Charles & Kathleen Barrett

[Paths of the Sea]

Charles & Kathleen Barrett seem to be trying to raise money and demonize the Government over their predicament.

I haven't been able to quite figure out the fundamental problems, but I noticed there were some Quatloos references to them.

So, I thought I would post a note and see if someone might simplify what is going on for me. Charles posted his fundraising link and a long story to one of my FaceBook pages.

The fundraiser link:

http://www.gofundme.com/82alvs

Charles' account of things; posted earlier today:

We have updated “Our Story” with more details.

On the morning of August 8, 2013, Charles and Kathleen Barrett were preparing to leave Colorado for the return trip to Cuenca following the recent wedding of their daughter. Charles was leaving from the Denver airport while Kathleen was flying out of Grand Junction, where she had been visiting her mother. Both were heading to Miami where they would meet their sons for the flight back to Ecuador.

After Charles checked in at Denver Airport’s American Airlines counter, he went to the gate an hour before his flight was scheduled to board.
Just as he settled into his seat in the waiting area he was surrounded by three men, one of whom showed his U.S. marshals badge. “You’re not flying anywhere today,” one of the marshals told him. “The judge wants to see you.” I told him I didn’t understand why, I had just filed a motion in his court and that We had been filing motions now for three years.

Charles turned over his passport and airplane ticket and was led out of the airport in handcuffs. Four times, Charles recalls, he asked to be allowed call to an attorney to represent him before the judge. Four times he was put off.

I informed the marshal that our sons, Nathaniel 17 and Jonathan 15, were waiting for him at the Miami airport and was told that the marshals would contact them.

Despite the drama and rough treatment, Charles didn’t understand why he was being taken away, in handcuffs. We had been paying $6200 a month and had filed the last motion to correct the record in July. That was the longest most humiliating walk I have every taken through an airport waiting area.

As I walk along all I could do was keep my head down, I hoped the issue could be resolved quickly once I talked to the judge.

When Charles was taken into the courtroom at 9 a.m., he stood before U.S. District Magistrate Judge Boyd Boland, not Judge Brooke Jackson, who had been involved earlier, with the Barrett’s tax case. As it turned out, Boland had issued a writ of Ne Exeat Republica, ordering the Barretts to turn over their passports, preventing them from leaving the country. The writ had been issued 1 1/2 years after the Barretts had moved to Ecuador and after they were making monthly payments to the IRS.

Judge Boland asked the IRS attorney, “what do you want done here.’ She said “I want him locked up. They have not cooperated since this since 2009.” I set there stunned, After she finished I asked to speak the Judge told me I could not speak, but I spoke up anyway and stated “told the Judge how we have been cooperating since 2009 and been paying $5,000 a month from October 2010 until April 2103 and now we are paying $6200 a month.”

Judge Boland stated this is a civil matter I don’t believe I have jurisdiction to lock him up. The IRS attorney stated we had friends in Mexico and were a flight risk.

I was again stunned and could hear the old preverbal saying, “we are being railroaded”, I thought, you have my passport, what fool would try to go to Mexico without a passport. I started to speak up again when Judge Boland told me to be quit and he read me my rights. He said I should not speak anymore that they, pointing to the IRS attorney would use anything I said against me.

The attorney for the IRS again asked Judge Boland to put Charles in jail or post bond of $253,000. The judge responded that the writ did not authorize jailing, only the confiscation of passports and other travel documents. The IRS attorney persisted, claiming the Barretts were flight risks.

The Judge called for a five minute recess, he then came back and said I can hold them for a short time and set a new hearing on August 13th, five days later. That hit me like a ton of bricks, I thought Kathleen has never been in jail not even for an unpaid traffic ticket, what is going to happen to her. I was then lead away in leg irons and handcuff to be booked. I thought what I being booked for. I again asked to make a call.
Charles was fingerprinted and booked into federal jail. I asked the person finger printing me, what are the charges, she asked the marshal, who stated there are no charges. She said what do I put down, he just looked at her.

