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It Was The Bad Check That Did them In
November 01, 2012 posted by Steve Brownstein
by Dennis Brownstein's Extreme Court News
A Lawrenceville, Georgia couple was convicted for a tax defiance scheme after claiming that they were “American citizens” and not subject to federal income tax laws, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced October 16.
The husband and wife were found guilty by a federal jury of conspiring to defraud the United States and making false claims upon the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by a federal jury.
According to the information presented in court, the couple, who owned a yard furnishing store and general contracting business in Duluth, conspired to avoid taxes from 1999 to 2009 and submitted false claims for refunds.
The couple stopped filing federal income tax returns in the 1990s, then hired the now-defunct American Rights Litigators (ARL) to fight the IRS on their behalf.
ARL sold and promoted tax defiance schemes, authorities said.
The husband and wife’s ploys to avoid taxes included sending “obstructive, frivolous, and harassing documents” to the IRS and Department of the Treasury, and establishing business bank accounts using fake tax identification numbers to hide money.
In 2009, the couple submitted two fraudulent tax returns claiming more than $420,000 in refunds.
They also sent the government a bogus $100 billion, private registered bond to pay off their debts.
