FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MONDAY, JUNE 16, 2003 WWW.USDOJ.GOV TAX (202) 514-2007 TDD (202) 514-1888 WASHINGTON, D.C. - A federal court in Las Vegas today issued an order barring Irwin Schiff and two associates, Cynthia Neun and Lawrence N. Cohen, from selling their tax scheme, which the court held falsely claims that paying federal income tax is voluntary. The order, which will be in effect indefinitely, bars Schiff and his associates from: 1) advertising or selling Schiffs 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 court required Schiff, Neun, and Cohen to provide a copy of its order to each of their customers and to post it on their websites within ten days. After noting that the government provided evidence showing that the stated purpose of Schiffs scheme was, in part, to assist in the commission of a crime, the court rejected Schiffs contention, also asserted by the American Civil Liberties Union in a friend of the court brief, that the First Amendment prohibits any injunction against the sale of Schiffs book The Federal Mafia.
Todays order is another in the long line of court orders stopping the sale of fraudulent tax scams, said Eileen J. O'Connor, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Justice Departments Tax Division. As the Supreme Court recently held in a unanimous decision, the First Amendment does not shield fraud. In todays order, the court found that the promotion of Schiffs 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 Schiffs theories. According to papers filed in the case, Schiff himself has twice been convicted of tax crimes.
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 03-357
Source: US Department of Justice