I never saw the Writ, until that night after being processed in to the detention center. I was in total shock. When I finally reach the cell block I asked the guard if I could make a call, he said tomorrow you will be given a card with 3 free minutes on it to make your first call. That night all the crazy movies about prison went through my head. The cell I was in slept four, but I was the only one in there. I was so relieved when they closed and locked the door.

I laid there most of the night praying for Kathleen wondering how she was and where she was.

Meanwhile, 200 miles west of Denver in Grand Junction, Kathleen was going experience the same treatment that Charles did in Denver but before a different judge later the afternoon of August 8th. Kathleen was never read her rights and was repeatedly told she could speak.

She too, was booked into a local jail but then transported in leg irons and handcuffs to a federal holding cell underneath a jail in Georgetown Colorado. Her cell made mine look like the Hilton. It was three days before Charles and other family members knew where she was.

In Miami, Nathaniel was looking out the Airplane widow watching as his dad bags which had caught the morning flight Denver to Miami, were being unloaded. Nathaniel called his mother’s cell phone. Nathanial said where is dad, mom said in jail, we both are. He thought it was a joke, then the doors closed and the plane began to taxi. Thank God,

Kathleen’s marshal had allowed her to keep her phone until she went before the Judge. Then for three days all contact with the outside world ended for her. The airplane doors being closed Nathaniel and Jonathan sitting on American Airlines flight to Quito, wondering what had just happened to their parents.

During a four hour flight to Ecuador our sons were put through a nightmare, because the U.S. Marshals had not bothered to inform them that their parents had been arrested for a civil debt.

We, Kathleen and Charles, saw each other for the first time in five days on Tuesday August 13, at a hearing in the federal courthouse in Denver. She was the prettiest sight I had seen in five days. I spent the first three days of my time in jail, worrying about where she was being held and how she was holding up.

On February 11, 2009, the IRS raided the Barrett’s bank accounts empting them. Then 10 day later the IRS informed the Charles and Kathleen they owed the U.S. IRS money from 2007 when they received a large refund. This was four months after receiving the refund the IRS finally notified Charles and Kathleen that they were not entitled to the refund, the result of a tax return error, made by their tax preparer.
We later testified against the tax preparer in court, who was found guilty and the Judge issued an injunction against her so she was forbidden by the court from preparing any more return. She had made the same mistake with 50 other peoples return. When one 76 year old man got his refund, he sent it back, only to have the IRS raid his bank accounts and his invalid daughter’s bank account and take his home.

February 26, 2009, we hired a firm to represent us to find out why we owed the IRS. The IRS agent wouldn’t talk to our lawyer.

We also contacted the Tax Payers Advocate for help, to asked them what the Tax preparer had done wrong and why was the IRS saying we owed $343,000. We did not get any reply.

Later we would find out that the IRS agent had intervened and ask the Tax Payer Advocate representative not to help us.

After two months of no cooperation by the IRS and the IRS had filed a $343,000 lien on our home, our first firm quit out of frustration so we hire another firm. Again with the same results, no cooperation by the IRS agent in charge of our case.

“When we found out about the Tax Preparer, Teresa Marty, had submitted wrong information, we knew we needed to repay the IRS and had been working with the court to do it,” Charles says. “we started paying the IRS $5,000 a month October of 2010. By July 2013 we had paid almost $243,000 in all, more than the total amount we originally owed the IRS. As of April 2013, we were now paying $6200 a month.”

In December 2010 we heard from our personal lawyer the IRS had filed a civil case in Federal court. Our personal attorney said he wasn’t qualified to handle a tax case, so he tried to help us find a tax attorney, every Tax attorney we contacted wanted $60,000 to $75,000 retainer, we didn’t have that kind of money in December of 2010. We were starting over in Ecuador S.A. I was just beginning to work for Ralco International, to be their Director of Latin America operations, when in October the IRS started taking all my salary.

We live on my retirement income and some money I earned from other work.

December 2011, we started filing motions Pro Se with the court to counter the lies and misinformation the IRS had claimed in there motions. About every six weeks we had to file a new motion with the court, responding to false claims of the IRS and providing documents requested by the court and the IRS.

