Displaying items by tag: crackdown
Saturday, 04 February 2012 11:28
Fans Don’t Let Fans Drive Drunk This Super Bowl Sunday
Law enforcement will work overtime to crack down on drunk drivers
The Tennessee Department of Transportation Governor’s Highway Safety Office, Tennessee Titans and Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security are once again teaming up to remind Tennessee football fans that real Fans Don’t Let Fans Drive Drunk this Super Bowl weekend.
“If your Super Bowl game plan includes celebrating with alcohol make sure you have a sober, designated driver,” said TDOT Commissioner John Schroer. “Law enforcement officials will be working overtime to ensure that Tennessee’s roads are safe, so if you drink and drive this weekend, chances are you’ll be caught.”
Nearly 7,500 Titans fans promised to be the designated driver for friends and family during the 2011 season, making the Titans one of the top teams in the AFC South for designated driver pledges. Today, the Titans, TDOT’s GHSO and the Department of Safety and Homeland Security honored some of those designated drivers with an exclusive tour of LP Field.
“In addition to supporting the Titans this past football season, these fans made a very important commitment – one that saves lives,” said GHSO Director Kendell Poole. “By pledging to be a designated driver, they made sure their friends and family had a safe ride home from LP Field and did their part to keep Tennessee roads free of impaired drivers.”
This season, Titans fans joined more than 220,000 NFL fans in the Designated Driver program, which is a collaboration among all 32 NFL teams, 31 stadiums, concessionaires, beer distributors and brewers, broadcasters, law enforcement agencies, and traffic safety experts.
“We’re proud of our fans’ dedication to responsible behavior this season and we want all football fans to follow their leadership this weekend,” added Don MacLachlan, Titans Executive Vice President of Administration and Facilities. “Handing your keys to a sober driver or taking a cab will always make you a winner.”
“This Super Bowl Sunday, we want to see zero alcohol-related fatalities in Tennessee,” said Department of Safety and Homeland Security Commissioner Bill Gibbons. “Between the sobriety checkpoints, roving patrols, and concerned citizens, if you choose to drive impaired this weekend, we plan to catch you.”
According to the Department of Safety and Homeland Security, troopers arrested 45 people for driving under the influence during the 2011 Super Bowl weekend. Between Friday, February 4, 2011 and Sunday, February 6 at 11:59 p.m. there were 5 people killed on Tennessee roadways. Two of those deaths occurred in alcohol related crashes.
Tennessee Highway Patrol Colonel Tracy Trott reminded football fans that drinking and driving is not worth the risk. “Not only do you risk killing yourself or someone else, the cost of a DUI conviction is significant. Violators face jail time, loss of their driver license, higher insurance rates, hefty legal fees, and many other expenses.”
“We want everyone to make the right call for the Super Bowl by passing their keys to a sober driver,” added Poole. “If you’re hosting a party, make sure your celebration doesn’t end in tragedy. Designate a sober driver and have phone numbers for local taxi services on hand for those who’ve had too much to drink.”
For more information, please visit www.StopImpairedDriving.org or www.TeamCoalition.org.
The THP will participate in a multi-jurisdictional DUI Blitz with several law enforcement agencies from 2 p.m. through 2 a.m. on Super Bowl Sunday. The collaborative effort will involve saturation patrols, extensive bar checks and a pre-arranged sobriety checkpoint. A listing of THP sobriety and driver’s license checkpoints is attached to this release and can be found at http://www.tn.gov/safety/SuperbowlCheckpoints.pdf.
Published in
Local News
Wednesday, 01 February 2012 08:37
IRS: Identity theft crackdown sweeps across nation
The Internal Revenue Service and the Justice Department Tuesday announced the results of a massive national sweep cracking down on suspected identity theft perpetrators as part of a stepped-up effort against refund fraud and identity theft.
Working with the Justice Department’s Tax Division and local U.S. Attorneys’ offices, the nationwide effort targeted 105 people in 23 states. The coast-to-coast effort took place over the last week and included indictments, arrests and the execution of search warrants involving the potential theft of thousands of identities and taxpayer refunds. In all, 939 criminal charges are included in the 69 indictments and informations related to identity theft.
