Arden Chatfield
Posts: 6657
Joined: Jan. 2006
|
| Quote (GCT @ Jan. 19 2007,19:08) | | Quote (ScaryFacts @ Jan. 19 2007,20:03) | | Hovind doesn't make a very sympathetic defendant - still 10 years for stupidity sees pretty steep. |
I don't think so at all. He was facing 584 years or something like that. He only got 10. He got off easy. |
Hovind's legal problems and contempt for the law go WAY back:
| Quote | Kent Hovind has been in trouble with law enforcement several times. These have included assault and battery, falsely declaring bankruptcy, making threats against federal officials, filing false complaints, failing to get necessary building permits, and various tax-related charges.
[edit]Assault and battery
In 2002, he was charged with one count of felony assault, one count of misdemeanor battery, and one count of burglary with assault/battery.[24] In December 2002, the charges were dropped by the alleged victim, Hovind's secretary.[20]
[edit]Property taxes and zoning ordinance
Hovind was charged on September 13, 2002, for failure to observe county zoning regulations with respect to Dinosaur Adventure Land.[20] Despite arguments that the owners did not need a permit due to the nature of the building, the park has been found in violation of local regulations.[25] On June 5, 2006, Hovind pled nolo contendere as charged to three counts: constructing a building without a permit, refusing to sign a citation (Case # 2001 MM 023489 A)[26] and violating the county building code (Case # 2002 MM 026670 A)[27]. Hovind was ordered to pay $225.00 per count. The plea brought to an end the 5-year criminal (misdemeanor) court battle over a $50.00 building permit. In June 2006 Hovind complied with the county law (Case # 2001 MM 023489 A)[28]. Hovind estimates he spent $40,000 in legal expenses on this case. On June 19, 2006, the delinquent 2003-2005 property taxes/penalties for Dinosaur Adventure Land were paid in an amount of $10,402.64 [4].
[edit]Federal civil tax matters, bankruptcy, and renouncing citizenship
Hovind does not run his various educational and religious activities through a U.S. Internal Revenue Code Section 501©(3) organization. Instead, the organizational structure he uses apparently is "based on various questionable trust documents purchased from ... a known promoter of tax avoidance schemes."[8] The U.S. Tax Court has concluded that Hovind used these trust documents as well as other fraudulent means to conceal the ownership and control of his activities and properties.[8]
Hovind was originally reported to the IRS by Pensacola Christian College senior vice president Rebekah Horton in the mid 1990s, after she learned of Hovind's anti-tax stand. "'We know the Scriptures do not promote (tax evasion),'" Horton said in testimony against Hovind during his 2006 trial, "'It's against Scripture teaching'.... Horton believed it was the college's duty to report the misleading doctrine. 'I didn't want to see innocent people get led astray,' she said. Pensacola Christian College then decided its students no longer were permitted to work with Creation Science Evangelism".[29]
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
The Hovind Bankruptcy Decision
In 1996 Hovind unsuccessfully filed for bankruptcy to avoid paying federal income taxes. Hovind was found to have lied about his possessions and income[30]. He claimed that as a minister of God everything he owns belonged to God and he is not subject to paying taxes to the United States on the money he received for doing God's work (citing US tax code §508©(1)(a)) [31]. The court ordered him to pay the money and upheld the IRS determination that Hovind's claim "was filed in bad faith for the sole purpose of avoiding payment of federal income taxes." In the ruling, the judge called Hovind's arguments "patently absurd." The judge also noted that "the IRS has no record of the debtor ever having filed a federal income tax return," although this was not the court's reason for denying the bankruptcy claim.
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Kent Hovind 2005 Affidavit
On May 13, 1998, Hovind and his wife attempted to evade all responsibility for any previous promises, debts, or legal agreements made prior to April 15, 1998, by filing a document called "Power of Attorney and Revocation of Signature"[32] with the Escambia County Clerk of Courts. The document reads, in part: "I/we do hereby revoke and make void... all signatures on any instruments...". The Hovinds claimed they had signed government documents "due to the use of various elements of fraud and misrepresentations, duress, coercion, under perjury, mistake, 'bankruptcy'."[32]
In the document, the Hovinds argue that Social Security is essentially a "Ponzi scheme."[32] The Hovinds referred to the United States Government as "the 'bankrupt' corporate government" and said they were renouncing their United States citizenship and Social Security numbers to become "a natural citizen of 'America' and a natural sojourner." [32] In 2002 Hovind was again delinquent in paying his taxes, and unsuccessfully sued the IRS for harassment.[33] The Hovinds referred to their home state of Florida as "the State of Florida Body-Politic Corporation."[32] Judges and the IRS did not appear to honor this as a legally relevant document in future decisions.[33]
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Kent Hovind v Scott Schneider
In 2004, IRS agents raided Hovind's home and business to confiscate financial records.[34] IRS agent Scott Schneider said none of Hovind's businesses had a business license, nor tax-exempt status. The Associated Press quoted Schneider as saying "Since 1997, Hovind has engaged in financial transactions indicating sources of income and has made deposits to bank accounts well in excess of $1 million per year during some of these years, which would require the filing of federal income taxes."[35] On June 3, 2004, the IRS issued tax liens of $504,957.24 against Hovind and his son and their businesses due to previous legal maneuverings to evade taxation by moving property between himself, his son, and other legal entities.[36]
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Kent Hovind v Commissioner of Internal Revenue
On July 7, 2006, the United States Tax Court (Docket number 011894-05L) found that Hovind was deficient in paying his federal income taxes in tax years 1995-97 in the amount of $504,957.24.[8] The Tax Court found that the IRS had a valid, perfected lien on Hovind's property in that amount. The IRS is currently levying against Hovind's property to satisfy his unpaid tax liabilities.[8] In the Memorandum Opinion the judge noted that Hovind's "organizational structure . . . was based on various questionable trust documents purchased from Glen Stoll, a known promoter of tax avoidance schemes."[8] Moreover, Hovind's defense was based on "bizarre arguments" and "some of which constitute tax protestor arguments involving excise taxes and the alleged '100% voluntary' nature of the income tax."[8]
|
So the 10-year sentence is nothing out of the ordinary. Clearly he pissed the feds off in a big way and they weren't about to let him walk.
--------------
"Rich is just mad because he thought all titties had fur on them until last week when a shorn transvestite ruined his childhood dreams by jumping out of a spider man cake and man boobing him in the face lips." - Erasmus
|
