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The verdict is in
By JJ MacNab | February 1, 2008
Bad day for Rosile and Kahn. Relatively good day for Snipes, considering what it could have been.
Rosile and Kahn were both convicted on two felony counts (conspiracy to defraud the government, and aiding in the filing of Snipes’ false refund return.) Snipes was convicted on three misdemeanor counts (willful failure to file tax returns) and acquitted on the remaining charges (the same two felony counts as above and three additional misdemeanor failure to file counts.) Kahn is being held in prison pending sentencing and both Rosile and Snipes are free on bail.
The jury deliberated for just shy of three full business days and came up with what I thought was an odd mix for a verdict. Kahn’s and Rosile’s guilty verdicts were no surprise of course, they’ve been long-term tax protest promoters, and Snipes’ defense counsel were pretty quick to blame them. And even before the jury expressed confusion over the definition of “conspiracy,” I thought Snipes might be acquitted on that count.
The split on the failure to file counts, however, came in the opposite of what I’d guessed. While the prosecutor told the press after the verdict that he thought the three not guilty counts were the result of Snipes’ change in residence, I think it’s more likely that the jury thought that having your rights read to you by a Special Agent (”you have the right to remain silent”) somehow exonerates you from having to send your financial information to the IRS on a Form 1040.
Outside the courthouse was a crowded mess. There were several TV crews, reporters, construction workers from across the street, and many, many Snipes fans and supporters. From the victory dance going on by some of the defense team, one would have thought that the jury had ruled not guilty on all counts.
But it’s important to remember that this was a mixed verdict. Snipes bought into a serious scam to the point of pushing it on his employees, and is now facing three years in prison for believing that tax protest legal fairy tale was real. Because of the enormous amount of income tax, it’s quite possible the judge will send him to prison for the full three years under federal sentencing guidelines.
The tax denier community is already expressing a mix of glee and resentment. Many are finding solace in his partial victory, as if his verdict somehow changes their personal odds of financial ruin and prison. Others are angry that Snipes’ legal team put the blame on Rosile and Kahn, long-term leaders in the tax protest world.
So all that remains besides sentencing is finding out what Snipes will do now. Will he continue his angry tirades to the government? Will he pay taxes (and penalties and interest) on that $38 million of personal income plus $20 million of corporate income and express remorse prior to sentencing? Will he do the responsible thing and warn other potential victims of promoters like Kahn and Rosile not to buy into their schemes?
Time will tell.
Topics: Kahn, Rosile, Snipes, Tax Deniers | 17 Comments »
17 Responses to “The verdict is in”
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February 2nd, 2008 at 2:53 am
And to all, a good night.
February 2nd, 2008 at 8:39 am
I’m glad those scum promoters got convicted on the felony counts. It’s now time for congress to set a dollar amount for elevation of failure to file as a felony. What this verdict says is “if you are going to owe millions in taxes, don’t file- it’s just a misdemeanor.” That’s plain obscene. If the taxes due are over $10K, then it should be a felony. You want to erase the deficit? Let’s get all the cheats!
February 2nd, 2008 at 9:58 am
It’s time for the laundry list of tax denier arguments to be criminalized by Congress and barred from consideration in any Cheek Defense to Statutory Willfulness and Tax Conspiracy.
February 2nd, 2008 at 10:00 am
And of course they need to knock out the sedm and famguardian websites for good.
They’re not free speech.
The criminal intent there is obvious.
February 2nd, 2008 at 1:01 pm
How much is Snipes total tax bill going to be? Does anyone have a reliable estimate including penalties and interest?
Hope it leaves him flat broke. Then they can ride around the country with him collecting their money ala Willie Nelsen. If they did it to Willie, they should do it for Wesely.
February 2nd, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Get ready for all the Wesley Snipes commercials as he endorses every product under the sun to try to earn enough the pay his tax debt.
Can he escape through bankrupcy?
Snipes called his December 2006 manifesto submission a “jury entertainment package”.
SINCE SNIPES KNEW HE WAS BORN IN ORLANDO, FLORIDA IN 1962 AND THAT HE HAD A US PASSPORT, WHICH HE SURRENDERED, AND A FLORIDA DRIVER’S LICENSE, HOW COULD SNIPES BELIEVE IN GOOD FAITH THAT HE WAS A “STATELESS PERSON” AND A “NON-RESIDENT-ALIEN”, THE STATED BASIS FOR HIS BELIEF THAT HE WAS A “NONTAXPAYER” SO THAT THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE DID NOT APPLY TO HIM, AS HE EXPLAINED IN HIS 29 PAGE MANIFESTO, THAT HE LABELLED A ‘JURY ENTERTAINMENT PACKAGE’?
HE MADE A NUMBER OF CONSTITUTIONAL ASSERTIONS IN THAT MANIFESTO. THE US SUPREME COURT IN CHEEK V US (1991) DECLARED THAT THE CHEEK DEFENSE ARGUMENT OF GOOD FAITH BELIEF CAN ONLY DERIVE FROM ARGUMENTS DUE TO THE COMPLEXITY OF THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE AND NOT FROM CONSTITUTIONAL ARGUMENTS ABOUT THE TAX LAWS.
