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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 1, 2009
Legislature Approves Bill to Stop Property Tax Scams
(SACRAMENTO) - Assemblymember Ted W. Lieu (D-Torrance) announced today that the California Assembly gave bipartisan approval to Assembly Bill 992, which would prohibit scammers and con artists from deceiving homeowners about ways to lower their property taxes. The bill now moves to the Governor’s desk for signature.
“With property values dropping across the state, scammers are preying on unsuspecting homeowners by offering to help lower their property tax bill,” said Assemblymember Lieu. “These unscrupulous companies offer to file property tax reduction requests with the county assessor’s office, in return for an up-front fee of several hundred dollars from the homeowner. The fact is, this same service is provided for free from the local assessor’s office, and there is no need for anyone to pay an up-front fee to facilitate a property tax reduction.”
The California Attorney General has issued a consumer alert for homeowners regarding this scam, and county assessors are being inundated with questions and concerns from property owners who have received misleading mailers.
“To take advantage of unsuspecting homeowners in the midst of an economic crisis is not only shameful, it can and should be criminal,” said Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley. “Several investigations in my office are underway now into these types of scams.”
AB 992 prohibits the collection of advance or late fees, closes loopholes in current law, and requires that written authorization from the property owner must be provided before a reassessment request is filed.
“I commend the Legislature for supporting Assemblymember Ted Lieu’s bill to protect all property owners, and particularly seniors, from falling victim to companies sending out scam mailers, easily mistaken for a government document and offering to obtain lower assessments for a hefty fee, sometimes hundreds of dollars,” said Los Angeles County Assessor Rick Auerbach. “This is a process county assessors now do for free as part of their job responsibility.”
AB 992 is sponsored by the Los Angeles County District Attorney and supported by the Los Angeles County Board of Realtors, Los Angeles County Office of the Assessor, and California Assessors’ Association.