From Fox News: Sarah Ogasian, a Marine Corps spouse, mother and ER nurse, remembers the exact moment her husband, Master Sgt. Jon Ogasian, discovered their savings account had been wiped out.
The couple lived in Highland, New York, while Jon was stationed at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, before moving to Texas, where he is currently at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth.
“[Jon] said that he woke up, went to work at the military base, opened up his cellphone and looked on his app, checking our bank accounts, and that it was completely drained,” Sarah Ogasian said in an interview with Fox News Digital. “There was absolutely no money left in our bank account, and he just literally wanted to just vomit. … As soon as the money was gone, it literally left us with pennies.”
The Ogasians were told by a representative from the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance that their money had been seized by the state through a tax levy.
Although New York has since admitted the levy was in error and canceled the assessment, the Ogasians say they are still waiting for their funds to be returned and are being told that “a processing fee is being taken out to get the check back.”
The report explains that the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) and the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act (MSRRA) are federal laws designed to shield active-duty service members and their spouses from certain state taxes, liens and financial actions when their legal residence is elsewhere.
Sarah Ogasian told Fox News that New York officials weren’t even familiar with the laws.
Jon has served in the U.S. Marines for 21 years, including deployments overseas, and Sarah served on the “front lines” in New York as an ER nurse during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We were deemed as such heroes back then,” she told Fox News, adding, “And now, New York state couldn’t care less about what I’ve done for New York state, never mind my husband, who has served 21 years of his life.”
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