Four South Florida Residents Charged With Illegally Dodging $100K+ In Real Estate Taxes Using Tax Breaks Granted To Dead Relatives

In Miami, Florida, The Miami Herald reports:

• For 18 years, Julian Grande received a special tax break for disabled homeowners from the Miami-Dade property appraiser. But Grande was more than disabled. He's been dead since 1990. Grande's daughter, Maria, is one of four people now facing criminal charges for allegedly exploiting property-tax breaks meant for relatives long dead. According to investigators with Miami-Dade's inspector general and the state attorney's office, the four people continued to file property-tax records indicating their disabled relatives were alive -- forging signatures, in some cases. Along with Maria Grande, those arrested were: Dane Taylor, 60, of Palmetto Bay; Philip Espinosa, 50, of Miami; and Telenia Piedra, 59, of Miami.

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• Each of the four charged had relatives who legitimately qualified for the tax exemption, sparing them from paying any property taxes on their homes. But the new owners were obliged to inform the county when they died, prosecutors say. In all, the four defendants avoided more than $100,000 in taxes, Inspector General Chris Mazzella said.

For more, see 4 accused of cheating on Miami-Dade property taxes (Four people are accused of using tax breaks for their dead relatives to avoid paying property taxes on their homes).