Iowa accuses filmmaker of theft in tax credit case

WEST DES MOINES — Iowa has filed charges against a California filmmaker who received film tax credits in a state program that has since been shut down.

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller has charged Donald Borchers, a Beverly Hills producer and director, with first-degree theft and fraudulent practices. Miller alleges Borchers submitted inflated cost claims for the remake of the 1984 horror film "Children of the Corn" and accepted state tax credits based on inflated expense claims.

The tax credit was shut down in 2009 after a state audit showed millions of dollars were awarded improperly.

The Des Moines Register (http://bit.ly/sRycG8) says Borchers declined to comment on the charges Wednesday. The Associated Press could not reach him. The online court system does not list an attorney for him.