INSIDER
As tax season begins, the IRS is warning taxpayers about ghost preparers - individuals who complete tax returns for others but refuse to sign them or provide an official identification number.
The disappearance and death of 13-year-old Madeline Soto rocked Central Florida and attracted the attention of people from all across the U.S.
In 2019, Florida lawmakers passed SB 426, a law designed to provide cancer benefits for first responders, including firefighters, diagnosed with 21 specific types of cancer.
A new state law restricting individuals from sleeping on public property is shaking up communities across Florida but has also inspired an unprecedented journalism collaboration uniting 10 news outlets to tell the complex stories behind the issue.
Bob Hovan, 77, of Port Orange, is sharing a painful lesson after losing more than $100,000 in a complex scheme involving a fraudulent stock buyback.
The Internal Revenue Service is expanding its Direct File program to all 50 states following a successful pilot in 12 states, including Florida.
As detectives were searching for missing 13-year-old Madeline Soto last winter, Soto’s mother expressed concerns about the close relationship that had formed between her 37-year-old former boyfriend, Stephan Sterns, and her young daughter.
Two days after Madeline Soto failed to show up at school last February, Orange County Sheriff John Mina held a news conference seeking information from the public about the missing 13-year-old.
Central Florida faces a stark “math problem” when it comes to addressing homelessness. Available resources simply don’t add up to meet the demand. The challenge has been further complicated by new legislation known as the Florida Homelessness Reduction Act, which went into effect last October.
The lighted drones that fell from the sky during a holiday show in Downtown Orlando and injured a 7-year-old boy were supposed to fly above Lake Eola at a safe distance away from crowds, documents obtained by News 6 reveal.
Members of the former Reedy Creek Improvement District board of supervisors broke no criminal laws prior to Gov. Ron DeSantis appointing a new board to oversee Walt Disney World’s special taxing district, newly-released government records reveal.
Newly-released images from the Florida Department of Transportation show engineers conducting the state’s first-ever inspection of the Walt Disney World monorail system shortly after FDOT was granted oversight authority last year.
The Social Security Administration is dealing with a customer service crisis, leaving thousands of families waiting for their disability benefits applications to be reviewed.
A town of just 1,800 residents nearly found itself without a mayor due to a puzzling standoff over election procedures.
Florida Highway Patrol troopers, accompanied by Texas law enforcement officers, helped locate and detain more than 1,600 undocumented immigrants near the Mexico border between mid-February and mid-August while assisting with the arrests of alleged human traffickers, drug smugglers and gang members, agency records obtained by News 6 show.
Evidence related to the 1990 rape of an 11-year-old girl was disposed by the Melbourne Police Department sometime over the past three decades, a newly released audit reveals, but the agency cannot determine when or why it was destroyed or who authorized it.
Cows produce your milk and beef, but what these big animals belch up is a big contributor to climate change. Researchers at the University of Florida are working to find a solution.
In 2022, President Biden introduced a plan to relieve thousands of dollars in student debt for low to middle-income borrowers. However, the plan faced several challenges, and scammers have exploited this uncertainty.
A News 6 investigation resulted in a new law that allows the State Fire Marshal to establish new safety rules for storing and charging lithium-ion batteries. Here is the timeline of how our investigation progressed.
Renters at an Orlando apartment complex are among the first in the nation to start using solar energy to reduce their individual electric bills.
Voters in two Central Florida counties on Tuesday night said they wanted to pay a half-cent sales tax to fund repairs, renovations and maintenance costs for public schools.
With Election Day just around the corner, AARP is urging voters to remain vigilant against potential scams and misinformation campaigns that often target voters as they head to the polls.
As podcasts gain popularity, many individuals are receiving enticing invitations to appear as guests on well-known shows.
Three tax preparers accused of fraudulently helping Central Florida customers obtain large income tax refunds have pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service.
Voters are heading to the polls in two Central Florida counties to decide whether they want to pay a half-cent sales tax to fund repairs, renovations and maintenance costs for public schools.
Names like Fearne Cotton, Rachel Hollis and even Tony Robbins can catch your attention, offering to feature you as a guest on their podcasts. They may even promise as much as $3,000 for a 45-minute interview. But, as they say, if it sounds too good to be true, it often is.
An Ormond Beach couple hopes the federal government will approve their application to purchase their flooded home, but they fear they could be shortchanged in the process.
In a recent discussion, Central Florida election supervisors addressed a range of concerns about the upcoming election, including polling place accessibility and the potential impact of hand-counting ballots.
As election season approaches, Central Florida's election supervisors are confronting not only logistical challenges but also ongoing skepticism from election deniers.
A Central Florida couple who recently became parents through surrogacy is among hundreds of families worldwide who claim they’ve been defrauded by an escrow company that was supposed to handle payments to surrogates.
In a recent interview with News 6, election supervisors from five Central Florida counties shared their thoughts on the upcoming November election, highlighting both optimism and concern.
An Orlando man has filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Orlando and several Orlando police officers after spending two years in prison for a crime he did not commit.
A University of Central Florida researcher claims the homeless population in downtown Orlando already faced a rising number of arrests ahead of a new state law that will ban sleeping on public property.
Ever since News 6 featured an Orlando salesperson who waited more than three months for Florida unemployment benefits, Make Ends Meet has received an additional 17 requests from viewers with the same issue.
A mother and her children faced eviction from their affordable housing unit in Orlando last month despite overpaying her rent by more than $1,000.
News 6 viewers said the number of homeless people on the streets of Melbourne has risen over the last few years, and they are concerned about what is being done about it.
News 6 investigator Erik Sandoval was diagnosed with prostate cancer in January 2024. His investigation uncovers the push to get more younger men screened.