In our last filing July 2013 we decided to bring out the facts to the court that we had operated a political action committee, since nothing the IRS or court was doing made since or was according to Federal rules, maybe something else was behind this. We had been political consultants working for conservative Governors, state legislators, Congressmen, Senators and Presidents.

In 1997 we were working on the Clinton impeachment project with Congressman Dannemeyer and other Congressmen. CoPac produced a mail piece called the “Jury Duty Notice” it sated all the facts about Clintons “alleged wrong doing and asked the person receiving the piece to decide on the evidence should Clinton face impeachment?” COPAC was mailing over 500,000 pieces a month when one morning I walk into COPAC’S office and Gail, my assistant came into my office and laid down 22 FedEx packages from 22 Democratic attorney Generals because of the piece.

With the help of our direct mail company, who have worked with the Rutherford Institute, we immediately contacted them to represent us. In less than a month all the false accusations went away.

But that was the first year we were audited by the IRS. We have been audited almost every year since. The Obama administration didn’t start the persecutions of Christian and conservative organizations but it has taken it to a new level.

We knew from past experience if all the IRS wanted was money, then why have they done this to us, for we were paying $6,200 a month on our alleged debt. Our lawyers gave evidence to the court that we had repaid more than the principle amount of the debt IRS claimed we owed.
In 2011 our family lawyer asked the IRS why do you want them to come back to the USA?

If they do Charles will lose his employment and they won’t be able to pay you, the IRS said “We want jurisdiction over them.” So they would rather have their slave than the money.

In 1986 I started the Coalition of Politically Active Christians, Pac. (COPAC) For over 20 years Kathleen and I headed up t(COPAC) which supported candidates that championed Judeo-Christian issues , COPAC work to get those candidates elected and on legislative issues affecting families, Judeo-Christian values and our constitutional rights.

We had a marketing company that work with men and women, like Congresswoman Linda Smith, Congressman Duncan Hunter, Congressman Bill Dannemeyer, Ambassador Alan Keys, Pat Buchannan, Pat Robertson, Senator Dole and many more.

Our company also worked with or helped many ministries like Dr. Del Sanchez, Michael Rood , Rutherford Institute, ACLJ , Homeschool association, 2nd Amendment, NRA, and many others.

Charles had his own radio show for and later was guest commentator of many radio talk shows from 1996 to 2001.

Thomas Nelson published Charles' book 'Blue Book for Grass Roots Politics" which detain how to win a grass roots election.

In 1997, we began to be audited by the IRS. Each time it was some unusual audit or accusation. We passed every audit and in all cases the IRS had to refund or lower the amount they said we owed.

The attorney, Steve Anderson, who had been hired by Charles’ employer, Ralco, on August 8th, at the hearing August 13th immediately demanded that the handcuffs and leg irons be removed. Mr. Anderson told the Judge, “This is a civil not a criminal case”, he argued and Judge Boland agreed. Judge Boland instructed the Marshal to remove the leg irons and handcuff. The marshal, however, refused to obey the judge’s order based on instructions from his superiors. Charles and Kathleen sat through the hearing literally in chains.

Anderson told the judge that the Barretts had been in continuous contact with the court and IRS since 2009 and repaid most of the debt. Both Judge Jackson and the IRS officials knew that the Barretts had moved to Ecuador and had not objected. Why, Anderson asked, were the Barretts being detained now? The judge ordered their release and set a discovery hearing for October 11. The handcuffs and shackles were finally removed.

For the Barretts, however, the nightmare was only beginning. During the Discovery phase we were to find out how many lies the IRS agent had told and to found out she given the court false and misleading statements in order to obtain the Writ.

The writ of Ne Exeat Republica is a little known and seldom used judicial tool dating to the 18th century English royal court. Originally intended to restrict travel for political reasons, its occasional use in the U.S. court system, primarily in family and tax law cases, has often come under question. When it has been invoked, it has been strictly as a civil law action.

After testimony and presentation of evidence at the October 11th hearing, Magistrate Judge Boland, who had issued the original writ of Ne Exeat Republica, recommended to Judge Jackson the Writ be discharge and allow the Barretts to return to Cuenca and Charles employment. In his recommendation for discharging to Judge Jackson, he said the IRS had presented misleading evidence and had not met the burden of proof required to keep the writ in place. He also said that the Barretts had proven conclusively that they did not have the financial assets in Ecuador that the IRS claimed.

