TP Litigant (Paul Arceneaux) Charged in Jackson MS

[jcolvin2]

TAX DEFIER INDICTED IN MISSISSIPPI ON FEDERAL TAX CHARGES

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2008

WASHINGTON -- Paul Richard Arceneaux was indicted today by a federal grand jury in Jackson, Miss., the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. Arceneaux, who owned and operated Speedy Cash Inc., was charged with one count of corruptly interfering with the Internal Revenue laws and two counts of failure to file personal tax returns, 2003 and 2004.

According to the indictment, Arceneaux, formerly of Long Beach, Miss., filed fictitious liens for millions of dollars against the Chancery Clerk for Harrison County, an employee of the Chancery Clerk's office and an employee of the IRS. The indictment states that Arceneaux also filed frivolous lawsuits against the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and an IRS employee. The indictment also states that Arceneaux filed false tax returns or amended tax returns for tax years 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002, claiming he earned zero income.

Two of Arceneaux's previous lawsuits involving challenges to federal tax liabilities were dismissed by U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola Jr. on July 12, 2004. In those lawsuits, Arceneaux had asserted that he was a citizen of the state of Mississippi, not the United States, and therefore the Internal Revenue Code did not apply to him. The court wrote that Arceneaux's arguments that he is not subject to this nation's federal tax laws "have been considered and uniformly rejected by the courts."

If convicted, Arceneaux faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum fine of $450,000.

"Taxpayers thinking about engaging in tax defier conduct, such as filing of zero-income tax returns or fictitious liens against government employees, to avoid their federal tax obligations should think twice," said Nathan J. Hochman, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department's Tax Division. "The government continues to investigate and prosecute tax defier conduct throughout the nation under the National Tax Defier Initiative."

"The tax laws apply to all citizens in all states," said IRS Criminal Investigation Division Chief Eileen Mayer. "Honest taxpayers, who file and pay their fair share of taxes, deserve to know that the tax laws are applied in a fair and just manner for all citizens. Today's indictment signals the government's determination to do so."

Hochman commended the IRS special agent who investigated the case as well as Tax Division trial attorney Jed M. Silversmith, who is prosecuting the case. Hochman also thanked the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Southern District of Mississippi for its assistance.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is entitled to a fair trial, in which it will be the government's burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Additional information about the Justice Department's Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax.

[jcolvin2]

http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/April/09-tax-332.html--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, April 10, 2009
http://WWW.USDOJ.GOVTAX
(202) 514-2007
TDD (202) 514-1888

Louisiana Tax Defier Convicted on Federal Tax Charges
Defendant Had Filed Millions of Dollars in Fictitious Liens to Harass Law Enforcement
WASHINGTON – Following three and a half days of trial and 19 minutes of deliberations, a Gulfport, Miss., federal jury yesterday convicted Paul Richard Arceneaux, a resident of Church Point, La., of tax crimes, the Justice Department announced. Arceneaux, who owned and operated Speedy Cash Inc. in Gulfport, was convicted of all counts of the indictment charging him with corruptly interfering with the Internal Revenue laws and failing to file his income tax returns for 2003 and 2004.

U.S. District Judge Walter J. Gex III, scheduled sentencing for July 15, 2009. Arceneaux faces potential maximum sentences totaling five years’ in prison followed by one year of supervised release, $450,000 in criminal fines and costs of prosecution.

According to the indictment, Arceneaux, formerly of Long Beach, Miss., filed fictitious liens for millions of dollars against the Chancery Clerk for Harrison County, an employee of the Chancery Clerk’s office and an employee of the IRS. Arceneaux also filed frivolous lawsuits against the Commissioner of Internal Revenue Service and an IRS employee, and Arceneaux filed false tax returns or amended tax returns for tax years 1998 through 2002 on which he falsely claimed he earned no income.

On July 12, 2004, U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola Jr. dismissed Arceneaux’s frivolous lawsuits. In those lawsuits, Arceneaux had asserted that he was a citizen of the state of Mississippi, not the United States, and therefore the Internal Revenue code did not apply to him. Judge Guirola wrote that Arceneaux’s arguments that he is not subject to this nation’s federal tax laws "have been considered and uniformly rejected by the courts." In this criminal trial, Arceneaux testified that he relied upon the advice of a number of individuals, including Irwin Schiff, who is now serving time in prison for tax crimes.

"Honest, hard-working taxpayers have a right to expect that all will pay their fair share of taxes. Yesterday’s verdicts make it crystal clear that those thinking about avoiding their federal tax obligations should think twice," said John A. DiCicco, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. "Together, the Justice Department and the I.R.S. are aggressively enforcing the federal tax laws."

"We should not forget that the ultimate victim of tax fraud is the honest taxpayer," said Eileen C. Mayer, Chief, Criminal Investigation, Internal Revenue Service. "The jury and the courts have once again held that there are no legal grounds for failure to file or pay your taxes."

Acting Assistant Attorney General DiCicco thanked Tax Division attorney Jed Silversmith and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst, who prosecuted the case. He also thanked the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation agents in the Gulfport office, who investigated the case.

Additional information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax.

[jkeeb]

Thus, the operator of speedy cash gets a speedy verdict. Aint justice sweet.

[Demosthenes]

19 minutes of deliberations

[wserra]

19 minutes of deliberations

Just enough for one juror to say, "OK, anybody want to talk about anything?", and the rest to agree that there was nothing to say.

[Demosthenes]

The fist 15 minutes would have gone towards choosing a foreman.

[webhick]

19 minutes of deliberations

Just enough for one juror to say, "OK, anybody want to talk about anything?", and the rest to agree that there was nothing to say.

You forgot about the time spent discussing how long they should wait before announcing that they had come to a decision.

[Doktor Avalanche]

19 minutes?

[Judge Roy Bean]

The fist 15 minutes would have gone towards choosing a foreman.

Talk about a one vote result.

[Nikki]

Obviously, someone influenced that jury's decision.

A real, independant jury would have deliberated long enough to get their free lunch.

[Nikki]

Press release was Friday.

Verdict was Thursday.

They were bought.

[Thule]

Obviously, someone influenced that jury's decision.

A real, independant jury would have deliberated long enough to get their free lunch.

It´s phase one of the evil new plan to get paytriots in jail faster. As long as the jurors return a verdict within 20 minutes, they get their lunch to go, plus a "Get out of FEMA-camp free"-card.

3,5 days of trial is a bit long, though, but phase two will take care of that.

[grixit]

And thanks to secret requirements in the stimulus plan, the catering has been upgraded from Coco's to Outback.