THE BULK OF THE ARGUMENTS IN SNIPES’ MANIFESTO ARE CONSTITUTIONAL ARGUMENTS ABOUT WHAT IS CONSTITUTIONAL INCOME, OR US CITIZENSHIP, OR US JURISDICTION, OR THE BILL OF RIGHTS.
THUS HE WAS WAY OUTSIDE THE BOUNDS OF A CHEEK DEFENSE TO STATUTORY WILLFULNESS.
HE WAS SIMPLY REGURGITATING CRIMINAL TAX DENIER PROPAGANDA THAT HE PICKED UP FROM PHONY “MINISTRIES” OF TAX EVASION ON THE INTERNET: SEDM.ORG AND FAMGUARDIAN.ORG, 2 WEBSITES THAT THE DOJ OBTAINED INJUCTIONS TO SHUT DOWN IN 2006 AGAINST THE PROMOTER, CHRIS HANSEN, BUT HAVE YET TO BE SHUTDOWN, BECAUSE THEY ARE HOSTED ON SERVERS IN CANADA. (TAKE THEM OUT AT THE NAME SERVERS, GOVERNMENT!)
February 2nd, 2008 at 2:31 pm
In his December 2006 manifesto, Snipes defined the term “frivolous” to mean “truthful, correct” whenever the IRS told him that his arguments were frivolous.
February 2nd, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Tax Protesters, please stop with the term tax denier.
February 2nd, 2008 at 5:23 pm
The guy is a liar and a cheet. If anyone believes his defense, he would have to be the dumbest man in Hollywood. There is a thought; how dumb WOULD That be?
Anyway, tax denier, tax protestor, whatever, he made, he pays. Its the American way!!!!!!!!!!!
February 2nd, 2008 at 9:56 pm
TOO BAD JJ YOU LOST, GUESS THE GOVERNMENT WON’T GIVE YOU A KICK BACK FOR THIS STORY
February 2nd, 2008 at 10:54 pm
Re: TO BAD JJ
If you consider this winning, I’d hate to see what you think is losing. The guy could go to jail for 3 years and he still has to pay tens of millions of dollars of back taxes. Great win, tax protesters!
February 3rd, 2008 at 12:16 pm
I guess I don’t get the tax protester stance. Are we to believe that they believe the US Govt cannot legally raise money from its citizens via tax on income?
Strange. To be fair, I think govt wastes our money in spades. However, that is a different issue. In the end, there will be taxes. How much and who pays is a different conversation. Certainly, I think a millionaire actor should fork over some dough, esp if I have to.
February 3rd, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Does the Bankruptcy laws allow Snipes to escape paying up?
I thought that BK only applied to taxes owed on filings more than 3 years old.
Since he never filed, doesn’t that mean he lacks bankruptcy protection?
February 3rd, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Richard, you’re dealing with criminal element low lifes with most tax deniers.
They know the income laws apply to them, but they argue there is no law and they launch a hate filled tirade of conspiracy theory nonsensical political rants as part of their arguments.
They are tax evasion parrots.
They absolutely refuse to acknowledge the law when it is shown to them.
They are a criminal element cult.
OBTW, only the rich really pay the income tax. The top 1% of taxpayers pay 39% of the income tax. The top 25% of taxpayers pay 86% of the income tax. This is from 2004 data.
The bottom 50% of taxpayers pay 3% of the collected income tax.
So it’s easy to see that, for all intents and purposes, ONLY THE RICH PAY TAXES.
And since the rich can afford the best in income tax advice, there obviously is a law that says you have to pay the tax.
February 4th, 2008 at 9:39 pm
Lucile wrote:
So it’s easy to see that, for all intents and purposes, ONLY THE RICH PAY TAXES.
No, they don’t. They just pass the costs incurred by taxation on to whoever buys their products or uses their services (At least the smart ones do). Think about it — why is it that Teddy Kennedy, whose family has millions and millions of bucks stashed away, keeps pushing for higher taxes? They seem to enjoy the high life and fast lane — wouldn’t they have disowned him if they stood to take a substantial hit to their lifestlyes?
I’ll believe that Teddy is sincere when he donates his share of the family fortune to some non-profit and moves to some low-income minority area like Compton, without the same level of police protection that the non-connected residents enjoy.
February 5th, 2008 at 1:35 am
Hogwash.
Mere Propaganda does not stand up to hard data. The hard data shows that the bulk (86%, 2004 data) of the income tax collections come from the top 25% of wage earners.
And the top 1% pay 39% of the income tax.
The Bush tax cuts made the income more progressive, so the rich pay a higher percentage of the income tax, since the bottom rate was lowered to 10%.
April 6th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
Statistically proven, the rich use the system way more than the poor. They should have to pay more. Whether in litigation, police protection, or education for their children. way more of the money goes to rich areas and the rich lifestyle, than that of the poor and the ghetto.
I would just love to see a fair tax be created so we wouldnt have to deal with this whole crap and waste my tax payer money. NATIONAL Sales tax. 15%, no income tax, quaterly rebates to families for items taxed that are vital to life. No need for individual tax returns. IRS would no longer need to invade personel privacy to fullfill their duties, and could focus on corp. sales reports. No tax deductions, or billion dollar write-offs, just 15% of a dollar on whatever is sold.