Billie Schofield - TP Non-filer Pleads to Tax Evasion

[jcolvin2]

https://www.justice.gov/usao-ri/pr/scit ... ax-evasion

Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of Rhode Island

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Scituate Resident Who Claimed Earnings Are Not Income Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion

PROVIDENCE – A Rhode Island businessman who failed to file legitimate federal tax returns for ten years, and who falsely represented to the IRS on tax forms that he was “not a citizen of the United States” and that his earnings were not taxable, pleaded guilty on Monday in U.S. District Court in Providence, R.I., to tax evasion, announced United States Attorney Aaron L. Weisman, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, and Kristina O'Connell, Special Agent in Charge of Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.

Appearing before U.S. District Court Chief Judge William E. Smith, Billie R. Schofield, 63, admitted that he took numerous steps to avoid paying federal income taxes by, among other things, creating and submitting to the IRS fraudulent checks totaling more than $60,000 to settle past taxes due for tax years 2005 - 2008; creating and submitting to the IRS a fraudulent check totaling nearly $49,000 for past taxes due for tax year 2009; in 2013, instructing a corporation in which he held a minor partnership interest not to compensate him; filing false tax returns; in 2015, intercepting and concealing levies from businesses that owed him compensation; and repeatedly mailing false documents to the IRS in an effort to obstruct IRS assessments and collection efforts.

Additionally, in 2013, Schofield created a company with an Alaskan address, Sundown Services. Over the next few years, Schofield asked that payments owed to him be made payable to Sundown Services so as to conceal his income. He asked his girlfriend to open a bank account in the name of Sundown Services into which he had her deposit checks made payable to Sundown Services, which were actually income payments to Schofield for services rendered.

An investigation by Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation determined that from 2005 through 2009, Schofield’s tax due and owing was $201,310. Further, although he did not file returns for Tax Years 2010 through 2016, Schofield earned $731,481.55 as income from his business partnerships, commissions from a Canadian fishing company, and proceeds from the cultivation and sale of marijuana. His total tax due the IRS for 2010 - 2016 is $227,435. In total for tax years 2005 through 2016, Schofield evaded the payment and assessment of $428,745.01 in taxes due and owing to the IRS.

Schofield is scheduled to be sentenced on September 13, 2019. Tax evasion is punishable by statutory penalties of up to five years in prison, a fine of $250,000, and a term of supervised release of three years.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sandra R. Hebert and Tax Division Trial Attorney Christopher P. O’Donnell.

[Famspear]

Peter Hendrickson's lost horizons tax scam web site claims a "Billie R. Schofield" of Rhode Island as one of Hendrickson's followers, albeit for Rhode Island taxes, not (as far as I see, so far) for Federal taxes.

http://www.losthorizons.com/tax/MoreVictories30.htm

[Famspear]

From the Providence Journal, over six years ago:

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A Tiverton man who was arrested for growing more than 500 marijuana plants at two addresses in his hometown was spared a prison term on Wednesday, despite an impassioned plea from a prosecutor to send him away for two years.

U.S. District Court Judge John J. McConnell sentenced Billie R. Schofield, 57, of 80 Wampanoag Lane, to spend a year in home confinement and complete two years of supervised probation once the monitoring bracelet is removed from his ankle.

McConnell decided against sending Schofield to prison because he had no prior criminal history and it would cost taxpayers about $30,000 a year to keep him incarcerated. He also felt that at his advanced age there was little likelihood that he would return to his criminal ways.

--W. Zachary Malinowski, March 27, 2013, "Man who grew 500 pot plants in Tiverton spared prison," Providence Journal, Providence, Rhode Island (emphasis added), at:

https://www.providencejournal.com/break ... prison.ece

I'm in favor of de-criminalization of possession and use of marijuana, but I find the last line of the story to be ironic.

[Famspear]

The tax case is United States v. Schofield, no. 18-cr-00039-WES-LDA, U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island.

Schofield pleaded guilty to one count of section 7201 tax evasion. Seven other counts of tax evasion are being dropped, as are one count of corrupt endeavor to obstruct the IRS (section 7212) and one count of a false declaration before a grand jury (18 USC section 1623). He has agreed to pay restitution to the government of $364,200.44, and to file correct Federal tax returns for 2010 through 2016. Under the plea agreement, he states that he understands that the agreement does not resolve his liability for Federal taxes, penalties and interest.

He admits that he used Form 4852 and Form 1040X amended returns for various years, and that he "wrongfully asserted that he had not engaged in any 'taxable activity' " -- typical methods used by Peter Hendrickson's followers.

[Burnaby49]

From the Providence Journal, over six years ago:

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A Tiverton man who was arrested for growing more than 500 marijuana plants at two addresses in his hometown was spared a prison term on Wednesday, despite an impassioned plea from a prosecutor to send him away for two years.

U.S. District Court Judge John J. McConnell sentenced Billie R. Schofield, 57, of 80 Wampanoag Lane, to spend a year in home confinement and complete two years of supervised probation once the monitoring bracelet is removed from his ankle.

McConnell decided against sending Schofield to prison because he had no prior criminal history and it would cost taxpayers about $30,000 a year to keep him incarcerated. He also felt that at his advanced age there was little likelihood that he would return to his criminal ways.

--W. Zachary Malinowski, March 27, 2013, "Man who grew 500 pot plants in Tiverton spared prison," Providence Journal, Providence, Rhode Island (emphasis added), at:

https://www.providencejournal.com/break ... prison.ece

I'm in favor of de-criminalization of possession and use of marijuana, but I find the last line of the story to be ironic.

To be fair he didn't "return" to his criminal ways, he just continued them.

While Canada has decriminalized marijuana that quantity would still get him a criminal sentence here because individuals are only allowed to grow enough for personal use. They need a government license to grow industrial quantities.

