DoJ Accomplishments 2001-2009

[LPC]

The Department of Justice has published a report of what they consider their accomplishments during the Bush administration, and the report includes some of our friends. The following are some excerpts:

BARRING TAX SCAM PROMOTERS

Irwin Schiff. A federal court issued a temporary restraining order in 2003 that barred Irwin Schiff and two associates from promoting their tax scams. The order prohibited the trio from holding seminars to promote or sell Schiff 's fraudulent "zero tax" plan or any other sham tax schemes; selling tax-related products and services; and preparing any federal income tax return for others. In 2004, a federal court ruled that Schiff was liable for more than $2 million in individual income tax liabilities and related interest and penalties.

S-N-K Enterprise Inc. In 2004, a federal court permanently barred Sherri L. Harris and her company, S-N-K Enterprise Inc., from promoting an illegal tax scam that targeted African-American business owners. The permanent injunction order also barred Harris and her company from preparing federal income tax returns for others, which prevented more than $2.7 million in losses to the U.S. Treasury.

Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc. Corporations that operated under franchisee agreements with Jackson Hewitt, the second largest tax preparation firm in America, agreed in 2007 to be barred from tax return preparation. The government complaint alleged that the franchisee corporations created and fostered a business environment in which fraudulent tax return preparation was encouraged and flourished. The corporations owned and operated Jackson Hewitt franchises in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit and Raleigh-Durham, N.C.

PROSECUTING CRIMINAL CASES

Wesley Trent Snipes et al. In 2008, a federal court sentenced actor Wesley Snipes to 36 months in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release. His co-defendants, Eddie Kahn and Douglas Rosile, received 120 months in prison and 54 months in prison, respectively, to be followed by three years of supervised release. At the sentencing hearing, Snipes handed over a $5 million check to the IRS to pay off some of his tax liabilities. Snipes was convicted of three counts of willful failure to file income tax returns and acquitted of two felony charges. Kahn and Rosile each were convicted of one count of conspiring to defraud the United States and one count of making false claims against the United States.

Joseph R. Francis.[Ongoing case] A federal grand jury returned an indictment in 2007 that charged Joseph R. Francis, the creator of "Girls Gone Wild," with tax evasion. The indictment alleged that Francis deducted more than $20 million in false business expenses on his production companies' 2002 and 2003 corporate income tax returns. The indictment also alleged that Francis used offshore bank accounts and entities purportedly owned by others to conceal income he earned in 2002 and 2003, and that he transferred more than $15 million from an offshore bank account to a brokerage account in California.

[...]

ADDITIONAL INITIATIVES

Anderson's Ark Associates. Between 2004 and 2005, numerous individuals associated with Anderson's Ark and Associates (AAA) nationwide were convicted and sentenced for their connection with one of the most far-ranging fraudulent tax schemes ever prosecuted. AAA was an organization that spanned five countries and had more than 1,500 clients. Three hundred of AAA's clients reported more than $120 million in fraudulent income tax deductions.

Renaissance, The Tax People. In 2004, a federal jury returned a 148-count indictment that charged four individuals and Renaissance, The Tax People Inc., with conspiracy to defraud the United States by impeding the IRS and to commit mail and wire fraud; willfully assisting in the preparation of fraudulent federal income tax returns; and mail and wire fraud. In addition, Renaissance and one of the four individuals were charged with money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering, and engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property of a value greater than $10,000. The indictment also sought the forfeiture of $84 million in United States currency plus land, gold coins, vehicles, bank accounts and life insurance policies.

[The Operative]

I notice that Ed and Elaine only got a brief mention under the accomplishments of the U.S. Marshals Service and the four convicted Brown supporters were not mentioned at all.

[grixit]

So passes the glory of the age...