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Protecting Yourself From Both Scams And Tax Penalties

Joe Cortez Moneywise

California man loses life savings, owes more than $30K in taxes after falling prey to sophisticated scam

On top of losing his life savings to scammers, Chester Frilich of Concord, California is facing a tax bill of over $30,000 which could end in him losing his home.

As reported by ABC7 News, his problems began when he received a call from somebody claiming to be from Xfinity, who claimed his account was used to upload pornographic videos. An hour later, he heard from “Jason Brown” with the Federal Trade Commission, listing all of his credit cards and telling him he was under investigation for wire fraud.

Joe Cortez Moneywise

California man loses life savings, owes more than $30K in taxes after falling prey to sophisticated scam

On top of losing his life savings to scammers, Chester Frilich of Concord, California is facing a tax bill of over $30,000 which could end in him losing his home.

As reported by ABC7 News, his problems began when he received a call from somebody claiming to be from Xfinity, who claimed his account was used to upload pornographic videos. An hour later, he heard from “Jason Brown” with the Federal Trade Commission, listing all of his credit cards and telling him he was under investigation for wire fraud.

In order to clear the issues, the scammers posing as the FTC said they would help him move his money to a “secure account,” which involved him sending thousands of dollars of gold and cash through couriers and UPS. He tapped into multiple accounts, including Certificate of Deposit (CD) and IRA accounts, to send over $200,000 in funds before the police informed him that it was all a scam.

By using those accounts to send money, Frilich amassed a tax burden of around $30,000, which will end in the IRS putting a lien on his home if he can’t pay the bill or work out an arrangement with the agency.

While losing money in a scam is awful, getting penalized on top of it makes it even worse. How can you guard yourself from tax problems as you try to avoid fraud?

Why Early Withdrawal Penalties Matter

While most bank and investing accounts are designed to hold “liquid” assets — defined as cash or assets that can be converted to cash quickly and easily — some accounts are structured to effectively “lock down” money to pay interest and dividends over an extended period of time and are not considered “liquid.” Examples include the two types of accounts Frilich pulled money from: Certificate of Deposit (CD) accounts and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs).

Both are designed to keep money locked for an extended period of time, but in different ways. A CD is offered by banks or credit unions as a savings option, where consumers agree to deposit their money for a specific period of time before they can make a withdrawal.

CD terms can range anywhere from one month all the way to five years. IRAs are investment accounts designed to help you save money for your retirement. The earliest one can withdraw money from an IRA without issue is when the account holder turns 59½.

Anyone withdrawing money from either of those accounts before they mature will face penalties. Under federal law, banks are allowed to charge penalties for early withdrawal of CDs.

While the minimum penalty is seven days of simple interest if the withdrawal is done within six days of deposit, a larger penalty can apply for early withdrawal at any other time during the term.

You Might Not Make Enough Money To Get Musk’s Potential DOGE Dividend Check

You Might Not Make Enough Money To Get Musk’s Potential DOGE Dividend Check: Here’s the Salary Cutoff

G. Brian Davis Mon, March 31, 2025 GOBankingRates

James Fishback, an investment manager who briefly worked with Vivek Ramaswamy in the earliest days of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), says the idea of “DOGE dividend” payments came to him in a dream.

Fishback first tweeted about it on X in February: “American taxpayers deserve a ‘DOGE Dividend’: 20% of the money that DOGE saves should be sent back to hard-working Americans as a tax refund check. It was their money in the first place!” Since then, both Elon Musk and President Donald Trump have both aired it as a possibility.

You Might Not Make Enough Money To Get Musk’s Potential DOGE Dividend Check: Here’s the Salary Cutoff

G. Brian Davis Mon, March 31, 2025 GOBankingRates

James Fishback, an investment manager who briefly worked with Vivek Ramaswamy in the earliest days of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), says the idea of “DOGE dividend” payments came to him in a dream.

Fishback first tweeted about it on X in February: “American taxpayers deserve a ‘DOGE Dividend’: 20% of the money that DOGE saves should be sent back to hard-working Americans as a tax refund check. It was their money in the first place!” Since then, both Elon Musk and President Donald Trump have both aired it as a possibility.

Trump is certainly no stranger to economic stimulus payments. But that doesn’t mean the DOGE dividend would work just like his COVID-19 stimulus checks.

Who Would Be Eligible?

The tax rebate would only go out to American households who pay net-positive taxes.

Low- and moderate-income households often collect more in tax credits than they pay in taxes. The Tax Foundation points out that the bottom 50% of earners in the U.S. pay roughly 3% of the total individual income taxes collected by the IRS.

A analysis by the Pew Research Center found taxpayers earning below $40,000 generally collect more back in tax credits than they pay in taxes. So, these taxpayers would not be eligible for a DOGE dividend check.

While DOGE dividend is a redistribution of wealth, as a tax rebate it would exclude lower earners.

Settling A Loved One's Estate Can Take Up To '900 Hours Of Effort

Sara Belcher · Podcast Writer Updated Mon, March 24, 2025 Yahoo Finance

After a loved one dies, those left in charge of settling the estate can spend months tying up loose ends.

"No matter how well you did your planning, there is a house, cars, financial accounts," Hugh Tamassia, co-founder of the estate settlement company Alix, said on the Financial Freestyle podcast (see video above or listen below). "There are subscriptions. There's insurance policies. There's utilities. There's the newspaper that lands on the front door that has to be canceled. There's all these things that have to be dealt with by the next generation. And these things can take up to 900 hours of effort for the children of someone who's passed away."

Settling A Loved One's Estate Can Take Up To '900 Hours Of Effort

Sara Belcher · Podcast Writer Updated Mon, March 24, 2025 Yahoo Finance

After a loved one dies, those left in charge of settling the estate can spend months tying up loose ends.

"No matter how well you did your planning, there is a house, cars, financial accounts," Hugh Tamassia, co-founder of the estate settlement company Alix, said on the Financial Freestyle podcast (see video above or listen below). "There are subscriptions. There's insurance policies. There's utilities. There's the newspaper that lands on the front door that has to be canceled. There's all these things that have to be dealt with by the next generation. And these things can take up to 900 hours of effort for the children of someone who's passed away."

Tamassia, who spent years working at financial institutions like JPMorgan Chase & Co., American International Group, and Acorns, pointed out that every American will face estate settlement, though they will likely only need to deal with it once in their lifetime.

The Silent Generation and baby boomers are expected to pass up to $84.4 trillion to their children through 2045. But without the proper handling of estates, it'll be difficult for the receiving generations to maintain and build on that inherited wealth.

"It doesn't matter whether you're poor or rich, everyone is going to have this problem," Tamassia said.

However, he noted that estate planning tends to fall more on women and underserved communities. Over 60% of the time, it's the eldest daughter who is expected to wrap up the estates of baby boomer parents, Tamassia said.

"The most common mistake is underestimating what's really ahead of you," he explained. "There's actually an enormous amount of work in shutting down someone's life beyond just what we would immediately think are the small things that need to be done. And the problem is most people don't learn this until they get halfway into it and it's too late."

So what can be done to make this process easier on family members? Tamassia recommended starting by creating a will and establishing a trust.

"But that doesn't handle everything," Tamassia said. He noted that a will and trust don't handle subscriptions, credit card payments, and other smaller financial matters that must be dealt with after a person's death. And the lawyer executing the will isn't likely to advise the deceased's loved ones on these steps either.

"The best plans begin to go stale the moment you leave the lawyer's office," Tamassia said. "If you don't refresh those plans constantly, there's always some assets out there."