and got it down to 8K.

But that was through an actual tax attorney.

[Phil The Cat]

10. How much did your friend legitimately OWE?

$20,000 or $8,000?

This doesn't seem like a good forum to brag about them screwing their fellow taxpayers using tricks and loopholes!

It seems like what most here are fighting against - people who make enough to owe $20K in the first place don't need a $12K gift from the public treasury!

People making over $50,000 a year need to pay their fair share! And people making 6 figures REALLY need to do the right thing!

[Lightning Count]

11. 20K without a doubt. He was a contract worker.

He skipped a year without paying any taxes and they nailed him the following year. He didn't have 20K though so they were willing to work with him. At the time he was a gambling addict.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

7. Shocker.

She seemed so honest!

[XemaSab]

9. The take home message:

Don't get a lawyer who advertises on the TV. :P

[tomhayes]

12. That's nto true

Lots of good lawyers advertise on TV.

But any of the debt consolidation/tax negotiation people can't deliver what the promise.