DC hearing will address fraud, Mo Money

WASHINGTON, D.C. (WAVY) - After numerous complaints about Mo’ Money Taxes, a Congressional crime subcommittee will hold a hearing on identity theft and income tax preparation fraud.

A Norfolk victim of Mo Money Taxes is scheduled to speak at the hearing.

The Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security will hold the hearing June 28 in response to a request from Rep. Bobby Scott, Rep. Scott Rigell, Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee and Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi.

10 On Your Side was the first to investigate the company locally and first to bring the allegations to the attention of Rep. Scott.

Complete Coverage: Mo Money Taxes

Rep. Scott announced the hearing in a written release Thursday.

"I am pleased Chairman Sensenbrenner has agreed to hold this important hearing," Scott said. "While it will not focus specifically on the firm Mo’ Money Taxes, this hearing is critical to Congress being able to review and improve applicable federal civil and criminal laws.  The issues faced by my constituents in Richmond and Hampton Roads demonstrate that changes to the law or better enforcement of present law may be needed in order to deter and prevent these types of scams from happening in the future."

10 On Your Side spoke to Scott by phone Thursday. He hopes the hearing will bring attention to the need for more funding for fraud investigations.

"I've always encouraged additional funding to make sure that when something like this occurs, law enforcement will have the resources to respond quickly and not have the thing drag out," Scott said. "The Mo Money response has been going on for months."

Mo Money Taxes has faced scrutiny in the Hampton Roads area for allegedly not providing tax refund checks to clients. The six Norfolk locations abruptly shut their doors without handing out refunds. Since then, some checks have reached customers by mail.

On Apr. 25, federal agents with the Internal Revenue Service raided the headquarters of Mo’ Money Taxes in Memphis, Tennessee. The federal investigation is ongoing.

The hearing will be held June 28 at 10 a.m. in Room 2141 of the Rayburn House Office Building.