Taxes and the possibility of a simple mistake on our tax form leading to an arrest for tax evasion is the worst nightmare for many of us. That’s why we spend so many hours going over our tax returns with a fine-toothed comb, looking for a single mistake that could get us into all sorts of trouble with the IRS. 

You’ll be pleased to know that you can relax. First, contrary to what it might seem like, very few people actually go to prison for tax evasion. According to HR Block, in 2015 the IRS looked at about 150 million people for legal source tax evasion. Of those 150 million, only 1,330 people were actually indicted. Second, the IRS really can tell the difference between a simple mistake and a full-blown case of tax evasion.

The bulk of the cases involving legal source tax evasion involve people who either misreport their annual income or who fail to fill out the proper tax returns.

One of the interesting things about the IRS is that they typically don’t decide to pursue legal action against individuals who failed to pay their taxes because they simply didn’t have the funds needed to pay the owed taxes. While the IRS is aware of these individuals and will keep an eye on their financial situation, they aren’t the IRS’s main concern.

The IRS is primarily interested in people who have the money needed to cover the taxes they owe, but who are blatantly trying to get out of giving that money to the IRS.

When the IRS suspects a person is guilty of tax evasion, they start by ordering an audit. This audit requires that the person provide financial history for a specified number of years. The IRS doesn’t give the person much time to gather the necessary information because they don’t want the person to come up with a good hiding place for extra cash or assets that they failed to report.

Continually delaying to provide the requested financial information will make the IRS suspicious and could prompt them to take legal action against you.

If you’re being audited, you don’t want to lie to the auditor. These are highly trained investigators. Not only do they have a strong understanding of finances and taxes, but they’re also trained to read people and have the skills needed to find holes in your story and use those holes to get at the truth.

If the IRS believes you are guilty of tax evasion and decides to pursue legal action, you could face one year in prison for each year of tax evasion you committed. You’ll also have to pay the taxes you owe, plus interest.

The holidays are here. For most of us, that means spending time with friends and family members we love. This is a time when we make good memories and spread love.

Unfortunately, not all of us will enjoy the holiday season. Some studies indicate that crime rates increase during the holiday season. There are a few different reasons for the surge of crime. First, people have time off work which gives them more time to get into trouble. Second, many people who don’t usually overindulge will often misjudge how much alcohol they’ve consumed. The increased alcohol content lowers inhibitions and results in them doing things they’d never have considered if they were sober. The third reason crime rates increase during the holiday season is because money is often tight.

Police have noticed that there are certain crimes that surge more than others during the holidays.

Drunk driving offenses are always a problem during the holidays. People get together and want to have a good time which often involves alcohol. The problem is that many don’t plan to spend the night where they are drinking and fail to have a DD at the ready so they slide behind the wheel and ultimately get caught driving while intoxicated. 

The best way to make sure you aren’t charged with a DUI this holiday season is to only drink while you’re home, always having a DD at the ready, or arranging to take a cab/Uber home. If you aren’t sure you’ll be able to get yourself home safely, stay away from the alcohol. Staying sober might not seem like fun, but it beats spending a night in jail and dealing with the fallout of a drunk driving arrest.
Retailers report that shoplifting increases during the holiday season. This is likely due to the fact that some people find themselves short of money and unable to purchase gifts for their families. If you’re contemplating stealing a gift this holiday season, please reconsider. Store managers are going to be on the lookout for sticky fingers and with more stores installing elaborate video surveillance systems, the odds of you getting away with the theft are small. Instead of trying to steal a gift, consider making a homemade present.

Domestic violence arrests also increase during the holiday season. There are likely a few different reasons for this. First, stress over finances and strained family relationships can push some people over the edge. Second, people are often home rather than working and the increased contact can result in some pushed buttons. Third, having family and friends around can encourage the victim to report the violent acts which they may not have felt they could do in the past.

Recognizing that emotions run high during the holidays, it’s in your best interest to recognize when your temper is getting short and remove yourself from the situation before you react with violence. It’s better to take a walk or go for a long drive than to get arrested for domestic violence during the holidays.

