This week the Supreme Court held that, to establish a violation of the IRS’s obstruction provision, 26 U.S.C. § 7212(a), the government must prove that the defendant was aware of a pending, “targeted governmental tax-related proceedings, such as a particular investigation or audit.” Sentencing Resource Counsel Sissy Phleger has the details: In Marinello v. United States, … Read more
The Second Circuit decided the case of United States v. Marinello (Docket No. 15-2224) on Friday. You can see the 44-page decision here. The case involved small businessman, Carlo Marinello, who did not keep corporate records or file personal or corporate income tax returns for nearly two decades. Marinello was convicted by a jury in … Read more
The single opinion the Circuit issued today is United States v. Daugerdas, No. 14-2437-cr (Circuit Judges: Kearse, Walker, and Cabranes). The defendant was a Certified Public Accountant and tax attorney. He and others designed tax shelters (for wealthy clients) in which the transactions underlying the shelters focused on the transactions tax consequences, not on their profitability. … Read more
United States v. Litwok, No. 10-1985-cr (2d Cir. April 30, 2012) (Livingson, Lohier, CJJ, Koeltl, DJ) An Eastern District jury convicted defendant Evelyn Litwok of one count of mail fraud, and three counts of tax evasion – for the years 1995, 1996 and 1997. The circuit found the evidence legally insufficient to support the conviction … Read more
United States v. Josephberg, No. 07-3958-cr (2d Cir. April 9, 2009) (Kearse, Sack, Katzmann, CJJ) Background – Multiple Acts of Tax Fraud and Evasion A “straddle” is a type of tax shelter transaction involving the simultaneous ownership of a contract to buy a commodity for delivery in a future month and a contract to sell … Read more
United States v. Ellett, No. 07-3682-cr (2d Cir. May 23, 2008) (per curiam) James Ellett was a tax protester, who stopped paying his federal income tax after reading a book called “Vultures in Eagle’s Clothing,” which purported to describe a lawful way of avoiding taxes. He claimed to have read the book more than 100 … Read more