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DA arrests 17 for filing false STAR exemptions Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota announced the arrests of seventeen persons in a six-month investigation of property owners filing fraudulent applications to receive state property tax exemptions. More than 50 Suffolk landowners have been identified for prosecution by district attorney investigators, the majority described by District Attorney Spota as "individuals who have defrauded taxpayers by certifying their real estate investment, specifically rental properties, as their primary residence" on applications for tax relief under the STAR (School Tax Relief) program. The investigation was conducted with the assistance of the Babylon Town Assessor's Office, Babylon Town Housing Assistance Agency, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Inspector General, and the Community Development Corporation of Long Island. "We purposely limited the first phase of this investigation to Babylon Town," District Attorney Spota said. "In less than six months, our tax crime investigators have identified more than fifty applicants who misrepresented their primary home address on the Babylon Town assessor's STAR application," DA Spota said.District Attorney Spota said results of the investigation thus far "indicate that fraud in the basic STAR tax exemption program should be cause for concern". Policymakers should 'consider establishing a more stringent ad- ministrative screen' that assessors in local government can easily implement "to find those real estate investors who unlawfully receive tax breaks for their investment properties," he said. Arrested were:
Michael Baron, 5 William Street, Bayport, NY 11705; Michael J. Castellino, 64 Malts Avenue, West Islip, NY 11795; Curtiss L. Courts, 13 West Somerset Road, Amityville, NY 11701; Diane Crosson, 700 Broadway, Apt. #50, Amityville, NY 11701; Alice M. Devine, 15 Emeritus Avenue, Rutland, VT 05701; Maureen Evans (AKA: Maureen Terry), 665 Paper Creek Drive, Lawrenceville, GA 30045; Juan C. Gonzalez, 211 Bergen Court, Copiague, NY 11726; Kirk J. Graham, 306 Coventry Road, South West Hempstead, NY 11552; Seth C. Kurz, One Sunken Meadow Road, Fort Salonga, NY 11768; Harry Lindemann, 195 East Riviera Drive, Lindenhurst, NY 11757; Ola M. Moore, 9 Juniper Place, Amityville, NY 11701; Cathy Y. Morris, 38 Miller Avenue, Amityville, NY 11701; Rose L. Penalvert, 73 Parliament Place, North Babylon, NY 11703; Gregory L. Ramos, 45 Stillwell Street, Huntington, NY 11743; Jennifer Rankin (AKA Jennifer Squillante), 30 Ashley Circle, Manorville, NY 11949; David C. Ross (AKA: Davis Ross), 101 South Ketchum Avenue, Amityville, 11701 and Bertha M. Tyner, 2007 Townhouse Drive, Coram, NY 11727.
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