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NO BOOK TOURS FOR 151 MONTHS

July 24, 2007

A purveyor of "common law trusts" had his practice curtailed by a judge last week when he received a sentence of 151 months for helping his customers evade more than $9 million in federal taxes.

Louis Wayne Ratfield was convicted in April on 50 criminal tax counts. From a federal press release:

U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta stated, "By fraudulently advising taxpayers that they could claim deductions for ordinary living expenses, including food, clothing, and the cost of education, Ratfield caused a tax loss to the U.S. Treasury of more than $9.3 million. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to help the Internal Revenue Service to enforce our nation’s tax laws and stop fraud and abuse."

Mr. Ratfiled apparently spread his tax ideas beyond his client base, according to this report:

Ratfield wrote a book, "The Constitutional Common-Law Trust," that advises readers on how the scheme worked, according to the indictment.

Amazon.com still lists the book for sale ($29.95!), showing the author as "James Mathers," a "a psychologist and researcher." The Amazon.com description says:

This is the book that tells you everything you need to know about Pure Trusts. It is what the Big Boys use to protect their assets and pay no taxes. Used by professionals, accountants, financial managers, written for the average business entrepreneur.

Amazon.com's customer reviews are somewhat mixed. Half of the reviews (correctly) point out that the book's arguments are nonsense; the other half are proud assertions of gullibility, like this one:

I recently read this book and it deals with the best kept secret in the industry!!!! I was some what skeptical at first, but when I found out that it is perfectly legal, I couldn't put the book down! I had never heard of the "pure trust" and when I made the discovery, I was astounded! I didn't know that I could LEGALLY LOWER MY SALARY AND TAXABLE INCOME WITHOUT TAKING A PAYCUT!!!! In addition, quite a few bills I currently pay (i.e. utilities, mortgage, etc.), could LEGALLY become legitimate expenses of the pure trust!!! You HAVE to get this book to find out how! Don't believe me? How about this. It tells you why this particular type of trust is prefered by some VERY prominant people (which it even lists, by name)!

I'm always emotionally swept away by ALL CAPS!!! Sadly, some people believe this stuff. One hopes these enthused reviewers will take pause at the author's 151 months in the federal can before they ruin their own futures the pure trust way.

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