Author: Elizabeth Blessing
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The FTC warns that scammers sometimes pay to sit at the top of search results during open enrollment, and says to type the address and look for the .gov ending
The Federal Trade Commission is warning that scammers sometimes pay to land at the top of search results during Medicare and Marketplace open enrollment. Its advice is short: type the website name in directly, scroll past the paid ads and look for the .gov ending. The warning matters most for people shopping for a 2027…
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A federal court ordered two Fundsz board members to pay more than $31 million and the founder’s estate to surrender a residence
A federal court in Florida has ordered two board members of a scheme called Fundsz to pay more than $31 million, and has ordered the estate of its founder to give up a house bought with investor money. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced the order on September 30, 2026. The agency’s release says the…
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Brett Blackman was sentenced to 19 years for a platform that billed Medicare more than $1 billion for braces for 346,000 people, $450 million of it paid
Brett Blackman, 43, of Johnson County, Kansas, was sentenced to 19 years in prison on October 14, 2026, for running a software platform that produced fake doctors’ orders for medical braces. The platform billed Medicare and other federal health programs more than $1 billion, and more than $450 million of that was paid. The braces…
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Food stamp applicants have 90 days to request a hearing after a decision
People who disagree with a decision on their food stamp case, known formally as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP, have 90 days to ask for a fair hearing. The clock starts on the day the local SNAP office made the decision, not on the day the application went in. The rule is on…
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A food stamp household that qualifies for expedited service must get its benefits within seven days
A household that qualifies for expedited service in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, long known as food stamps, must have its benefits within seven days of applying. The regular deadline is 30 days. The faster track is meant for households that are nearly out of money and cannot wait a month for groceries. USDA’s Food…
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Social Security may assign a new number only as a last resort
A stolen Social Security number does not automatically earn a new one. Social Security says it may assign a new number, but only after the person whose number was misused has done everything possible to fix the damage. Even then the word is “may,” and the agency does not promise a fresh start. The rule…
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Pinal County says a disabled veteran’s total Arizona net assessed value cannot exceed $36,690 to qualify for the property tax exemption
A disabled veteran in Pinal County, Arizona, can only get the county’s property tax exemption if total net assessed value across all Arizona property stays at or under $36,690. The county assessor lists that ceiling on its veterans exemptions page. Applications open on the first Monday in January. The $36,690 is a limit on the…
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Detroit disabled veterans must file Form 5107 before December 31
Disabled veterans in Detroit who want their home exempt from property tax for 2026 have to file a one-page form, Form 5107, with the city before December 31. The same deadline applies to a veteran’s unremarried surviving spouse and to a legal designee who files on the veteran’s behalf. The exemption is for a home…
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Miami-Dade exempts totally disabled veterans from all homestead property tax
A Miami-Dade homeowner who is a veteran with a total and permanent service-connected disability can be exempt from all property taxes on the home. The Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser’s office describes the exemption as covering “all ad valorem taxes” on the homesteaded property. The exemption is not automatic for first-time applicants, and it has a…
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The IRS replaced its old mobile app on September 25
The Internal Revenue Service announced on September 25, 2026 that its new mobile app has replaced the old one, IRS2Go. The new app adds ways to check a refund, see a balance, make a payment and read some IRS notices from a phone. IRS Chief Executive Officer Frank J. Bisignano said in the agency’s news…