It’s Friday, and Tax Day has come and gone. But the memory lingers, so let’s look at some scofflaws as the week ends:
Louis Ratfield of Lake Worth, FL has been in trouble with the government before. The IRS secured a restraining order against him for promoting a “constitutional common-law trust” to avoid paying taxes. There is no such trust, of course. He allegedly continued to promote the trust. He was arrested on Tuesday on 56 counts of preparing false income tax returns. Each count could net him three years in prison. Ratfield has also been in trouble with the SEC, apparently absconding with investors’ money.
James Hubb of Clayton, MO used $25,000 of his business’ money for plumbing at his house (it may have been for a bathtub—some bathtub!). Besides the bathtub, quite a bit more money was taken from his business and used for personal expenses. That’s not necessarily illegal, as long as it is disclosed and reported as income. It wasn’t, and Hubb has pled guilty. He faces up to eight years in prison and a fine of up to $350,000.
In Massachusetts, Laurence Greenburg and Russell Skidds sold partially defatted beef tissue as partially defatted chop beef. That violated the Federal Meat Inspection Act. Compounding their problems, they didn’t report all the income, causing them to file false tax returns. They were convicted on Tuesday.
Finally, H&R Block settled a 1998 RAL (Return Anticipation Loan) lawsuit for $35 million. H&R Block still faces a lawsuit filed by the California Attorney General. Given the nature of class action lawsuits, it’s likely that the lawyers will get most of the money from that settlement.
News Stories:
Lake Worth, FL, Clayton, MO, Malden, MA and H&R Block