IG Reports Film Company Claimed $1 Million In Fraudulent Tax Credits

Inspector General Stephen Street has announced that a film company claimed over $1 million in fraudulent tax exemptions in Louisiana. Street says Horizon Entertainment and Productions claimed excess expenses in the 2011 filming of The Sean Payton Showand the documentary Saintsational.

“There were numerous expenses that were submitted to the state of Louisiana that were either inflated, undocumented, or in some cases never occurred at all,” Street said.

Street says Horizon performed 263 online wire transfers in one day. He says the amount was never more than $39-thousand, but they did it enough times that it amounted to over $2 million in transfers, which they claimed as expenses in their tax credit application.

“I liken that to taking money out of your right pocket, putting it in your left pocket, and then claiming to the state of Louisiana that you spent that money,” Street said.

Street says his office is recommending additional changes to the state’s film tax credit program to prevent fraudulent claims because Louisiana cannot afford it.

“The state has very little revenue and certainly not enough to go around to fund these basic services, and we can’t let in this case over a million dollars in tax credits were issued that never should have been issued,” Street said.