Hendrickson's Heroes: the Louie Elias case

[Famspear]

The U.S. Tax Court imposed a penalty of $10,000 on Louie Elias in case number 024624-06L. Mr. Elias filed his petition in this case on December 1, 2006.

For the year 2001, the Internal Revenue Service showed that Mr. Elias had an adjusted gross income of over $62,000, yet Elias had filed a 2001 federal income tax return showing his income to be zero. In a hearing on February 24, 2009, Judge Diane L. Kroupa noted that Mr. Elias was "a follower of Mr. Hendrickson and cracking the Code [sic]."

The Court ruled in favor of the IRS, and imposed the $10,000 penalty under section 6673 against Elias for filing a frivolous lawsuit.

[notorial dissent]

The Court ruled in favor of the IRS, and imposed the $10,000 penalty under section 6673 against Elias for filing a frivolous lawsuit.

As opposed to a "meritless lawsuit" ala Barringer??

[wserra]

Elias is a good example of an observation we frequently make: there are no honest principles involved with guys like this. It's no more than "I don't wanna pay taxes! Now I need to find a reason."

In 2000, Louie decided that he didn't feel like showing up on a traffic ticket. As a result, California suspended his license. Elias sued them in federal court for supposed civil rights violations and civil RICO (!). Dismissed, of course. A few months later, he sued the ebil fedrul goobermint itself, this time claiming tax stuff - forcing him to file a return was a Fifth A. violation, there is no law, wages are not income, yadda yadda. Dismissed in less than a month. There were others.

Hendrickson was just a convenient excuse. If Charles Manson had a theory why Louie didn't have to follow the law, Louie would pick up Helter Skelter.

[Pottapaug1938]

If excuses were dollars, these idjits could easily pay off their tax liabilities.

[Famspear]

I'll guess that these cases involve the same guy:

Elias v. Connett, 908 F.2d 521 (9th Cir. 1990); see:

http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case? ... 11&scilh=0

Elias v. United States, 974 F.2d 1341 (9th Cir. 1992); see:

http://bulk.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F ... 55249.html

Elias v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2009-236 (2009); see:

http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case? ... 06&scilh=0

[Famspear]

I'm also guessing he's had an acting career:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0253489/

For example, it looks like he played "Bubba" in a TV movie called Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge, in 1987.

Somehow, I don't remember seeing that.

He played "Guy at Bar" in an episode of LA Law in 1986 (that would have been the first season).

EDIT: Actually, to be fair, if this is the same guy, I have to say that although he's not a star, he has had a long and reasonably respectable career in Hollywood, as an actor, stunt man, and even a writer.

[Lambkin]

PAM is a big fan of the civil RICO crap...

[Judge Roy Bean]

If it is who we seem to think it is (former actor/stuntman), he's getting close to eighty years-old and hasn't worked in the movie/TV business in over twenty years.