Almost eight months after the Barretts were first detained, following additional hearings and what the couple believes have been convincing presentations by their lawyers, they remain in the U.S. due to the refusal of the court to remove the writ and return their passports as a consequence, Charles has lost the source of income that allowed him to make payments to the IRS, an irony noted by his attorneys on more than one occasion.

The Barrett’s lawyers have proven with the evidence that the IRS attorney has repeatedly misrepresented the facts and has perjured herself on more than one occasion when, including her claim that the Barretts were concealing assets in Ecuador. They also noted that the IRS agent had refused, for four years, to process the Barrett’s revised 2007 tax return, which included a correction of the original error.

During this period of time, Judge Boland the only judge to hear the case, has been removed from the case, and made no rulings, only recommendations. In fact, a central problem for the Barretts throughout their detention has been the fact that three different judges have worked the case, with Judge Jackson, the ruling judge, often not following through on the intentions and recommendations of Judge Boland, who presided over the case.

Charles believes his attorneys had presented an air-tight case. “I don’t know what more we can do to prove our case,” he says. “We only hope that our friends keep praying for us and for the appellate court to overrule this illegal use of the writ, so Kathleen and I can finally have fair treatment.”

Before the 2nd hearing in November I asked our lawyers why don’t we try to just get a settlement he said’ Charles we have won this” seven days later they withdrew from our case and everything turned bad.
Charles had served as Director of Latin America operation for Ralco Nutrition USA company located in Marshal MN. Ralco specializes in natural products for animal health and nutrition.

All of his Ralco salary had been paid to the IRS for 3 years. Due to the harassment of Ralco, by the IRS, the company had to removed Charles from his position in September of 2103. Charles and Kathleen and their two boys, have been living with Kathleen’s mother, sleeping on her couch and in her storage room, for almost eight months. Since, Charles cannot take a job until this nightmare is over they have lived on food stamps and gifts from their friends. If he were to find a job, the IRS would seize all the in income.

Our boys and family have experienced the overzealous and heavy handed acts and abuse by the IRS. Why would the IRS do this?
Their actions to detain us, caused us not to be able to keep on paying on the debt? According to the IRS accounting, we had paid off the refund and were close to paying off the penalty and interest the IRS had added on.

We are left with a huge legal debt. We ran out of money and so the lawyers withdrew. We have been left to the mercy of the court and IRS. Charles has been doing legal research and filing pro-se motions since December when the lawyers quit.

We have tried to obtain Pro Bono legal help. We have tried to get help form the Tax payers advocate program. We have contacted University Tax clinics, which provide help to people who can’t afford to pay, all have stated they’re too busy to help us.

Meanwhile, we still remain in Colorado, living with Kathleen’s mother. “We just want to be able to afford to get some legal help and to have the money to leave and put our lives back together. We want this nightmare and the violation of our constitutional rights, to end,” says Charles and Kathleen.

Photo is happier days in Ecuador. http://www.gofundme.com/82alvs

[The Observer]

This story sounds vaguely familiar, but I thought this was not an issue where the subjects were tax protesters/defiers but were involved in tax evasion. I do not note anywhere in the above post anything to suggest that the Barretts were engaging in the typical legal mumbo jumbo and gibberish that we typically see in tax defier cases. In fact, it appears on the face of it, the Barretts are claiming to have been making payments on their tax debt, which, if true, is not the usual claim, of tax protesters.

If this is simply another case of tax evasion, this thread should not exist. If we started posting every story that comes up about tax evaders, we would have a jillion threads. Please provide some other evidence or citations that show the Barretts were relying on tax defiance tactics (such as claiming incomes taxes are illegal, the government has no authority to tax) and the like in trying to evade their taxes.

[Paths of the Sea]

Previous references here are under this category.

There's a Charles W. Barrett, but that may be a different one.

Then there is the Charles and Kathleen reference which is related to an OID preparer scam.

Maybe it belongs here, maybe not.
Whatever the management thinks.

