9/14/2015

ATLANTA and WASHINGTON, DC (September 14, 2015) – LexisNexis® Risk Solutions today announced that three Indiana counties – Allen County, Delaware County and Vanderburgh County – have discovered more than $4.6 million in new revenue by using the Homestead Exemption Fraud Detection program operated by LexisNexis® Risk Solutions and Tax Management Associates, Inc. (TMA). The program – the result of an alliance created by the companies – combines LexisNexis public records databases and identity analytics technology with TMA’s investigative capabilities to help counties detect homestead deduction fraud and discover new revenue.

Under the program, LexisNexis identified applications in Allen, Delaware and Vanderburgh Counties’ homestead deduction program that were potentially erroneous and/or fraudulent by examining key indicators of fraud such as:   

• Exemptions filed by owners for rental properties;
• Individuals with multiple exemptions for multiple properties within Indiana;
• Individuals with multiple exemptions for multiple properties across multiple states;
• Businesses receiving exemptions; and
• Family members receiving deductions under deceased property owners’ names. 

TMA further investigated the LexisNexis findings in each county, verifying the information and subsequently prioritizing accounts for collection.
In Delaware County, which has been using the program since 2012, the TMA and LexisNexis Homestead Exemption Fraud Detection program has discovered $873,300 in new revenue. “The ground work performed by this program has been critical to helping our team methodically discover erroneous tax filings and restore revenue to our property tax base,” said Steve Craycraft, county auditor, Delaware County. 
Allen County, which has also been using the program since 2012, has identified more than $3.4 million in new revenue. “This program has helped us to clean up the homestead deduction program and return tax rates to where they are supposed to be,” said Tera Klutz, county auditor, Allen County.

Vanderburgh County began using the program in 2013 and has detected more than $350,000 in new revenue. “As a result of this program, we have accurately depicted the homestead deductions in the county,” said Joe Gries, county auditor, Vanderburgh County. “That helps all taxpayers because everyone is paying their fair share.”

“Allen County, Delaware County and Vanderburgh County are staking out an important leadership role among their government peers by taking action to combat fraud and erroneous tax filings,” said Haywood Talcove, chief executive officer, Government, LexisNexis Risk Solutions. “These counties are creating a new revenue stream within their existing tax structure that can be used to fund essential county services.”

“Most homeowners are honest, pay their taxes and only file for homestead deductions to which they are entitled, but there are always those who will try to defraud the system,” said Richard (Chip) Cooke, Jr., chief executive officer, TMA. “We are honored by the opportunity to work with LexisNexis and Allen County, Delaware County and Vanderburgh County to uncover and fight homestead deduction fraud.”

About LexisNexis Risk Solutions
LexisNexis^® Risk Solutions includes seven brands that span multiple industries and sectors. We harness the power of data, sophisticated analytics platforms and technology solutions to provide insights that help businesses and governmental entities reduce risk and improve decisions to benefit people around the globe. Headquartered in metro Atlanta, Georgia, we have offices throughout the world and are part of RELX (LSE: REL/NYSE: RELX), a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. For more information, please visit LexisNexis Risk Solutions and RELX.