Stay safe this holiday season!

No one wants to spend the Christmas season sitting in a jail cell with a DUI charge hanging over their head, yet that’s exactly what will happen to several people this holiday season. Drunk driving is one of the most common reasons people are arrested during the holidays. 

Don’t assume that since it’s the holiday season, you can safely make it home after spending a few hours in the bar. You simply can’t anticipate every single situation you’ll encounter during the journey. There’s always a chance that something will happen and you’ll get into an accident. 

The other problem with taking a chance during the holiday season is that state and local officers know that there are going to be more drunk drivers on the roads than during other times of the year. They’re prepared for this. There will likely be more officers patrolling the streets and they are going to be on the lookout for the erratic driving habits that indicate the person behind the wheel has had a few too many. They will pull you over and if you’ve been drinking, you will be arrested.

No one is going to go lightly on you just because you were caught driving while under the influence during the holidays. The potential sentence for a first offense will be a misdemeanor charge with a potential sentence of 3-5 years of probation, up to $1,000 in fines, losing your driver’s license for six months, and substance abuse school. If you’re in an accident that involves an injury or death, you’ll face additional charges that have significantly more serious penalties.

The thing you must understand about DUIs during the holidays is that they are actually pretty easy to avoid. If you’re going out, either with friends or by yourself, assume that you will drink too much and come up with a plan to get home. Arrange for someone to pick up when it’s time to leave the bar or party. If you can’t find a friend or family member to come to get you, take a cab or book an Uber. Spending a few bucks on the fare is considerably cheaper than getting convicted of a DUI.

Make this a happy holiday season that is full of good memories. The best way to do that is to make sure you only get behind the wheel when you’re completely sober.

California lawmakers have adopted a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to heroin. It doesn’t matter if you transporting it, using it, dealing it, or anything else, getting caught with heroin is a serious offense. 

California has a number of specific laws that pertain to heroin. They include:

 
The state is so serious about cracking down on heroin use, charges can even be filed against you if you happen to be near someone who is using or in possession of heroin.

The majority of the heroin cases that make their way through the California legal system are cases that deal with the simple possession of heroin. Simply having heroin in a pocket or stored in your car is a violation of HS 11350. This is a misdemeanor offense. The good news is that if you’re convicted, the amount of time you spend in jail isn’t terribly long, the maximum sentence is a year in a county jail. The bad news is that the conviction could come as a serious financial blow, with a maximum fine of $20,000.

Many people who are caught with simple possession of heroin opt to take part in California’s drug diversion program.

If you are convicted of possession with the intent to sell heroin, you’re guilty of violating Health and Safety Code 11351 HS. This is a felony conviction. The sentencing includes 2-4 years in a California state prison and a fine as large as $20,000.

The amount of heroin you have on you at the time of your arrest will also play a huge role in how serious the sentence is. If you have more than one kilogram of heroin on you when you are arrested, the judge will take the original sentence they’ve issued and add anywhere from 3-25 years to the amount of time you have to serve in prison. The $20,000 fine could also be increased to several hundred thousand of dollars.

Any heroin arrest that involves the intent to sell automatically disqualifies you from the drug diversion program.

But what if you’re not using heroin but simply happen to be hanging out with someone who is? If you know that they are using heroin while you’re with them, you can be charged with breaking Health & Safety Code 11365 HS. While this isn’t a good charge, it’s not nearly as serious as being in actual possession of heroin. If convicted, you’ll have a misdemeanor charge added to your record and could be potentially sentenced to 6 months in a county jail.

There are valid reasons for an employer to let an employee go. There are also invalid reasons which are considered wrongful terminations. If you believe you were wrongfully terminated, it means that you feel your employer violated public policy or state/federal law.

Unless your employer was doing something that broke the law, such as asking you to help them embezzle funds, you probably won’t be able to file criminal charges against them. What you will be able to do is file a civil suit. If you win the case, you should be able to recoup some of your lost wages and possibly even some punitive damages.