Sincerely,
Maury Enthusiast!

P.S. For some time I have been noticing that I am not getting the notices as before when I have indicated I wanted to be notified of reply messages. Is it me, or Quatloos that may have a problem?

[ArthurWankspittle]

"follow the money"
I haven't checked into it but

“When we found out about the Tax Preparer, Teresa Marty, had submitted wrong information,....

struck me. Have they used some wacko "Tax Preparer" who has been "saving" them money for years?
Well now I have checked and look at the first Google hit:
viewtopic.php?f=37&t=3760
"Rut-Roh"

[The Observer]

The OID references jogged my memory more, in that I recall that this was the couple who were refusing to sell property they had purchased in Ecuador with their ill-gotten gains. Their explanations to the judge at the time ran along the lines that the property couldn't be sold and/or wasn't able to be sold for the amount that the government thought it was worth.

If so, then these people did have their heads down the koolade barrel at one point.

[Paths of the Sea]

I've been doing some checking and the Denver district court issued a ruling a few days ago that deal with some of those things. I still don't know the fuller story about what been going on, but here are some excerpts from the recent ruling:

(Begin excerpts)

The facts are that the Barretts participated in the fraudulent preparation of their 2007 tax return, accepted the fraudulent refund, and have been attempting to thwart the IRS’s collection efforts ever since those efforts began.

The Barretts have no valid defense against the government’s claim.

The Barretts are not in custody. Indeed, they are free to travel wherever they would like within the United States.

Their right to travel internationally has been restricted by the writ.

Even then they have the keys to unlocking that door, and the Court has made it quite clear that it will not take much effort on their part to be able to use them.

They are required to make a payment on their outstanding tax obligation only to the extent that the government has proven that they have funds with which they can do so.

I remind them that the Court will discharge the writ upon

(1) their payment of the $16,000 originally expatriated to Banco de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay and

(2) the sale of their real property in Ecuador and application of the proceeds to their tax obligation or, alternatively, their submission of credible evidence that they cannot sell that property.

(T)he Barretts again assert that they are unable to access the funds in Mrs. Barrett’s ProduBank account while in the United States, and that they cannot sell their property because of a boundary dispute. Once again they have made no credible showing on either front.

(T)he Court has made it clear that it would release the writ so that Mrs. Barrett could travel to the bank in person and make the withdrawal.

The Court can only conclude that the Barretts prefer to hold onto this small nest egg rather than apply it to their tax bill and complain that they remain in a debtor’s prison.

This conduct strikes the Court as consistent with the fact that the payments that have been made to date on the tax obligation have been almost entirely involuntary, essentially the proceeds of the government’s collection efforts.

In sum, the Barretts took a large tax refund to which they had no entitlement and refused to repay it. Over the years, due it seems to their own stubbornness, the obligation has grown, with penalties and interest, to the point that the sums that have been collected despite their efforts to the contrary now exceed the amount of the improperly obtained refund.

(T)hey know precisely what they need to do to discharge the writ, which is substantially less than paying the rest of what they owe. If they will turn to that task (or negotiate some other resolution with the government), this will be over.

(End excerpts)

[GlimDropper]

And some commentary from someone we have a bit more than nodding familiarity with:

A Wedding And The Writ Of Ne Exeat Republica

[Paths of the Sea]

And some commentary from someone we have a bit more than nodding familiarity with:

A Wedding And The Writ Of Ne Exeat Republica

Thanks for that reference.

In checking it out, it seems quite informative and there is a readers' comment from Mr. Barrett following the article. It has not been called out, so one has to "expand" the comments to view it.

Sincerely,
Maury Enthusiast!

P.S. I am still not being notified of reply postings even though I have the notify me box checked.

[Paths of the Sea]

The Charles Barrett - Kent Hovind Connection!

(read entire thread for details)

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php? ... 8739517135

From: Charles Barrett
Date: Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Time: About 12:45 PM MT

Thank you for your follow-up.

We in the Conservative Christian movement
are being targeted.

Our children studied Kent's (Hovind) work in
their homeschool.

We have prayed for Kent and his wife.
Now we know partly how they must feel.
We are slaves in our own country.

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