Smithtown man again mistakenly declared dead by IRS
Gene Indenbaum recently encountered a shocking setback when he attempted to file his taxes, only to find the IRS had once again declared him deceased.
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A Smithtown man, who was mistakenly declared dead by federal agencies last year, is facing the same issue once again.
Gene Indenbaum recently encountered a shocking setback when he attempted to file his taxes, only to find the IRS had once again declared him deceased.
This is the second consecutive year that the IRS has erroneously marked Indenbaum as dead. The confusion began after the passing of his wife in August 2022, when Social Security mistakenly recorded that both she and Gene had died. After a News 12 investigation last year, the issue was temporarily resolved.
“Immediately, it helped quite a bit,” Gene recalled. “It worked, and I'm saying, 'Oh my God, two years of bureaucratic nightmares are finished.”
But they weren’t. The latest issue resurfaced when Gene tried filing his taxes electronically this year. He received an alarming call from his accountant, who informed him that the IRS once again had no record of him being alive.
“I had to pull over on the road. I was so upset,” he said.
Once again, Gene is forced to send a letter from Social Security confirming that he is, in fact, alive.
He expressed frustration over the lack of communication between federal agencies and is unsure whether this problem will persist every time he files his taxes.
“There is no assurance at all. Luckily, I only have to file taxes once a year,” he said.
This ordeal has also reopened old wounds for Gene, reminding him of the loss of his wife.
The situation has drawn the attention of Rep. Nick LaLota’s office, which helped resolve the issue last year.
The IRS declined to comment on the case, citing its policy not to discuss individual matters.