The first step you need to take when you believe you were wrongfully terminated from your job is figuring out exactly why your employer fired you. This isn’t always easy. 

The most important step in proving that you were wrongfully terminated is getting a copy of all your performance reviews. Ideally, you would have received and saved copies of these during your time with the company, but if you didn’t you’ll have to request them from your former employer. In addition to the performance records, you should also have a copy of the contract you signed when you started working for the employer and any paperwork you received when you were let go. The better your records are, the easier proving your wrongful termination case will be.

If you’re missing some of the paperwork you need, refrain from verbally requesting the missing information. It’s far better to submit a written request. Make sure you keep a copy of this written request. Your records should have when the request was submitted, how it was submitted, who took the request, and how long before they should provide you with the requested information.

Most wrongful termination cases involve the employer telling the employee that they are being let go because they violated one of the company’s policies. When this happens, immediately request proof of this violation. This is called Proof of Misconduct. The proof generally comes in the form of written disciplinary action. Your employer should be able to provide you with the Proof of Misconduct as soon as they let you know that you’ve been terminated.

Depending on the situation, it may be possible to find other employees who have had the same experience with your former employee. These are valuable resources as they will help you establish a pattern of behavior.

Once you have all of these things, the next step is finding a good employment law attorney who will advise you on the best way to handle the situation. 

If you ask anyone who used a bail bond to get themselves or a loved one out of jail for a recommendation, they will tell you to contact Bail Bond Store in Los Angeles. Rather than spend more time shopping around for different bail bond companies, and effectively making your loved one’s wait behind bars longer, go directly to Bail Bond Store in Los Angeles. Consultations are free and you do not need to wait until normal business hours since Bail Bond Store in Los Angeles is available around the clock.

During the consultation, you and the Bail Bond Store in Los Angeles representative will discuss the charges that are filed against your loved one and what their bail is. Together you will come up with a custom payment plan that fits your financial needs. Having been in the bail bond industry for 30 years, Bail Bond Store in Los Angeles has seen it all and will find a way to work with you, no matter what your situation.

A goal of Bail Bond Store in Los Angeles’s is to make the whole bail situation less stressful for you. One of the ways they do this is by accepting all forms of payment: cash, credit, debit, and checks. For convenience, their website has a secure payment portal for electronic payments.

Bail Bond Store in Los Angeles stays open around the clock because the night and early hours of the morning are no strangers to criminal activity and arrests. Bail Bond Store in Los Angeles is always ready to help anyone that comes through their office doors, calls on the phone, or chats with them online. People seek bail bond assistance at all hours of the day, so Bail Bond Store in Los Angeles wants to make sure they are available to these people.

Trust in the team at Bail Bond Store in Los Angeles. They will get the job done for you quickly and at an affordable price. Bail Bond Store in Los Angeles can be reached online or at 877-793-2245.

Have you ever wondered how you would get out of jail if you were ever arrested? No, we do not mean break out, but bail out. Would you ask a friend or family member to bail you out, or would you do it yourself? You could use your phone call to talk to a professional bail bond company, which would then help you get out of jail. However, have you considered how you would pay the bail agent?

While in jail, a person does not have access to his or her bank account, meaning they have no funds for bail other than what they had on them at the time of arrest. This can prove troublesome, since in most cases, a person cannot be released from until after he or she has paid for the bail.

When it comes to paying bail, the whole thing has to be paid at once, in cash. Unless you were walking around with thousands of dollars in your pocket at the time of your arrest, bailing yourself out by paying bail is not something you can do.

Luckily, most bail bond companies only need a small portion of the bail bond to be paid before the defendant can be released from jail. However, as before, there needs to be some amount of payment for the person to be released from jail. Luckily, some bail bond companies are willing to work with their clients on this. In some instances, if the client has a good credit score and job, the bail bond company will get him or her out of jail for no money down. This helps the client get out of jail, so he or she has access to a bank account to then pay for the bail bond within the next day or so.

