IMF Decoder shut down

[Demosthenes]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TAX
FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2008 (202) 514-2007
http://WWW.USDOJ.GOV TDD (202) 514-1888
FEDERAL COURT SHUTS DOWN WASHINGTON STATE
BOGUS “DECODING” TAX SCHEME
Sharon Kukhahn of Tacoma Falsely Claimed to Decode IRS Records
WASHINGTON – A federal court has barred a Tacoma, Wash., woman from selling a tax scam, the Justice Department announced today. The civil injunction order, entered against Sharon Kukhahn, will remain in effect indefinitely.
Kukhahn operates businesses called IMF Decoder, Paralegal Research Advocates and Advocates for Justice, Liberty and Freedom. The Tacoma court found that Kukhahn’s IMF Decoder scheme falsely purported to “decode” Internal Revenue Service (IRS) computer transcripts of customers’ taxpayer accounts to show that the customers were not liable for federal income tax.
The case is one of three civil injunction complaints filed last month in federal courts on the east and west coats, seeking to halt tax-fraud schemes related to Pinnacle Quest International (PQI). A federal court in Florida enjoined PQI from promoting tax-fraud schemes earlier this month.
The court found that Kukhahn falsely represented to potential customers that they were not required to pay federal income taxes unless they live in a United States territory, and that United States residents may be taxed only by a federal excise tax and only if they are involved in an excise-taxable enterprise.
U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle held that Kukhahn knew or had reason to know that her decoding scheme was false. The court found that Kukhahn charges her customers between $1,750 and $3,195 for her decoding services. According to the court order, the IRS has determined that Kukhahn’s scheme caused revenue losses of approximately $4.9 million as a result of her customers’ failure to file tax returns and pay taxes. The court ordered Kukhahn to give the Justice Department a list of her customers.
“There is no magic way to make federal income taxes disappear,” said Nathan J. Hochman, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division. “Those who pay for and implement frivolous scams like the one enjoined by the court here are wasting their money.”
Since 2001, the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained injunctions against more than 340 tax fraud promoters and unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department website.

[Demosthenes]

The injunction:

http://www.cheatingfrenzy.com/imfdecoder.pdf

[The Observer]

Does this injunction threaten my status as a Virgin Islands gunsmith? Do I need to start looking for other work?

[Nikki]

The mills of justice may grind finely, but EXCEEDINGLY slowly.

She should have been shut down years ago.

[kipster53]

I believe Sharon Kukhahn's website was shut down and she opened a new one called http://www.hjrbonds.com.
For $500 they will manufacture what looks like a real bond and have the person send the bond to the Treasury Dept. with the ultimate goal of having the U.S. Treasury "discharge" all of the person's debts. Does anyone else know anything about this scam?

[grixit]

I know that it's a good start on a one way ticket to Levenworth.

[Lambkin]

I believe Sharon Kukhahn's website was shut down and she opened a new one called http://www.hjrbonds.com.

Welcome to Quatloos Kipster!

[Dr. Caligari]

For $500 they will manufacture what looks like a real bond and have the person send the bond to the Treasury Dept. with the ultimate goal of having the U.S. Treasury "discharge" all of the person's debts.

Can you say, "fictitious obligations," boys and girls?

I knew you could!

[Demosthenes]

I believe Sharon Kukhahn's website was shut down and she opened a new one called http://www.hjrbonds.com.
For $500 they will manufacture what looks like a real bond and have the person send the bond to the Treasury Dept. with the ultimate goal of having the U.S. Treasury "discharge" all of the person's debts. Does anyone else know anything about this scam?

Duly noted.

[wserra]

I believe Sharon Kukhahn's website was shut down and she opened a new one called http://www.hjrbonds.com.

