Families Giving back loses Tax exempt status

[Visaliakid]

Oh, this is bad.

Not just bad! With no tax papers having been filed, not only has the group's tax free status been removed, but it's likely IRS Investigators now have them under further investigation for multiple violations of tax law.

Johnny may not wish to sever his relationship with Tara, but he would be smart to do so at this point!

[olifaunt]

Oh dear.

I believe Tara represents quite a few other people besides Johnny. They should all sever their professional relationships, and fast.

[centerpt1]

Who does she still have? Mroz? I feel for him- Tom Z for a coach and Tara as an agent.
Rachael and her folks are looking pretty smart-they dumped Tara over a year ago. Abbott never made an announcement, but didn't he also go?

[olifaunt]

Pretty sure she still has Agnes, Ashley, and Armin besides Mroz and Johnny. I have no idea if she still has Jeremy.

[ProgramerUSFS]

OMG, This off season is unbelievable. I just love you guys!

[Louis]

Does the USFS have oversight over eligible skaters' agents? If so, maybe a ban of Tara Modlin/Fireworks ought to be considered -- e.g., no contracts will be approved if Modlin/Fireworks is involved.

[Quintuple]

Sort of unrelated, but here's a New York Times article about Tara Modlin as one of the original Rent-a-Russian girls.

What an interesting article. I didn't even know Tara Modlin was a skater.

I Googled just the word "Boundoukin" and found this link!
http://www.taramodlindmitriboundoukin.uzbeba.com/

Puzzling to say the least! It must be a free website with minimal info about the actual subject and odd Russian real estate deals taking up the bulk of the space ... right?

Anyway, sad news to hear. Ugh. I hate when this kind of stuff happens.

[Beefcake]

Ugh, as if the economy wasn't doing enough to weaken philanthropy!

THIS is one more reason why people either are wary of or just don't give to charities. We almost never know how much, if any, of our giving is going to the needy.

[Garden Kitty]

I don't know enough about this situation to comment on these shows, but this article really makes me appreciate people like Michael Weiss, Sean Rabbit and Tanith and Ben who work/worked really hard at their charity shows to keep the costs down. I know Mike puts the skaters up at his house, and Sean's dad worked with his employer to cover transportation. These kinds of costs can really add up.

I do understand how hard it is to put on a show and that often the organizers aren't professionals who may not have a lot of experience. But it is important for anyone who receives money in connection with a charitable cause to do their best to keep the focus on the cause.

[BittyBug]

THIS is one more reason why people either are wary of or just don't give to charities. We almost never know how much, if any, of our giving is going to the needy.

I would dispute this assertion. First, there are two great online resources -- Charity Navigator and Guidestar -- that provide quite a bit of information about what charities are doing with their money. Second, many reputable charities post their 990's online. It's really not that hard to do a little research.

[Debbie S]

Does the USFS have oversight over eligible skaters' agents? If so, maybe a ban of Tara Modlin/Fireworks ought to be considered -- e.g., no contracts will be approved if Modlin/Fireworks is involved.

They can ban a particular individual from USFS activities - rinks, competitions, sanctioned shows - if that person is judged to be in violation of USFS rules, or a threat to people. I suppose they could make a case for her violating the terms of her shows' sanctions - presumably the show was described as a charitable fundraiser. If Modlin were to be banned, then USFS would not sanction anything she/her company were involved in, so no Oly-eligible skaters could participate. But USFS has no control over the pro world (which is how Tonya Harding was able to be in that show that aired around the 98 Olys - but IIRC, she was filmed at a different rink, b/c none of the other pro skaters wanted to be around her).

FYI, USFS has a list of banned individuals (including Tonya Harding) that they send to clubs holding comps or shows - I think it comes along with the sanction notification.

THIS is one more reason why people either are wary of or just don't give to charities. We almost never know how much, if any, of our giving is going to the needy.

You can usually look up charities' tax filings online. Some even have them posted on their website; I think you can find any others on the IRS website or the website of the tax agency in the state where they are headquartered. Those docs will show how much gets disbursed to appropriate causes.

[FSfan107]

This is pretty awful to say the least.

[ProgramerUSFS]

Are we sure Tom Z wasn't involved with her in some way.

[judiz]

Can't believe with all the articles written about the show each year, no reporter ever checked where the money was going.

[luCN]

I always don't like tara,hope johnny can leave her this time...

[Jenny]

I'm always wary of celebrity charity initiatives that are not connected to a well-established organization that will administer funds and carry out the charitable works.

Just because you know how to put on a skating show doesn't mean you know how to run a charity, or run a business for that matter.

[sk9tingfan]

I always don't like tara,hope johnny can leave her this time...

I'm with you; I don't like her at all. She is the personification of a lack of subtlety.

However, the prospect of Johnny leaving Tara is practically nil unless her agency totally implodes because of this infraction. He's practically a "maid of honor/bridesmaid" at her upcoming wedding. He even went brdal gown shopping with her in Manhattan and tried one on.

[Iceman]

"ginormous" has been in use since 1948 according to Webster's dictionary. How could she not know tax returns had not been submitted? Surely, she would have had to sign off on them. One telling sign is they are not even listed with Charity Navigator, an organization that rates charities. Before giving, I always check their ratings, because I discovered that some charities you might think worthwhile have very poor ratings and one is basically throwing money away by giving to them.

[mpal2]

Creative excuses.

I'm wondering why she blamed the volunteer accountant for lack of filing tax returns for several years. Wouldn't the volunteer have done the accounting for the event only? A tax return is a completely separate job and it would be assumed that the appropriate forms were filed based on the information provided.

[YukiNieve]

this article really makes me appreciate people like Michael Weiss, Sean Rabbit and Tanith and Ben who work/worked really hard at their charity shows to keep the costs down. I know Mike puts the skaters up at his house, and Sean's dad worked with his employer to cover transportation. These kinds of costs can really add up.

ITA.

As a person who has been attending Mike's show many times,
I know how much work goes into that and how many volunteers have been involved. From show lighting to ticket sales to collecting auction items to almost everything, lots of volunteers are involved. I really come to appreciate such an enormous amount of effort maid by many people.