As you can see, bailing out of jail can be tricky, but only if you do not have a good bail agent at your side. That is why it is important to find one of the best bail agents in California, which you can do by contacting Bail Bond Store in Los Angeles.

Bail Bond Store in Los Angeles can be reached at any time by calling 877-793-2245.

Plan as we might, we never truly know where we are going to be a few days from now. You could be planning a nice summer trip, and if everything goes right, you will end up exactly where you wanted to be. However, something could go terribly wrong, and suddenly your trip is canceled. That is exactly what happened for some people.

No one woke up intending to get arrested, but that is what happened. Now, they are sitting in jail while they await their trial process. Their summer plans may have been changed, but it does not have to be as bad as they might think. They can bail out of jail, and even though they probably will not be permitted to travel, they can at least enjoy their summer at home.

If you have a friend or family member whose summer plans were interrupted and canceled by an arrest, you can offer your help. Just contact a professional bail bond company like Bail Bond Store in Los Angeles to begin the process of bailing out your friend or family member.

Bail Bond Store in Los Angeles makes bailing someone out of jail quick and easy. Our knowledgeable bail agents will any questions that you might have and will do all of the hard work for you. On top of that, we can have someone out of jail in as little as 2 hours in some counties.

By bailing out your loved one, you will be allowing him or her to enjoy the summer. Your friend or family member will be better able to prepare for his or her trial, and continue to have a normal life.

Have you heard of the proposed bill by Senator Scott Weiner from San Francisco that would allow bars to stay open later? State Bill 384, which is referred to as “Let Our Communities Adjust Late Night” or LOCAL Act for short, will allow communities to adjust how late restaurants and bars can serve alcohol.

Under this new law, city governments would be able to adjust the time from 2am, to anywhere up to 4am. This gives the city more control over the serving of alcohol, which can greatly affect nightlife in the city. Many cities across the state of California rely on having a busy night life to help support the local economy.

The law will not force cities to change the cut off call for serving alcohol. What it does is let cities extend the last call time from 2am to 4am.

This is not the first proposed bill to do this. A similar bill was proposed back in 2013. However, this bill did not gain enough votes to pass through committee.

The LOCAL Act recently passed through the California state senate last week. However, this does not mean it will become a law. It has a few more hurdles to pass before becoming a full-fledged California law.

What do you think? Should California cities be able to extend the last call time for alcohol service?

Did you know that in California, women may not drive in a housecoat, or that no vehicle without a driver may exceed 60 miles per hour? We are not pulling your leg. These are real laws that are still written in California’s law books. They are not the only weird, odd, peculiar laws this state still has today. In addition to those,

• It is illegal to spit in Burlingame, unless you are on a baseball diamond.
• Women may not wear high heels in Carmel.
• Pinball machines are outlawed in El Monte.
• Any man who has a moustache in Eureka is forbidden to kiss a woman, even if she is his girlfriend or wife.
• Anyone who wishes to purchase a wax container must be at least 18 years of age.
• In Hollywood, no one may drive over 2,000 sheep down Hollywood Boulevard.
• It is illegal to drink intoxicating cement in Indian Wells.
• Moth hunting is illegal in Los Angeles when done under a street light.
• In Norco, having a rhinoceros as a pet is allowed as long as the owner gets a $100 license first.
• Molesting butterflies is strictly prohibited in Pacific Grove.
• Dogs are not allowed to chase squirrels in the summer.
• Unless they do not mind being fined $250, San Diegans must take their Christmas lights down by February 2.
• People who are classified as “ugly” may not walk down the streets of San Francisco.
• Having more than two cats or dogs as pets is not allowed in San Jose.
• In Walnut, every child must get a special permit from the sheriff in order to wear a mask on Halloween.

If you search the Internet, you will find so many more weird laws that still exist in California and will leave you scratching your head. In fact, every state in the U.S. has their share of odd laws and it is pretty entertaining to read.

We hope you never get arrested for violating one of these wacky laws but if you do, call Los Angeles Bail Bond Store anytime. We will look past your embarrassment and bail you out of jail as soon as possible.

We can be reached online, and at 877-793-2245.