By Jeff Simpson
I have covered Diane Hendricks before here at CogDis, where I pointed out that Beloit College is a superior academic institution, Someone who was The Donald's main fundraiser, did not also belong on the Board of Trustees of this great institution. One or the other. Unfortunately money speaks and she was allowed to continue doing both!
Now, thanks to Urban Milwaukee's Michael Horne, we find out that Ms. Hendricks not only supports racist, sexist, bigoted, treasonous candidates for political office, but that she is a scam artist herself.
According to a 2016 Forbes listing, Wisconsin’s Diane Hendricks is the nation’s wealthiest self-made woman, with a net worth of nearly $5 billion. Yet she paid no Wisconsin income tax in the years 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2014, according to a report by Cary Spivak and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.Very nice, a multi billionaire likes to live modestly, in the area where her husband was able to make his billions...... But wait there is more!!!
It appears the Republican supporter and Trump economic adviser also gets a break on the taxes on the 228-acre property consisting of 14 parcels where she lives in the unincorporated community of Afton in the Town of Rock, a mostly rural area between Beloit and Janesville in Rock County, Wisconsin.
Today, the 120-acre main parcel — identified by officials as the residence of Diane Hendricks has an assessed land valuation of only $75,600, or $630 per acre, while four adjacent lots of less than an acre apiece also owned by Hendricks are each assessed at $22,500. This disparity alone raises red flags.
As for improvements on the property, billionaires have been known to spend extravagantly on their properties, and this one is a dandy, with woods, ponds, plazas, pathways and party areas. However, the property assessment compiled by Accurate Appraisal, LLC., with whom the Town of Rock contracts, shows only a modest 1,663-square-foot frame residence on the property, constructed in 1993 and valued at $390,000.
When speaking to her friends or tooting her own horn, she is not living quite so modestly at all, as this from Forbes magazine in :
Diane Hendricks (is)… transforming a modest rustic home in Afton, Wis. into a 10,000-square-foot dream house–one she’d planned to share with Ken.For those of you scoring at home, 10,000 is considerably bigger than 1,663. A quick Google earth search of the subject shows a home much bigger than 1663 sq ft.
Now we have her own words, and our own eyes to see Ms. Hendricks is cheating the local taxpayers by severely undervaluing her property to avoid paying taxes.
That should spring the local community into action right? Not so fast! Michael Horne again did some digging:
In researching this property for a House Confidential, column, it became clear the descriptions of the home did not match the assessment records. So I checked the neighboring addresses on the Town of Rock website to see if the home might be located at one of them. A 120-acre property might just be the beginning of the Hendricks holdings, and maybe the home itself was on an out-lot. However, this search was unsuccessful, with no property remotely matching the description of the Hendricks home.OK Deborah Bennett drops the ball, maybe because she is scared of the widow or worries that someone close to her will be punished. That's understandable in today's environment where the right wing in charge makes sure anyone who questions them pays.
On Tuesday, April 18th, I sent an e-mail to Deborah Bennett, the Clerk/Treasurer of the Town of Rock asking her for the parcel number for the Hendricks property. The town hall is located in Afton, about 1,000 feet due south of the Hendricks estate, so I relied on local knowledge to help me out.
“I am having a difficult time sifting through the assessment files of the Town of Rock to find a property that matches the numerous written descriptions of the home of Diane Hendricks. Could you please direct me to the parcel file for the Hendricks home, which is said to be approximately 10,000 s.f.?”
On a Saturday, April 22nd, Bennett replied: “The parcel number for Dian (sic) Hendricks home is 6-17-255.”
This was the same number I had already reviewed, but I entered it into the website and re-checked it: the sub-parcels for that parcel number were all under one acre, including a .76 acre site valued at $100 and registered to the Hendricks Family Cemetery Association, which is presumed to be the burial site of Ken Hendricks. But still no 10,000 square foot home.
I related my findings to Bennett and repeated my request, this time with a photograph of the home, just in case she was not familiar with the most famous property in her community.
I also contacted Accurate Appraisal, LLC.
So Mr. Horne contacted the appraisal company because a company wont throw their reputation out the door to accommodate one person would they?
Accurate does the assessments for over 100 Wisconsin communities, including the Milwaukee suburbs of Brown Deer, Cudahy, Glendale and Shorewood. I contacted the company via e-mail on April 27th, and copying it to the Town of Rock Clerk/Treasurer.
