Crackdowns Continue In Effort To Recover Unpaid Real Estate Taxes Stemming From Fraudulent Florida Homestead Claims

In Deltona, Florida, Southwest Volusia News reports:

• Morgan Gilreath, Volusia County Property Appraiser, knows that Florida Homestead Exemption fraud is a problem, in not only Volusia County, but also the entire State of Florida and Gilreath is not standing idly by.

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• “Over the past four years, our Homestead Compliance Investigative Unit, (HCIU), has accounted for cases bringing in to Volusia County and City governments $14.3 million in back taxes, interest, and penalties where homestead violations occurred.” The HCIU consists of two former fraud/ law enforcement investigators. Gilreath stated that there is a recent vacancy available for a third investigator and hopes to fill it soon.

• There have been cases where in excess of $80,000.00 has been recovered from one property owner while there is a currently unresolved case that could involve in excess of $120,000.00 if resolved against the property owner.

• In Hollywood, Florida, a Hollywood Police Detective who was on loan to the Broward County Property Appraiser’s Office discovered 1,187 cases of homestead fraud in Hollywood alone, in an eight-month period. The net result: $750,000.00 in back taxes collected and $69 million restored to city tax rolls.

For more, see Volusia Homestead Fraud (Volusia County Property Appraiser finds $14.3 million).

(1) Penalties for Homestead Exemption Fraud: Information obtained from the Volusia County Appraisers Office web site discloses the following:

• Florida Statute 196.131(2) provides that “any person who knowingly and willfully gives false information for the purpose of claiming homestead exemption is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable by a term of imprisonment not exceeding 1 year or a fine not exceeding $5,000.00 or both."
  
  Florida Statute 196.161(1)(b) further states that “upon determination by the property appraiser that for any year or years within the prior 10 years a person who was not entitled to a homestead exemption was granted a homestead exemption from ad valorem taxes, it shall be the duty of the property appraiser making such determination to serve upon the owner a notice of intent to record in the public records of the county a notice of tax lien against any property owned by that person in the county, and such property shall be identified in the notice of tax lien. Such property which is situated in this state shall be subject to the taxes exempted thereby, plus a penalty of 50 percent of the unpaid taxes for each year and 15 percent interest per annum.”