[grixit]

No charges for those whopping big fake checks?

[Famspear]

No charges for those whopping big fake checks?

The fact that he submitted fraudulent checks to the IRS was a fact that Schofield admitted as part of the plea agreement. That was one of the facts listed in the tax evasion count to which he pleaded guilty.

I haven't read the entire Superseding Indictment, but the fraudulent checks were also part of the fact pattern for the section 7212 charge (but that charge is being dropped under the plea agreement).

Maybe he could have been charged with non-tax Federal crimes related to the use of the fraudulent checks (such mail fraud under 18 USC section 1341), but he wasn't.

[LaVidaRoja]

Any real chance he'll ever pay a dime of either the court-ordered fines or the evaded taxes?

[jcolvin2]

Any real chance he'll ever pay a dime of either the court-ordered fines or the evaded taxes?

Schofield seemed to have been an investor in business partnerships which generated income. It is possible that his interests in these could be liquidated and sold to pay his tax debt.

I would also note that the sentencing guidelines add "criminal history points" if the offense of conviction (the tax offense) was committed while on probation or supervised release for another offense (the drug offense).

[Famspear]

Sentencing has been re-scheduled for November 1, 2019.

[Famspear]

Sentencing re-scheduled for December 19, 2019.

[Famspear]

Sentencing had been re-scheduled for March 20, 2020, but is now set for April 27, 2020.

[Famspear]

Sentencing was postponed to July 8, 2020.

United States v. Billie R. Schofield, case no. 18-cr-00039, U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island.

[Famspear]

Update: Proposed sentencing dates have come and gone. The latest is that the defendant's lawyer wants to withdraw:

MOTION TO WITHDRAW Now comes George J. West, court-appointed counsel for the Defendant in this matter and moves that the Court will enter an order allowing him to withdraw from the representation of the Defendant. The reason for the request is that in counsel’s judgment there has occurred an irretrievable divergence between counsel and his client.

In United States v. Reyes, 352 F.3d 511 (1st Cir. 2003), the court held that where there is a breakdown of communication[,] that [sic] a motion to withdraw is appropriately granted. Communication is a broadly defined thing and includes the ability of the attorney and client to agree on the handling of the defense. Rendering competent legal advice, advocacy and independence are the hallmark of an attorney’s role. A client maintains the right to form his own conclusions as to the direction he wishes to take in his case on fundamental issues which include; the right to go to trial, accept a plea or to take an appeal. Other actions taken in the case where the client is represented by counsel, require that counsel exercise his independent judgment to determine which direction he or she shall pursue.

In Puglisi v. State, 112 So. 3d 1196, 1205–06 (Fla. 2013) the court observed: “As eloquently stated by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals: Defense counsel in a criminal trial is more than an adviser to a client with the client's having the final say at each point. He is an officer of the court and a professional advocate pursuing a result—almost always, acquittal—within the confines of the law; his chief reason for being present is to exercise his professional judgment to decide tactics. ... When the defendant is given the last word about how his case will be tried, the defendant becomes his own trial lawyer. If we add to the list of circumstances in which a defendant can trump his counsel's decision, the adversarial system becomes less effective as the opinions of lay persons are substituted for the judgment of legally trained counsel. The sound functioning of the adversarial system is critical to the American system of criminal justice. We intend to defend it. [footnote citation not reproduced]

Puglisi v. State, 112 So. 3d 1196, 1205–06 (Fla. 2013). Your counsel has done all that he can in his view to secure the furtherance of the Attorney – Counsel relationship but a fundamental divergence of viewpoint persists that is at the core of being able to continue.

It is counsel’s view here that his view and Mr. Schofield are irreconcilable as to a matter that is central to Mr. Schofield desired defense. In light of that counsel is constrained to withdraw. In such circumstance’s [sic] courts have approved the granting of the motion to withdraw. United States v. Enrique Mota-Santana, 391 F.3d 42, 46.

The court granted time for counsel and Mr. Schofield to review his desire to withdraw his plea, with the recognition that counsel would be engaged in trial in a state capital case which required completion. Following that trial and subsequent re-trial, the state of emergency shut down occurred in Rhode Island[,] due to the Coronavirus pandemic. At this point Mr. Schofield is awaiting sentencing and is on release status and has been fully compliant with the terms thereof. The presentence report has been issued. Tax compliance filings per the plea agreement need to be completed and would likely require an extension of the scheduled sentencing date or an allowance for post sentencing filing. December 8, 2020 is the current date for sentencing or hearing date currently on possible motion to withdraw plea. Current motion filing date is Nov. 13, 2020 which in light of this motion ought to be extended for successor counsel or the defendant to address. [ . . . ]

Nov 10, 2020
George J. West

[Famspear]

On January 8, 2021, Schofield was sentenced to 36 months of incarceration, 3 years of supervised release, a $100.00 special assessment, a $5,000.00 fine, and $364,200.44 in restitution.

[Famspear]

Schofield is inmate number 08781-070 at the Fort Dix Federal Correctional Institution, and is scheduled for release on July 28, 2023.

[The Observer]

Hopefully by the time he gets out, he will come to a better understanding about the CtC method and what it did for him.

[notorial dissent]

Hopefully by the time he gets out, he will come to a better understanding about the CtC method and what it did for him.

That was rhetorical, right?????

[JamesVincent]

Hopefully by the time he gets out, he will come to a better understanding about the CtC method and what it did for him.

That was rhetorical, right?????

Or sarcastic. Could be sarcastic.

[The Observer]

Hopefully by the time he gets out, he will come to a better understanding about the CtC method and what it did for him.

That was rhetorical, right?????

Or sarcastic. Could be sarcastic.

Hey, it could be both.