That certainly appears to be correct. The order forms for both IMF Decoders and hjrbonds have the address 2522 North Proctor, Tacoma, WA (a UPS store), both direct the sucker to make checks/MOs out to "Dream International", and note that the "credt" card (same misspelling in both) listing will be to something called "IRSCB". Both list a telephone - (253) 759-2192 - which appears as well to be that of "Law Researcher" Sharon Kukhahn of the "Ecclesiastical Court of Justice and Law Offices of the Little Shell Pembina Band". So many scams, so few telephones. A whois search of hjrbonds.com shows that it was registered (through a proxy service) in April (and will likely be gone by August).

And I love how their great, unimpeachable authority is James Traficant, Ohio's answer to Bozo the Clown - except that Bozo had better hair.

[Nikki]

Secret Service and postal inspectors pass along their thanks for the tip.

[grixit]

Bet she thinks having her imaginary indians cash the check will insulate her.

[truthseeker]

Interestingly enough when trying to learn about this process that they offer, I understand there are two separate schemes going on.

1) One is the $500 process named "Million Heir Club" that gives you a bond (indemnity and/or discharging bond) that uses its backing off of HJR-192. To date, I cannot find anything that effectively repealed this act (yet) but only amended the act to allow gold again. Anyone have any further information on this?

2) The second process they have costs $5800 as advertised on their website and has proven to be nothing short of a scam. Sadly named "Club Retro" they agree to educate you and provide you with documents to discharge any type of debt (mortgages, credit card, etc. apparently the sky is the limit). Now is where the scam part comes in... after selling you the program they sub all your information out to a "mentor" and that person does all the work on your account providing you with documents up to 25 hours of work, then you get billed more after that.

Several people (in their calls also on their website) have requested refunds already if that doesn't say anything for itself! Lastly, even though they promise to give refunds, this "Kelly" character has conned them out of their money stating these "mentors" have already done all this work. Kelly known as Kelly Sullivan formerly working with one Keny Wayne has verbally badgered several clients into just putting up with the loss, how ridiculous! Even more silly is this "hold harmless agreement" that basically says if it doesn't work, they aren't responsible and you won't come after them.

This process, simply put, is supposed to work like using checks to pay off your bills (simplest form I can think of to describe it) however when the payment center gets these documents, they pretty much think its garbage and toss them.

I have never seen a bigger scam than this club retro process and doubt it will ever work! Stay far far far away from it. Taking a $500 shot at attempting to use the million heir club process at least is a recoverable amount even if it is a waste of time, but nearly six-thousand for a lack luster dis-organized non-guaranteed and now non-refundable process is just plain stupid.

As a side note, it has been told that one of these so-called "mentors" lost their own house! So much for a working process when it can't even work for those who have been doing this for what they say on these calls is "years and years".

Think twice before purchasing any of this crap and be sure to read everything you can. Don't let anyone else tell you what is right and what is wrong.

[truthseeker]

It would now appear that a new company has shown up. HJR Bonds recently posted in their announcements page that http://www.yourric.com is copying their information.

Your R.I.C. (Your Remedies In Commerce) deals with the UCC information as well as doing the Club Retro process cheaper.

Add this one to the list to avoid as well... http://www.yourric.com

[Nikki]

The introduction to their web site starts off with the paytridiot urban legend:

Welcome to R.I.C.
Government public policy

As to the inability of the corporate United States to recognize and to work with any entity other than another artificial corporate type structure can be found in the case which is known as S.C.R. 1795, Penhallow v. Doane's Administraters 3 U.S. 54; 1 L.Ed. 57; 3 Dall. 54

“In as much as every government is an artificial person, an abstraction, and a creature of the mind only, a government can interface only with other artificial persons the imaginary having neither actuality or substance is foreclosed from creating and obtaining parody with the tangible, the legal manifestation of this is that no government as well as any law agency, aspect , court etc.. can concern itself with anything other than corporate artificial persons and the contracts between them.”

Does anyone have a tool for searching the Internet backwards in time to determine where misquotations, or outright fabrications like this one, originate?

[wserra]

Does anyone have a tool for searching the Internet backwards in time to determine where misquotations, or outright fabrications like this one, originate?

No. However, I can't resist a comment on the "quote".

