The defendants
are scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Pregerson on July 23.
The evidence
presented during a 13-week trial showed that beginning in
1991 and
continuing until April 2002, Meredith conducted seminars at which
she
sold books and
bogus “ pure trusts” to people with the purpose of leading them to
believe they
could legally shield income and assets from taxation. Meredith and
her
co-defendants
encouraged and assisted taxpayers by forming phony “ pure trusts,”
opening bank
accounts with phony Taxpayer Identification Numbers, filing
fraudulent
income tax returns and encouraging taxpayers not to file income tax
returns.
We the People
sold the “ pure trusts" for approximately $500 to $1,000 at
seminars that
were held throughout the United States and internationally. To
entice
potential “
trust” purchasers at seminars, Meredith said that each “ trust” was
customized for
the particular customer, who would retain complete control over
their businesses
and assets placed in trust without incurring and tax liability.
Meredith also
encouraged taxpayers to file frivolous tax returns that falsely
reported that
taxpayers did not have any taxable income and fraudulently
requested
a refund of all
income taxes paid. The defendants also encouraged taxpayers to
send protest
correspondence to the IRS with the purpose of impeding and
obstructing the
IRS from collecting these taxpayers’ taxes.
Meredith wrote
books, including How To Cook A Vulture and Vultures
In
Eagle’ s
Clothing, in w hich she falsely claimed that individuals could lawfully
stop
paying income
taxes, stop their employer from withholding income taxes, and
refuse to
produce books and records to the IRS. The books contained examples
of
frivolous tax
returns and protest letters.
The defendants
falsely told their customers that paying taxes is "voluntary,"
and that they
could file a W-4 or W-8 form with their employer claiming to be
exempt from
federal income tax withholdings. In fact, under federal law, anyone
who earns income
more than approximately $8,000 must file a tax return and pay
taxes. There is
no vehicle into which businesses or income may be placed to avoid
the payment of
income taxes. Those customers who purchased and used the “
pure