---
Previous Politech message:
http://www.politechbot.com/p-04607.html
_____________________________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TAX
MONDAY, AUGUST 9, 2004 (202) 514-2007
WWW.USDOJ.GOV
TDD (202) 514-1888
NINTH CIRCUIT AFFIRMS ORDER ENJOINING IRWIN SCHIFF
AND TWO ASSOCIATES
Tax-Scheme Promoters Barred from Selling Tax-Scheme Materials
WASHINGTON D.C. - The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth
Circuit today affirmed a federal district court preliminary injunction
barring Irwin Schiff and two associates, Cynthia Neun and Lawrence N.
Cohen, from selling their tax scheme, which according to the court's
holding fraudulently claims that paying federal income tax is voluntary.
The preliminary injunction bars Schiff and his associates from: 1)
advertising or selling Schiff's "zero-income tax return" plan; 2)
preparing tax returns for others; and 3) assisting others to violate the
tax law, including by "selling services, books or other materials that
provide direction about how to fill out fraudulent or false tax forms."
The preliminary injunction also requires Schiff, Neun, and Cohen to
provide a copy of it to each of their customers, to post it on their
websites, and to provide the government with a list of their customers.
The Ninth Circuit rejected Schiff's contention, also asserted by the
American Civil Liberties Union in a "friend of the court" brief, that the
injunction violated the First Amendment because it prohibited the sale of
Schiff's book, The Federal Mafia. The court held that the portions of the
book that the government sought to enjoin were "fraudulent commercial
speech" and as such were not protected by the First Amendment. The
appeals court also held that it was not a violation of the First Amendment
for the lower court to require Schiff to post the injunction on his website.
"Today's decision affirms the government's ability to take action against
tax scams," said Eileen J. O'Connor, Assistant Attorney General for the
Justice Department's Tax Division. "As the Supreme Court recently held in
a unanimous decision, 'the First Amendment does not shield fraud.'"
In issuing the preliminary injunction, the United States District Court
for the District of Nevada had found that the promotion of Schiff's scheme
"has involved over 3,000 individuals and an estimated $56 million in
attempted tax evasion," further noting that "a number of individuals have
been convicted of tax crimes after following Schiff's theories."
For more information on this case and for information on other tax-scam
enforcement actions, go online to <http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/03_tax_167.htm>
###
04-551
_______________________________________________
Politech mailing list
Archived at http://www.politechbot.com/
Moderated by Declan McCullagh (http://www.mccullagh.org/)