A News 6 investigation has uncovered Florida prosecutors have not reported one conviction for bringing a weapon on a school campus over the last five years, despite law enforcement making 40 arrests.
A police dog trained to identify the scent of dead bodies “alerted” on a car belonging to missing 13-year-old Madeline Soto’s mother, while traffic cameras captured videos of the mother’s boyfriend driving around Central Florida with the teen’s lifeless body in the front seat of his car, according to investigators.
While police were still searching for missing 13-year-old Madeline Soto in February, the man now accused of murdering the teen allegedly took a mysterious, early-morning road trip to Southwest Florida.
Newly released crime scene photos reveal what detectives found inside the condominium where 13-year-old Madeline Soto lived with her mother Jennifer and Jennifer’s boyfriend, Stephan Sterns, just before the teen disappeared in February.
New details are emerging about law enforcement’s efforts to locate 13-year-old Madeline Soto after she failed to show up for class at Hunter’s Creek Middle School in February and was reported missing.
The Florida Department of Financial Services held its first hearing in Tallahassee on Thursday designed to help craft new safety rules on the storage of lithium-ion batteries.
The Florida Department of Financial Services held its first hearing in Tallahassee on Thursday designed to help craft new safety rules on the storage of lithium-ion batteries.
A Melbourne family has been stuck with a $12,000 electric bill after their power company discovered someone had tampered with their meter limiting how much usage was being reported.
Cora Hayes and her husband had just replaced the roof on their Ocala home when she says they were approached by an employee from another roofing company.
After reviewing his records, Make Ends Meet confirmed salesperson David Catalano’s account is active and eligible for $3,300, but is on hold due to a “pending issue awaiting adjudication determination.”
A former federal investigator has uncovered a pattern of positive reviews that she is convinced are the product of 5-star fakes for sale.
The Florida Highway Patrol spent at least $13.5 million over 10 months deploying troopers to the U.S.-Mexico border, records show. That’s about the same cost as hiring 48 new troopers with vehicles.
In crisis for years, Florida's troubled property insurance market is showing small signs of improvement, according to the state Office of Insurance Regulation.
Several times a week, Pattie Malone stops by her neighborhood mailbox and pulls out a large stack of envelopes that often includes traffic citations, parking tickets, and tollway invoices.
After the state attorney threatened to place him on a database dedicated to law enforcement officers accused of misconduct, the Osceola County Sheriff is trying to clear up what he says is a “misinterpretation of a quote” surrounding a controversial crime scene photo posted on social media.
ThreatLocker, a cybersecurity firm based in Orlando, is significantly expanding its workforce in response to a growing wave of cyber-attacks targeting businesses across the United States.
When a law enforcement officer who has been accused of untruthfulness or other misconduct is preparing to testify at a criminal trial, prosecutors have a constitutional duty to notify the defendant about the officer's background.
Four months after Osceola County Sheriff Lopez posted a crime scene photo on Instagram that allegedly showed the body of 13-year-old Madeline Soto, the state attorney is raising questions about inconsistent statements made by the sheriff during an investigation into the confidential image.
A Maitland woman, who spent hundreds of dollars to secure a hotel room for a trip to Mississippi, was denied a refund after the hotel caught fire and shut down.
When News 6 Investigator Erik Sandoval received a text stating that he had used the FasTrak Express Lane, he knew right away that it was a fake.
Brevard County ocean temperatures are rising faster than other parts of the country, raising concerns about the impact of the warmer waters.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has developed a list of projects aimed at protecting the Astor area of Lake County from repeated flooding during hurricanes.
The City of Winter Springs has largely finished checking, testing and, if necessary, repairing all 1,200 fire hydrants citywide after three didn’t work when there was a fire earlier this year.
New safeguards are now in place to protect consumers applying for clean energy home improvement loans in Florida, but some legislators claim they are still not enough.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports more than 6.4 million vehicles in the U.S. still have unrepaired or “unfixed” Takata airbags.
A homeless outreach center moved to evict some of its clients from its transitional housing program after they refused to leave.
The 2024 SHIELD Act, designed to protect every American’s reputation on the internet and social media platforms, could become part of the comprehensive privacy bill as early as July.
The executive producer of what would have been the Orlando Music Festival has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to federal wire fraud charges.
A joint law enforcement effort led by the U. S Secret Service Thursday dismantled 13 illegal devices, a move the agency projected would prevent $3.9 million in stolen EBT funds in Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville.
A state lawmaker says large corporations are buying up mobile home parks in Florida and jacking up the prices.
A homeless outreach organization has halted its transitional housing program after one of its clients refused to leave after being kicked out of the program.
The veteran reporter has been responsible for covering tragedies, helping pass critical legislation, and getting results for scam victims through his popular “Make Ends Meet” program. Now, he's set to say goodbye.
News 6 Investigator Mike DeForest is one of five nominees for a prestigious reward honoring Florida journalists committed to government transparency.
Florida's troubled property insurance market is showing small signs of improvement, according to the state Office of Insurance Regulation and the Chief Financial Officer.
Florida Congressman Darren Soto, D-Kissimmee, presented “updated talking points” to the Innovation, Data and Commerce Subcommittee on Capitol Hill Thursday that brings the proposed SHIELD Act closer to a full congressional vote.
Florida Congressman Darren Soto, D-Kissmmee, presented legislation to a subcommittee on Capitol Hill Wednesday that would penalize identity imposters and provide “legal remedies " for anyone whose identities are “used online without their consent.”
A retired Orlando-area resident is the first to report a double imposter scheme that combined an email alert from the Social Security Administration and a phone conversation with a DEA agent.
Changes in Florida-- after a News 6 investigation exposed there are no rules for safely storing batteries known to overheat and catch fire.
Some homeowners have concerns and questions about a new sewer system that is in the works for the town of Montverde.