In addition, IRS auditors and investigators conducted extensive compliance visits to money service businesses in nine locations across the country in the past week. The approximately 150 visits occurred to help ensure these check-cashing facilities aren’t facilitating refund fraud and identity theft.
“This unprecedented effort against identity theft sends a strong, unmistakable message to anyone considering participating in a refund fraud scheme this tax season,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. “We are aggressively pursuing cases across the nation with the Justice Department, and people will be going to jail. This is part of a much wider effort underway at the IRS to help protect taxpayers.”
“The Justice Department is working closely with the IRS to investigate, prosecute, and punish tax refund crimes committed through the theft of identities,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General John A. DiCicco of the Tax Division. “Now, more than ever, we must remain vigilant against the unauthorized use of identification information to defraud the U.S. government.”
The national effort is part of a comprehensive identity theft strategy the IRS has embarked on that is focused on preventing, detecting and resolving identity theft cases as soon as possible. In addition to the law-enforcement crackdown, the IRS has stepped up its internal reviews to spot false tax returns before tax refunds are issued as well as working to help victims of the identity theft refund schemes.
The law-enforcement sweep started last week across the country, reflecting investigative efforts stretching back months and even years.
The nationwide effort by the Justice Department and the IRS led to actions taking place in 23 locations across the country with 105 individuals. The actions included 80 complaints/indictments and informations, 58 arrests, 19 search warrants, 10 guilty pleas and four sentencings. A map of the locations and additional details on the actions are available on IRS.gov, the IRS Civil and Criminal Actions page and at the Department of Justice Tax Division page http://www.justice.gov/tax/taxpress2012.htm has the most recent information.
Beyond the criminal actions, the IRS enforcement personnel conducted a special sweep last week and on Monday to visit 150 money services businesses to help make sure these businesses are not knowingly or unknowingly facilitating identity theft or refund fraud. The visits occurred in nine high-risk places identified by the IRS covering areas in and surrounding Atlanta, Birmingham, Ala., Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Phoenix, Tampa and Washington, D.C.
In addition, the IRS has more than 250 check-cashing operations under audit across the country and will be looking for indicators of identity theft as part of the exam effort.
The information from these audits and compliance visits will be used to assist continuing IRS investigations into refund fraud and identity theft.
The IRS also is taking a number of additional steps this tax season to prevent identity theft and detect refund fraud before it occurs. These efforts includes designing new identity theft screening filters that will improve the IRS’s ability to spot false returns before they are processed and before a refund is issued, as well as expanded efforts to place identity theft indicators on taxpayer accounts to track and manage identity theft incidents.
To help taxpayers, the IRS earlier this month created a new, special section on IRS.gov dedicated to identity theft matters, including YouTube videos, tips for taxpayers and a special guide to assistance. The information includes how to contact the IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit and tips to protect against “phishing” schemes that can lead to identity theft.
Identity theft occurs when someone uses another’s personal information without their permission to commit fraud or other crimes using the victim’s name, Social Security number or other identifying information. When it comes to federal taxes, taxpayers may not be aware they have become victims of identity theft until they receive a letter from the IRS stating more than one tax return was filed with their information or that IRS records show wages from an employer the taxpayer has not worked for in the past.
If a taxpayer receives a notice from the IRS indicating identity theft, they should follow the instructions in that notice. A taxpayer who believes they are at risk of identity theft due to lost or stolen personal information should contact the IRS immediately so the agency can take action to secure their tax account. The taxpayer should contact the IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit at 800-908-4490. The taxpayer will be asked to complete the IRS Identity Theft Affidavit, Form 14039, and follow the instructions on the back of the form based on their situation.
If a taxpayer receives a notice from the IRS indicating identity theft, they should follow the instructions in that notice. A taxpayer who believes they are at risk of identity theft due to lost or stolen personal information should contact the IRS immediately so the agency can take action to secure their tax account. The taxpayer should contact the IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit at 800-908-4490. The taxpayer will be asked to complete the IRS Identity Theft Affidavit, Form 14039, and follow the instructions on the back of the form based on their situation.
Taxpayers looking for additional information can consult the Taxpayer Guide to Identity Theft or the IRS Identity Theft Protection page on the IRS website.
Published in
Money
