08 | October | 2010 | Be a Seed for Change

An FTC complaint filed against a company for misrepresenting tax relief services to customers has resulted in a temporary restraining order and the organization’s assets being frozen.

Called American Tax Relief LLC, the company used TV and radio commercials, as well as Internet advertising to claim that for a fee it can settle people’s state and federal tax debts.

To trick consumers it abused the name of a real IRS program, that allows people to pay less than what they owe, but which only applies in very limited circumstances.

“The IRS is currently accepting a fraction of back taxes owed to them (sic) for those who qualify.

“The IRS is allowing the people with delinquent tax liabilities a ONE-TIME opportunity to settle the debt ONCE AND FOR ALL.

“But at the same time, the IRS does not advertise, promote or even voluntarily suggest this program,” one of the company’s ads claimed.

People were instructed to call a toll-free hotline, where after a few questions, they were told that they qualify for either the “Offer in Compromise” program or a “penalty abatement.”

The FTC says the company charged between $3,200 to $25,000 to resolve allegedly people’s tax problems, when in fact they couldn’t do it.

According to the IRS, a penalty abatement is only considered when there are very serious reasons to justify late payments, such as natural disasters, severe injury or death.

Also, the “Offer in Compromise” program is only available to people as a last resort and after extensive background checks have been performed to determine that no other payment option remains.

In April 2010, federal agents executed a criminal search warrant at the company’s Beverly Hills office and seized funds from an account, as well as a Ferrari from one its owners.

The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, and names American Tax Relief LLC, Alexander Seung Hahn, Joo Hyun Park, and his parents Young Soon Park and Il Kon Park, as defendants.

Search Working America’s Job Tracker to find corporate traitors in your area.

Every day, more U.S. workers are told “You’re fired!” Not because they did something wrong—and not because the work they do isn’t needed anymore—but because their jobs are being shipped overseas.

So our friends at the AFL-CIO’s community affiliate Working America created Job Tracker—a website that exposes which companies are guilty of outsourcing our jobs. Just enter your ZIP code, and Job Tracker will find corporate traitors near you.

Search your area for companies that have sent jobs overseas, risked the safety and health of workers or violated their rights.

When we see the plant near us closing or mass layoffs in the next town over, it’s hard to know the disturbing scope of the problem—after all, corporations don’t want to publicize unpopular, anti-worker actions, and the government doesn’t track every job lost to outsourcing in one easily assessable place.

I was shocked to learn from Job Tracker that 13 companies right in my area are outsourcing jobs, and a shocking 6,515 companies have safety and health violations! Want to know what things are like in your community? Get the stats on greedy companies near you, and report any missing companies you know about.

By making this information public, Working America is putting greedy CEOs on the defensive. For the first time, working people have one place to see the real impact of outsourcing, bad trade deals and currency manipulation. Every corporate traitor Working America exposes—and every company you and your friends, co-workers and family add—makes a stronger case for holding corporations accountable.

So check out Job Tracker, and if any companies are missing, tell us about them. We’ll research your submissions and add them to the site when we verify the information.

In solidarity,

Manny Herrmann
Online Mobilization Coordinator, AFL-CIO

P.S. Corporations aren’t going to stop moving jobs out of America unless we force them to stop. That starts with compiling concrete information on just how much corporate greed is costing America’s workers. Check out Job Tracker, and help us take the first step by shining a light on outsourcing, safety and health violations and labor law violations.