Kris Smith - Anderson Ark appeal release

[Judge Roy Bean]

http://www.gjsentinel.com/hp/content/ne ... ppeal.html

Woman appeals tax fraud conviction

By MIKE SACCONE
Saturday, October 11, 2008

A Grand Junction woman convicted in 2006 of a handful of tax evasion charges was released from federal prison Friday, pending an appeal of her case.

Kris Smith, according to a Thursday order from U.S. District Court Judge Walker D. Miller, is appealing her conviction on the basis that her attorney, Gregory James Mueller, committed serious errors during her trial.

Federal Bureau of Prisons records show Smith, former treasurer of the Grand Junction Lion’s Club, was released from custody Friday.

Smith, according to court filings, was part of one of the largest tax fraud schemes in the country’s history, which involved the now defunct Anderson’s Ark and Associates pushing fraudulent tax shelters and investment scams.

Members of the firm, according to the Internal Revenue Service, convinced people to file false tax returns, take the money and invest it back into the offshore account benefiting the firm.

Smith, court filings said, filed four false tax returns, earning her more than $70,000.

A jury convicted Smith in August 2006 of filing the fraudulent tax returns.

Following her conviction, Smith appealed, saying Mueller’s “oversights and errors … rise to the level of ineffective assistance of counsel” resulting in “a grave injustice.”

[grixit]

Released pending appeal? Victory!