In the annals of TP misquotes, that one must set some sort of record. Not only is there no such language in the opinion, but the words "artificial", "abstraction", "interface", "manifestation" and I'm sure others don't even appear.

I'm shocked, I tell you. Shocked. How could a "Law Researcher" for the august "Ecclesiastical Court of Justice and Law Offices of the Little Shell Pembina Band" make such an error?

[Dezcad]

Does anyone have a tool for searching the Internet backwards in time to determine where misquotations, or outright fabrications like this one, originate?

If you know the website URL, you can use the "WayBack Machine" at http://www.archive.org/web/web.php to see an old version of the site (but it only goes back to 1996).

Advanced searches can be done here: http://web.archive.org/collections/web/advanced.html.


For instance, here is the Nov 16, 1999 version of Quatloos.

[Demosthenes]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FRIDAY, AUGUST 22, 2008
http://WWW.USDOJ.GOV

U.S. COURT PERMANENTLY BARS WASHINGTON STATE WOMAN’S BOGUS “DECODING” TAX SCHEME

Sharon Kukhahn of Tacoma Falsely Claimed to Decode IRS Records

WASHINGTON – A federal court has permanently barred a Tacoma, Wash., woman from selling a tax scam, the Justice Department announced today. The court found that Sharon Kukhahn’s “IMF Decoder” scheme falsely purported to “decode” Internal Revenue Service (IRS) computer transcripts of customers’ taxpayer accounts to show that the customers were not liable for federal income tax. Kukhahn operates businesses named IMF Decoder; Paralegal Research Advocates; and Advocates for Justice, Liberty and Freedom.

The case is one of three civil injunction suits filed in April in federal courts on the east and west coats seeking to halt tax fraud schemes related to Pinnacle Quest International (PQI). A federal court in Florida enjoined PQI from promoting tax fraud schemes in May of this year.

The court found that Kukhahn falsely represented to potential customers that they were not required to pay federal income taxes unless they live in a U.S. territory, and that U.S. residents may be taxed only by a federal excise tax and only if they are involved in an excise-taxable enterprise.

U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle held that Kukhahn knew or had reason to know that her scheme was false. The court found that Kukhahn charges her customers between $1,750 and $3,195 for her decoding services. According to the court, the IRS determined that Kukhahn’s scheme caused revenue losses to the U.S. Treasury of approximately $4.9 million as a result of her customers’ failure to file tax returns and pay taxes. The court ordered Kukhahn to give the Justice Department a list of her customers.

The court also found that after the Justice Department sued Kukhahn, she falsely told her customers that she had transferred funds to the Justice Department for it to use to compensate her customers for any harm they suffered from relying on Kukhahn’s services.
Kukhahn also falsely stated that customers could collect their share of these funds by submitting a claim form to the Justice Department. A total of 328 Kukhahn customers filed claims with the Justice Department seeking payments from the bogus fund. The court ordered Kukhahn to notify all the claimants that there is no such fund.

“The Justice Department is committed to seeking and enforcing injunctions against those who promote or participate in tax-fraud schemes. Similarly, under the Tax Defier Initiative, the Tax Division will continue to take appropriate actions to stop those who promote and participate in tax defier conduct,” said Nathan J. Hochman, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division. “Since 2001, the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained injunctions against more than 350 tax fraud promoters and unscrupulous tax preparers.”

Hochman thanked Tax Division trial attorney John Monroe and IRS agents Terry Martin and Anne Rueter for their efforts in obtaining the injunction.

Information about the injunction cases handled by the Justice Department’s Tax Division is available on the Justice Department Web site.

[kipster53]

Sharon Kukhahn continues deluding her sucker followers. She sent out an email to them showing the first page of the court docket with these words boxed in red: "Closed" and "Date Terminated: August 26, 2008." Above that, she writes "We have won!" Apparently she wants her lemmings to believe that the case was dismissed. Once a fraud, always a fraud.

[Demosthenes]

Could someone forward me a copy of that email?

info@cheatingfrenzy.com