EZ WAY TO PROVE ZERO FMV of WAC

[YMSurvivor]

Regarding complaints about STA to the IRS, here is the form: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f3949a.pdf

It will help your case IMMENSELY if you provide proof that the WACs have no fair market value. i.e. they can't be sold or traded for anything NEAR the value claimed on these 1099's - that is what makes them (the 1099's) fraudulent.

Quickest way to document proof:

1. Navigate to the STA Classifieds, search for WAC. This link will take you right to the list of ads.
http://www.staretail.com/csearch.asp...ch+Classifieds

2. Open an ad and take a screenshot* of it (instructions follow).

3. Contact the seller, asking if he/she has had any luck selling his/her WACs. If/when he/she replies, explain what you are doing and request permission to use the information they have just given you.

4. Save/print the screenshot and the corresponding email to include with your complaint.

The more examples you can provide, the better. DOING THIS WILL HELP AVERT THE IRS APPEALS THAT INMAN WILL INEVITABLY FILE.

*TO CAPTURE A SCREENSHOT: There is software out there, some even for free or free trial, but it's just as easy to:

1. Navigate to the screen you want to record and
2. Press Ctrl/PrntScrn buttons on your keyboard, then
3. Open Paint (Start/Programs/Accessories/Paint) and click Paste, and
4. Save As (something like "WACs Ad Screenshot") in jpg format.
5. Make sure you save it where you can find it - it is a good idea to designate a new folder for this.

Also, it has come to light that the IRS strongly disapproves of "income" gained by operating a Ponzi. Follow this link for screenshots of one of 2 YMMSS-approved promotion pages, which clearly illustrate the Ponzi-type construction of YMMSS/STA: http://s141.photobucket.com/albums/r...ots/?start=all

[YMSurvivor]

From a tax specialist: "If you can prove that the FMV is fabricated, then they (STA) have committed tax fraud."

And, "The more victims who contact IRS with proven claims of STA fraud, the better."

So, take the steps outlined above to obtain your proof and FILE THOSE COMPLAINTS!

That's all great but I can no longer go to the sta site because I no longer have a site to go to.

[cheryl20772]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

That's all great but I can no longer go to the sta site because I no longer have a site to go to.

and I suspect that you do not want further access to that site. Take a screen shot of your denial of access screen when you attempt to log in. That is evidence that you do not have an account there. You once had an account there, but you were told that if you stopped reading ads, no more payments would be made; so you let it close.

Then get some screen shots of the classified WAC ads. Talk by email to some of the people selling WAC's. I have spoken with two of them and they are very helpful and also working to help our problems.

Your tax problems do not go away just by filing a 3949 referral form. We also need to talk to the IRS on February 15th regarding our own personal 1099 form. You need to call IRS about it and file for erroneous 1099. See my thread with this information Erroneous 1099 Procedure

It feels a bit scary like you are fighting this alone, but you will not be alone. We need to spread the word to all who got these erroneous 1099's to call the IRS on February 15. The IRS expects to get a flood of calls that day --- all from people who got scammed with 1099's. That's what that day is for.

[YMSurvivor]

Backoffice access is NOT necessary to this effort - the STA Classifieds are open to the public. AND a screenshot of "denied access" only serves to strengthen your case. How can those WAC be of any use if you cannot get to them to use them?

P.S. The screenshot process can seem a bit intimidating at first, but don't worry! This forum is set up to open a new window when you click on the links, so you will have the instructions right here next to the windows you want to capture.

[YMSurvivor]

From "Investor Words" http://www.investorwords.com/1878/fa...et_value.html:

fair market value
Definition

The price that an interested but not desperate buyer would be willing to pay and an interested but not desperate seller would be willing to accept on the open market assuming a reasonable period of time for an agreement to arise.

That sellers ARE desperate ("will take any offer"), combined with the FACT that there are NO ads seeking to purchase WAC, IMPLIES (legally speaking) a less-than-zero FMV on WAC. However, implications are NOT enough to get the IRS off of OUR backs - as any experienced tax payer knows, the IRS is all about PROOF.

Therefore, it imperative that you CONFIRM your claim (that the WAC are worthless) by emailing the sellers and asking permission to utilize the (lack of) results from their ads as evidence. The responses I received reported NO TAKERS whatsoever, even on O.B.O. ads. NO BUYERS = NO FAIR MARKET VALUE

Providing documentation of our efforts firmly establishes, to inexperienced "outsiders" (like the IRS), the REAL (zero, if not minus) fair market value of the "non-cash compensation" we have had forced upon us by STA.

Added bonus: the IBA I contacted were VERY interested in learning how to rid themselves of what they, too, felt was a falsified liability. This could very well add to our "strength in numbers."

[YMSurvivor]

From Bankrate.com

Fair market value is the final price at which two interested parties agree to make a deal.

Note: It's the AGREEMENT on the final price, NOT the fact that the item has been advertised for sale. No agreement, no (zero) Fair Market Value.

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/inv.../19991124i.asp

[YMSurvivor]

If you enter WAC in the search box, it will take you to a list.
http://staretail.biz/csearch.asp?key...ch+Classifieds
Then, of course, you have to click on each ad to view it.

THIS (each separate ad) is what I have been capturing via screenshot, BTW. Then when I get a response, I collate them together: one ad, one response, so each verifies the other one by username and email address.

[cheryl20772]

Keep in mind that Kim Inman already allowed members to return the survey WAC's from their back office. Only those who were active and read all YMMSS / STA correspondence knew about that option. On December 20, he also allowed all members who wanted to, the option to return the accelerator table credits from the back office. This had to be done before the end of 2006. Not much time for those who were no longer reading STA correspondence to get the word. Not much use to those who had written off their losses and walked away already.

Do you think Kim Inman paid all those people $10 per WAC when those WAC's were returned?

NO! STA paid those people who returned their WAC's $ZERO! That is the true value of a WAC... already nicely established for us by STA. Do you think those who returned their WAC's (including by his own admission, Esto) felt these WAC's were worth $10 a piece?

I will go on record as one person who returned the survey credits and received $ZERO from STA in return. I returned them because they were a valueless potential tax liability to me. I would have returned the remaining WAC's in my account (if STA had not already closed the account per my request) and given them back to STA (even though now STA won't acknowledge that I refused to accept the WAC's). I did write email to the Help Desk and suggest that they return the WAC's in that account as I was no longer able to manage it. They ignored that.

Are we not allowed to refuse a tax liability that another party tries to give to us?

[YMSurvivor]

STA paid those people who returned their WAC's $ZERO! That is the true value of a WAC... already nicely established for us by STA. Do you think those who returned their WAC's (including by his own admission, Esto) felt these WAC's were worth $10 a piece?

I will go on record as one person who returned the survey credits and received $ZERO from STA in return. I returned them because they were a valueless potential tax liability to me.

Me, too! To me, the true FMV on WAC is actually "negative" due to the attached tax liability.

And while STA's refusal to give us ANYTHING for these WAC may be enough to convince the IRS, there are a couple of people gathering pdf (better than RA's screenshots because they are less alterable) records of the YMMSS sales pitch/Ponzi explanation, additional personal testimony of the FMV of WAC, and irrefutable evidence that STA is, despite their denials, tied to YMMSS.

There is a reported response from the IRS call here:
Erroneous 1099 Procedure