The Miami Herald reports that Bogus tax returns filed with cops’ IDs

Tax Day this year is bringing an unpleasant surprise to many South Florida police officers and firefighters — someone stole their identities and filed fraudulent returns in their names.

The culprits accessed personal information, possibly through city pension funds administered by a private company. The breach initially appeared to affect up to 400 cops and firefighters in Oakland Park and Delray Beach, but has expanded to include about 125 employees in Davie and at least one police officer in Lauderhill.

The company involved had earlier to contacted a few of its clients to say that is was possible that some records might be compromised.

The scam involved e-filing using the stolen information, and including a bogus $1000 educational tax deduction to increase the refund checks.

Maybe after they catch some of the perps, they can have them do a PSA on how easy e-filing is.

To err is human. To really screw up you need a computer.

One day after it was announced, the TEPCO timetable might need to be tweaked.

The CBC reports that Japan nuclear control plan panned

Meanwhile, a robot sent into units 1 and 3 of the Fukushima Daiichi plant detected radiation levels that still make it prohibitive for humans to enter.

“It’s a harsh environment for humans to work inside,” Hidehiko Nishiyama of Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said.

However, he said it is still possible to reach Tokyo Electric’s goal of the shutdown of the reactors within six to nine months.

“I do believe we must be creative to come up with ways to achieve our goals,” Nishiyama said. “I still think the plan … is as appropriate as we can get at the moment.”

They can’t get into the buildings because of the high levels of radioactivity, but they will stay with the plan.  Wow, that was a “ringing endorsement”.

In a related note, the Toronto Sun reports that Ukraine seeks more funds for Chernobyl. They need the money to replace the “permanent” concrete cap that was supposed to seal up the radioactive mess forever. It is crumbling after 25 years. Actually, 25 years isn’t bad for Soviet era concrete.

Part, probably, 1024 – they don’t want to pay, and the legislature passes laws to help them do it.

From the Miami Herald: Sinkholes spur debate in Legislature

TALLAHASSEE — Complaining about fraud, frivolous claims and people who spend insurance payouts on items other than home repairs, insurance companies have convinced lawmakers to free them from providing comprehensive sinkhole coverage.

But look at the numbers and it’s clear the recent increase in sinkhole claims has less to do with fraud and more to do with an increase in the number of sinkholes because of weather, geologists say.

This is the same crap the insurance companies used to get “tort reform” passed in Florida. The insurance lobbyists lied to the lege and told them that medical malpractice insurance was high because of “frivolous law suits”, and the lege passed a law to make it even more difficult to sue doctors for malpractice. Of course, it had no effect on the cost of malpractice insurance, because the settlement of law suits has never been a major expense, and premiums were going up because the insurance companies lost money at the Wall Street gaming tables.

This time they don’t want to pay out if less than your entire house is swallowed by a sink hole. Sink hole coverage is required by some banks to get a mortgage, so home owners are screwed again, paying for insurance policies that won’t pay off when there’s a problem.

Insurance companies exist to make money, not to protect policy holders.