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State wrongly seized money from woman, 2 On Your Side got it back

6 years 7 months 4 weeks ago Wednesday, July 19 2017 Jul 19, 2017 July 19, 2017 5:14 PM July 19, 2017 in On Your Side
Source: WBRZ

DENHAM SPRINGS - A woman who emailed 2 On Your Side is thankful she did. A serious mix-up at the state level cost her thousands of dollars.

Rosie Blount says she's done everything by the book for years. Her late husband had a construction company, which she did all the office work for. The company thrived until 2014 when Blount decided to close the business. Recently, it's come back to haunt her.

She received a letter in the mail from the LA Department of Revenue claiming she owed about $30,000. If she didn't pay, the state would begin seizing her cash, bank accounts and personal property. Which it did, fast.

"They went into my personal savings account and wiped that completely clean," she said. "I said, 'What am I going to do?'"

With years of experience keeping paperwork organized for her husband's company, Blount organized an envelope full of documentation that proved she had paid the money the state said she owed. The envelope included bank receipts, cashed checks, dates and amounts. Still, Blount says the state department didn't blink.

"They didn't have any record," she said. "They didn't show that I had paid anything."

Blount contacted 2 On Your Side in late June and WBRZ forwarded all her documents to the state. Within a couple of days, Blount emailed 2 On Your Side again saying she received a call from the LA Department of Revenue with word that a check was on its way to her in the mail. Wednesday, WBRZ's Brittany Weiss joined Blount to open that check at her Denham Springs home.

The look on Blount's face when she opened her mail was of pure satisfaction. All of the money taken by the state has been returned and she tells 2 On Your Side the LA Department of Revenue apologized for the mix-up.

With Blount's privacy in mind, the state tells WBRZ it cannot comment about what happened.

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