I called the firm the next day, and was told that my request had been sent to “the appropriate party.”
On May 1st, the appropriate party had still not replied to my request, and I e-mailed the firm again. I then received a return all-caps e-mail from the firm’s receptionist:
Given how close the Hendricks property is to the town hall, it’s hard to imagine the assessor would not know about Hendricks’ huge home. And in any event, under Wisconsin law, municipal assessors are obliged to discover all real and personal property that is subject to tax. Physical inspection of properties, especially those with changes of ownership or construction permits, is the preferred method to keep properties assessed as close to 100 percent of market value in properties. That does not appear to have been done.
I guess the billionaire widow is so popular and so many local people are busy chasing her money that they are willing to ruin the reputation of their own company.
However, despite the fact that she is cheating the State and local taxpayers by pulling a scam on them to get out of paying her property taxes(even though I would bet that she has no problem calling the police and fire, etc..when needed), I still feel the need to cut her some slack.
If Ms. Hendricks was forced to actually pay her property taxes, she might not have enough money left to pay for the Scott Walker Legal Defense Fund We all know without being able to hire TWO of the nations best criminal defense firms, Mr. Walker might be living in a different less cozy location.
In Case You Were Wondering, what does her modest simple abode look like:
Let's not forget what she has done and the money she has put into Beloit. Don't be ungrateful or jealous.
ReplyDeletePlease explain where this is considered in the statutes.
DeleteWhat's has she done? Ken was the one to give back to the community and help out where ever he can. After his death she had went on a shopping spree to what some say was to uplift Beloit. Truth be told she has put a blanket over your eyes. She has never earned a dime, the gold digger's husband fell off a roof remember
DeleteCan I go the treasures office and get credit for all my volunteer hours toward my property taxes? Don't think so. A tax bill is a tax bill.
DeleteOh, so she stole from the community and then gives a little part of it back and we're supposed to be grateful? Is that you Diane?
DeleteWhat she has or hasn't done for the community is irrelevant. We all should pay our fair share of taxes. She has benefited greatly from our society. She hires workers educated in public schools and transported her products on public roafs.She didn't accomplish everything she has in a vacuum.
DeleteSo because she's done some things, she can rip off tax payers and increase her wealth off the sweat of others??? GTFOH
ReplyDeleteExactly. You can do tons of good work for the community. But if your are crooked on your taxes, what does that make you?
DeleteIt is soon learned that the pigs took the milk that disappeared on the first day, and are now mixing it into their mash. The pigs now issue a decree stating that all windfall apples are to be gathered up and given over for the exclusive use of the pigs. Some of the animals are puzzled by this, and wonder why the apples are not to be shared out equally. Squealer goes before them to explain. He tells them that the pigs, as the leaders, must keep their brainpower up, and that science has proven that milk and apples are essential for this. Squealer goes on to remind them that the alternative to the pigs is to have Farmer Jones back. This settles the animals, who agree that, whatever happens, they never want to live under Jones again.
ReplyDeleteAnimal Farm, chapter II by George Orwell
Question, has anyone taken the time to verify the ALLEGED claims being made by Jeff Simpson the author, or are you simply taking his word for it? Personally before I'd get worked up over it, and jumping on either the Pro or Anti Mrs. Hendricks band wagon I'm make sure the allegations were truthful and correct before spouting off. The timber of the Post makes me suspicious, it's written with an apparent note of anger, dislike, or jealousy in it.
ReplyDeleteIt would seem that it has been fairly well researched...
Deletehttp://urbanmilwaukee.com/2017/05/17/hendricks-not-paying-property-taxes/
A little bit of reading would have saved you from a ton of embarrassment.
DeleteI know her property is huge, and I've heard from several reputable sources that she pays no taxes and is a huge Scott Walker backer.
ReplyDeleteIt seems the premise of this is that she has somehow scammed some government entity out of paying her fair share of Taxes. She doesn't determine what her property taxes will be, the said government entity would do that. If they don't assess her property to your satisfaction, your problem is with them, not her. If she does not pay the amount assessed, the government has methods in place to collect owed amounts. I'm thinking you are just jealous that she has money and you don't.
ReplyDelete