LexisNexis and Tax Management Associates Identify Fraud and Discover Nearly $1,500,000 in New Revenue for Delaware County, Indiana

LexisNexis and Tax Management Associates Identify Fraud and Discover Nearly $1,500,000 in New Revenue for Delaware County, Indiana

Alliance Leverages Data and Investigation Capabilities to Combat Homestead Exemption Fraud

February 27, 2012 10:15 AM EST

WASHINGTON, DC — (MARKET WIRE) — 02/27/12 — LexisNexis� Risk Solutions and Tax Management Associates, Inc. (TMA) today announced that Delaware County, Ind. has discovered almost $1,500,000 in new revenue by leveraging the companies’ Homestead Exemption Fraud Detection program. The program — the result of an alliance created by the companies — combines LexisNexis analytics technology and public records databases with TMA’s investigative capabilities to help counties detect Homestead Exemption fraud and discover new revenue.

Under the program, LexisNexis identified 3.6 percent of the applications in Delaware County’s Homestead Exemption program were potentially fraudulent by examining key indicators of fraud such as:

  • Exemptions filed by owners for rental properties;
  • Individuals with multiple exemptions for multiple properties within Indiana;
  • Individuals with multiple exemptions for multiple properties across multiple states;
  • Businesses receiving exemptions; and
  • Family members receiving exemptions under deceased property owners’ names.

TMA further investigated the LexisNexis findings, verified the information and prioritized the accounts for collection by Delaware County.

“I feel that this program is very thorough and allows the Auditor and their staff to have good accurate data when letting the delinquent tax payer know of the findings,” said Judy Rust, county auditor, Delaware County.

“County governments still need to fund essential services like education and public safety no matter the state of the economy,” said Haywood Talcove, chief executive officer, Government, LexisNexis Risk Solutions. “Delaware County is staking out an important leadership role among its county government peers by taking action to combat fraud, which ultimately results in a new stream of revenue within its existing tax structure.”

“Most homeowners are honest, pay their taxes and only file for Homestead Exemptions to which they are entitled, but there are always those who will try to defraud the system,” said Richard (Chip) Cooke, Jr., vice president sales and marketing, TMA. “We are honored for the opportunity to work with LexisNexis and Delaware County to uncover and fight Homestead Exemption fraud.”

For more information, please visit LexisNexis on the web at www.lexisnexis.com/government and TMA atwww.tma1.com.

About LexisNexis Risk Solutions LexisNexis Risk Solutions (www.lexisnexis.com/risk/) is a leader in providing essential information that helps customers across all industries and government predict, assess and manage risk. Combining cutting-edge technology, unique data and advanced scoring analytics, Risk Solutions provides products and services that address evolving client needs in the risk sector while upholding the highest standards of security and privacy. LexisNexis Risk Solutions is part of Reed Elsevier, a leading publisher and information provider that serves customers in more than 100 countries with more than 30,000 employees worldwide.

LexisNexis helps law enforcement, intelligence, revenue and social services agencies in the government industry enhance investigations, derive insight from complex data sets, and combat fraud, waste and abuse.

About Tax Management Associates (TMA) Since 1979, Tax Management Associates (TMA) (www.tma1.com) has been assisting state and local tax officials in their day to day duties of administering the property tax. TMA is made up of an experienced management team, accounting professionals and other specialized individuals, comprising over 130 people in offices across the United States. TMA’s expertise lies in leveraged technology and a deep knowledge of local taxation practices to assist its clients in discovering and processing missing sources of revenue. These sources of revenue include business taxes, income taxes and improperly filed exemptions. TMA has performed similar services for over 450 client jurisdictions in fifteen states.