"Ambassador of Heaven" dentist convicted

[Demosthenes]

Dentist guilty on federal tax counts
Letters challenged legality of system
Friday, October 05, 2007
By Molly Reid

A Slidell dentist who claimed to be an "ambassador of heaven" with diplomatic immunity from paying taxes was found guilty this week on three counts of failure to file income tax returns.

Dr. Louis Genard, 57, was found guilty Tuesday after a two-day trial in U.S. District Court in New Orleans. The verdicts ended the Internal Revenue Service's three-year investigation of the dentist, who authorities said had not filed a tax return in 12 years.

Genard was indicted in April 2006 on three counts, and the trial jury this week voted unanimously to convict on all three.

Genard, who is currently out on bond, faces up to three years in prison on each count and full restitution of unpaid taxes and prosecution costs. He could not be reached for comment.

Sentencing is set for Jan. 16.

The trial ended Genard's 12-year saga with the IRS, which began in 1995 after an income tax dispute and led him to write long letters of appeal to the IRS, renounce his U.S. citizenship and, in July, declare himself an "ambassador of heaven" out the reach of the federal government.

Genard's crusade began after a pharmacy he had opened in 1989 went under. His bank forgave his loan debt, thus making it taxable income in the eyes of the IRS. Genard was outraged by the tax, and "around that time that he stopped filing his taxes," said assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Miller, who prosecuted the case.

Authorities said Genard began associating with several anti-tax groups, including the We the People Foundation, which purports to "end the illegal operations of the income tax system," and Guiding Light of God Ministries, an organization led by longtime tax protester Eddie Kahn that has since been disbanded by a district court judge in Florida.

The groups challenge the validity of tax laws by attacking the constitutionality of the 16th Amendment, which established the federal government's right to levy taxes, or arguing that income taxes violate one's Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. That argument was tested and rejected by the Supreme Court in 1976.

The IRS investigation revealed that Genard was familiar with "recognized tax protest literature," and frequented a number of tax protest Web sites.

"From his testimony, we gleaned that he was in contact with (these organizations). We don't know the extent of those contacts," said Miller. He said Genard was not tied to right-wing extremism or white supremacy, movements sometimes linked to tax protest.

Over the years, Genard devised increasingly outlandish strategies to justify his tax evasion. He started receiving delinquency notices from the IRS in 1998, and responded to them in 2000 and again in 2004 with lengthy written arguments why he believed he did not have to pay, usually "pulling lines from different cases" and "stringing it all together to make this sort of specious argument," Miller said.

"(The IRS) said, 'These arguments have been in court and rejected. You need to file your taxes.' " When Genard wrote another letter during his criminal investigation in 2004, the IRS responded by saying it would no longer communicate with him regarding his stance on income taxes.

In August 1997, Genard renounced his U.S. citizenship, filing an affidavit that declared him a "sovereign citizen of the Republic of Louisiana" and sending it to the IRS, Miller said.

" 'I am not now nor have I ever been a citizen of the United States. I am a citizen of the Republic of Louisiana," the document stated.

In something of a swan song during the pre-trial stages of the case in July, Genard filed a motion seeking dismissal of the charges brought against him on the grounds that his status as "Ambassador and Citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven under its King Jesus the Christ" gave him diplomatic immunity from federal jurisdiction. The motion was rejected.

U.S. Attorney Jim Letten commented: "The verdict sends a strong message to tax protesters that such recalcitrant, illegal and disdainful resistance to the payment of federal income taxes will not be tolerated in the Eastern District of Louisiana. As done in this case, this office will aggressively prosecute tax protesters and tax protester organizations who seek to create and spread misinformation regarding the requirements of paying federal income taxes."

[RyanMcC]

As long as I was making crap up I'd just claim to be God, and King of "the kingdom of heaven". As a head of state I have immunity, I'd point out they did so for the pope, who are they to deny the same to God.

If they didn't buy that I'd ask for a continuance so I can respond to my case in Nebraska where I am being accused of Genocide, and being blamed for the world's problems.

One man who would have done that was named "Father Divine", he was the son of a slave who claimed to be God himself.

He was sentenced to one year in prison for disturbing the peace, within days the judge who gave him the maximum sentence possible died of a heart attack. "I hated to do it." Father Divine said when he learned of the Judge's death.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father_Divine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suH2huQSd9Y

[RyanMcC]

That's alot of woman..

A woman like that can only be called Divine, or Lucious, or Precious.. I wonder how that always seems to happen.. Anyway..

You have to stay focused though..

While you may think she(?) is an angel, I doubt she(?) qualifies as an ambassador from heaven..

[wserra]

That's alot of woman..

Not exactly.

[RyanMcC]

Yup, aparantly I missed a "(?)"..

Doesn't that violate some false advertising statute somewhere? It should..

---

I'm reminded of a joke..

HENRY FORD AND GOD COMPARE NOTES

Henry Ford dies and goes to heaven. At the gates, an angel
tells Ford, "Well, you've been such a good guy and your
invention --- the assembly line for the automobile --- changed
the world. As a reward, you can hang out with anyone you
want to in Heaven."

Ford thinks about it and says, "I wanna hang out with God,
Himself." The befeathered fellow at the Gate takes Ford to the
Throne Room and introduces him to God. Ford then asks God,
"Hey, aren't you the inventor of Woman?"

God says, "Ah, yes." "Well," says Ford, "You hve some major
design flaws in your invention:

1. there's too much front end protrusion

2. it chatters at high speeds

3. the rear end wobbles too much, and

4. the intake is placed too close to the exhaust."

"Hmmm..." replies God, "hold on." God goes to the Celestial
Supercomputer, types in a few keystrokes, and waits for the
result.

The computer prints out a slip of paper and God reads it. "It
may be that my invention is flawed," God replies to Henry
Ford, "but according to My Computer, more men are riding
my invention than yours."

[Quixote]

This means dentists have taken the lead over chiropractors. And I think a claim to be an ambassador of the Kingdom of Heaven should be worth more than run of the mill TP nonsense. Metaphysical confusion should trump legal confusion.

[tracer]

Doesn't that violate some false advertising statute somewhere? It should..

Sadly, there are states that still have anti-cross-dressing statutes on their books, for something like this reason.

[RyanMcC]

You are right, it shouldn't be illegal.. They should just have to wear a warning label..

--

I just remembered, one of Father Divine's followers was Jim Jones, when Father Divine died, Jim Jones claimed to be his successor.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/jonestown/ ... jones.html

[hartley]

Another one bites the dust.

And, CK, I don't think she would go by "Father" Divine.