The Year's Most Outrageous Tax Cheats
From a restauranteur who hid cash receipts in octopus boxes to a self-proclaimed governor who buried his gold, here are some of the oddest tax frauds the IRS caught last year.
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Jailed Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling Will Get Prison Term Shortened
Federal prosecutors and attorneys for convicted ex-Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling have reached a deal that will trim his sentence for his role in the energy giant's collapse.
8 Ways to Spot Counterfeit Money
The new $100 bill is designed to thwart counterfeiters, but that won't stop them from trying. To protect your wallet, learn the experts' rules for recognizing funny money.
Bad News for Tax Evaders: U.S. Targets Caribbean Accounts
U.S. taxpayers who stashed money in one of the Caribbean's largest banks without telling the IRS could be in trouble.
Retail Police Blotter: Nude Woman Strolls Through Walmart
This week's review of weird crime involving our favorite stores and restaurants includes a streaker at Walmart and remarkably well-dressed shoplifter at Walgreens.
What's With All the Hungry Thieves? Food Heists Become a Trend
There seems to be a growing trend in strange heists these days. From Nutella to cheese, why are thieves suddenly robbing us of our simple pleasures?
Tax Evader Wesley Snipes is Out of Prison, Into House Arrest
After serving more than two years in jail for tax evasion, actor Wesley Snipes was released earlier this week, though he will remain under house confinement until July 19.
Identity Thief Accidentally Sends Victims His Loot
A tip for identity thieves: When you buy a bunch of pricey merchandise with a stolen card number, make sure you don't ship the loot to your victims. That's evidently what happened to one Alaska couple. First their debit card was hacked to the tune of $5,000. Then, the packages began arriving.
Rogue French Trader's 3-Year Sentence, $7 Billion Fine Upheld
The Paris appeals court on Wednesday ordered former Societe Generale trader Jerome Kerviel to spend three years in prison and pay back a staggering 4.9 billion euros (about $7 billion) in damages for one of the biggest trading frauds in history.
The Super Bowl of Fakes: Big Game's a Win for Scammers
The quantity of counterfeit goods entering the U.S. is increasing, and it gets worse around an event like the Super Bowl. Federal agents recently seized more than $6 million of counterfeits and shut down more than 300 illegal websites. But consumers are at risk for more than just getting a shoddy NFL jersey.
'Statue of Liberty' Pursues Tax Office Robbers in Toledo
Isaac Underwood's job requires him to don a Statue of Liberty outfit to attract customers for Liberty Tax Services. But on Thursday, Underwood, 27, behaved more like a costumed hero, chasing a pair of thieves who robbed his employer of $280.
5 Outlandish Insurance Claims Overturned in 2011
Bogus burglaries, fake funerals, self-inflicted air rifle assaults -- people go to great lengths to convince insurers to cut a check to cover their personal and financial losses. But the financial gain from phony pain and suffering is often short-lived.
The 10 Most Dangerous Cities in America
On Monday, the FBI trumpeted the news that violent crime dropped 5.5% in 2010 while reported property crimes fell 2.8%. The news, though, is not all so positive. A 24/7 Wall St. review of the data shows that violent crime rose in a several of the largest and poorest cities in the U.S.
Fraud Files: Plenty of Blame to Go Around in the Madoff Case
It's been more than two years since Bernie Madoff's gigantic Ponzi scheme collapsed, but the blame game is just beginning. And many of the victims are jockeying for position, hoping to recover some money from other parties who might be deemed partly responsible for the fraud.