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SNIPES TRIAL EXPLORES OPERATIONS OF AMERICAN RIGHTS LITIGATORS
January 24, 2008
Day 5 of the Wesley Snipes tax evasion trial featured an exploration of how the tax protest outfit "American Rights Litigators" operated. It existed by filing bogus refund claims, some of which didn't get stopped by the IRS service centers. Ocala.com reports:
Although Snipes never received the $11.3 million refund he sought for his 1996 and 1997 taxes, other ARL clients did receive refunds, some substantial. The organization took 20 percent of the refunds, according to documents shown to jurors Wednesday. One check to ARL was for more than $28,000, of which Rosile received half for preparing the amended tax return, the documents showed.
Mr. Snipes' attorneys also continued ot work on their "he was just asking questions" defense:
In one case, ARL lawyer Milton H. Baxley II requested a "letter of determination" as to whether Snipes was required to file a tax return. The agency responded that it could not issue such a ruling until Snipes filed tax returns for 1999 and 2000
Sending bad checks (called "bills of exchange") for millions of dollars is a funny way to ask a question:
Retired Treasury Department fraud expert William Kerr testified that the "bills of exchange" sent to the Treasury by Snipes to pay his tax bills were fictitious documents."They have no validity, and they're worthless," Kerr said.
Snipes sent a total of four such bills of exchange to the Treasury Department between 2000 and 2002, including one for $12 million.
The bills are based on the theory that the Treasury Department has a personal account for every U.S. citizen and that the bills can be drawn on that account.
Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel profiles Robert Bernhoft, who is leading the Snipes defense team:
While he was still a law student, Bernhoft caught the attention of federal authorities after he and a partner signed up 55 clients and earned $34,578 via a "De-Taxing America" program they marketed through newspaper ads proclaiming "Just Say No," according to court records.They urged clients to "cease paying federal taxes" by following a series of step-by-step instructions, leading to an IRS-estimated $691,731 not going into federal coffers, the court records show. In 1999, Bernhoft and his partner were permanently forbidden from selling their program.
"I'm very proud of that litigation and stand by the principal, political and philosophical parts that were highlighted by it," Bernhoft said.
Wow - under a permanent injunction before he even finished law school. Lots of lawyers never achieve that in their entire careers!
The TaxProf and Taxable Talk have more.
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Comments
What whackos
Posted by: Jerry Stowe | January 26, 2008 4:15 PM
Jerry knows a whako when he sees one!!
Posted by: wilma large | January 27, 2008 12:19 PM
The TAX MAN came for my dad years ago claiming he owed about $160,000 in back taxes. My dad said 2 words...........PROVE IT. He never went to jail, never went to court, and still lives in the small town he has been in for 40 years. There has been a challenge for years now that NOBODY has won. $50,000 to ANYBODY who can show ANY law stating that we have to pay a direct tax on labor. Furthermore, Taxing a man's labor is against the laws of GOD, as is the use of FAKE paper money. Just weights and balances represents gold and silver coin. Federal Reserve Notes are worthless and you cannot PAY a debt with them. You are only discharging the debt, which means it is perpetual. You can only PAY with gold and silver coin. Another interesting note.....the FED is PRIVATELY owned as well, so put that in your wheaties, TAX FAG!
Posted by: dude | August 24, 2008 1:46 AM
dude, what's your point? If you are saying you don't have to pay income tax, it would be a much more convincing argument if you felt safe using your real name to make it.
Posted by: Joe Kristan | August 24, 2008 1:16 PM
Hey Joe ,
could you answer a question for me? How can college 'educated' persons be so selectively ignorant of real life issues. Martin King Jr WAS shot in his neck for asking that his government treat its citizens fairly. But THE ONLY WAY Mr. Dude can be sincere, to you, is to risk what Dr King risked? Is that the logic here? Don't tell me that you're one of those college degreed fools who never passed a history class- where you might have learned "America" was founded on the bloody remains of unknown millions of natives, on lands cultivated with brutal forced labor for four hundred years by kidnapped Africans who were then SYSTEMATICALLY abused, lynched, and assassinated, right up to the last "accidental" shooting of an unarmed black or other- so to you america has wronged no one , stolen nothing, enforces no unjust laws, and atoned for any crimes against humanity she may have inadvertantly committed? Speak up like Martin, Malcolm, JFK or RFK? No thanks-you can have my bullet. One more thing,The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are "terrorist" documents and I DARE you to quote the first two sentences of The Decl. of Indpndc to an FBI agent....then blog us back from Guantanamo Bay and brag of your bravery.
Posted by: Under Protest TDC | December 2, 2008 1:41 AM
"No thanks-you can have my bullet." -sounds like someone is yellow,
I DARE you to quote the first two sentences of The Decl. of Indpndc to an FBI agent
-i'd rather die on my feet then live on my knees sucking uncle sams wang like you
you have no right to live here coward, go live in iran with all of your freedom hating friends
Posted by: matt | February 13, 2009 5:09 PM