Violations; penalty; disallowance of claim; when; revocation of exemption; procedure; appeal

(1) Any person who makes any false or fraudulent claim for exemption or any false statement or false representation of a material fact in support of such claim or any person who knowingly assists another in the preparation of any such false or fraudulent claim or enters into any collusion with another by the execution of a fictitious deed or other instrument for the purpose of obtaining unlawful exemption under sections 77-3501 to 77-3529 shall be guilty of a Class II misdemeanor and shall be subject to a forfeiture of any such exemption for a period of two years from the date of conviction. Any person who shall make an oath or affirmation to any false or fraudulent application for homestead exemption knowing the same to be false or fraudulent shall be guilty of a Class I misdemeanor.

(2) In addition to the penalty provided in subsection (1) of this section, if any person (a) files a claim for exemption as provided in section 77-3506 , 77-3507 , or 77-3508 which is excessive due to misstatements by the owner filing such claim or (b) fails to notify the county assessor of a change in status of a veteran qualifying for a homestead exemption under subdivision (2)(a) of section 77-3506 which affected all or a portion of the exemption period, including a change in rating, the death of the veteran, or a transfer of property not covered by section 77-3514 , the claim may be disallowed in full and, if the claim has been allowed, an amount equal to the amount of taxes lawfully due during the applicable exemption period but not paid by reason of such unlawful and improper allowance of homestead exemption shall be due and shall upon entry of the amount thereof on the books of the county treasurer be a lien on such property until paid and a penalty and interest on such total sum as provided by statute on delinquent ad valorem taxes shall be assessed. Any amount paid to satisfy a lien imposed pursuant to this subsection shall be paid to the county treasurer in the same manner that other property taxes are paid, and the county treasurer shall remit such amount to the State Treasurer for credit to the General Fund. Any penalty collected pursuant to this subsection shall be retained by the county in which such penalty is assessed.

(3) For any veteran claiming a homestead exemption under subdivision (2)(a) of section 77-3506 , the county assessor may revoke such exemption back to the date on which the county assessor has reason to believe that the exemption was improper upon notice to the veteran of the revocation. The veteran may then provide evidence in favor of receiving the exemption to the county assessor, and the county assessor may revise any revocation based on such evidence. Any decision of the county assessor to revoke a homestead exemption under this subsection may be appealed to the county board of equalization within thirty days after the decision. The county board of equalization may reverse or modify the revocation if there is clear and convincing evidence that the veteran qualified for the exemption for a particular period of time.

(4) Any additional taxes or penalties imposed pursuant to this section may be appealed in the same manner as appeals are made under section 77-3519 .