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FUNKY PUNCTUATION DEFENSE FAILS ON APPEAL

July 09, 2008

Last summer we reported on the LaCrosse dentist who pleaded non-standard punctation as a defense to tax evasion charges. The trial judge didn't buy it, and the dentist got a 36-month sentence.

The dentist, Frederick Kriemelmeyer, tried his luck with the appeals court. It didn't work out any better.

From the opinion:

In 2002, Kriemelmeyer was a self-employed dentist who owned and operated a dental office in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. That year, his mother began frequently cashing checks made payable to cash at a local bank. Bank employees became suspicious of these deposits and notified the IRS, which investigated and in December 2004 executed a search warrant at his dental office. In March 2007 a grand jury returned an indictment charging that Kriemelmeyer's 2000, 2002, 2003, and 2004 returns reported gross receipts substantially below his income. The IRS determined that he underreported his gross receipts by $392,023 in total for those four years, thus underpaying his taxes by $135,337.

Which goes to show that the little banks do take those "suspicious transactions" rules seriously.

Dr. Kriemelmeyer represented himself in court, based on his years of study of the tax code and of the law, after the judge wouldn't let him use "Plenipotentiary Judge" David Wynn Miller as his lawyer. With such representation, it's not surprising that the appeal cited ineffective representation at trial. The appeals court noted that the trial judge told the dentist that a lawyer would be a real good idea, and that the dentist declined.

Looking at David Wynn Miller's website, it's hard to believe he'd have helped much. Here is a screenshot from his ":HOME" page:

Click to enlarge

Mr. Miller did appear as the dentist's only witness. If the dentist got 36 months with him as a witness, imagine how much time he could could have gotten with Mr. Miller as a lawyer.

Cite: USA v. Kriemelmeyer, No. 07-CR-52-C-01

Tags: tax crime.tax protesters.