United States v. Miner

Miner marketed two schemes that promised to avoid taxes. Miner’s first scheme, IRx Solutions, offered to assist clients in requesting alterations to their Individual Master Files (IMFs), which are internal IRS records pertaining to each taxpayer. Miner claimed that the IRS was engaged in widespread fraud by improperly coding individuals as businesses on their IMFs so that tax could be assessed against them. The second scheme, Blue Ridge Group, helped clients create common-law business trusts, into which he claimed that they could place any or all of their assets in order to avoid paying income tax. Affirming his conviction under 26 U.S.C. 7212(a) for corruptly endeavoring to obstruct the “due administration” of federal income tax laws, the Sixth Circuit rejected arguments that the district court reversibly erred in failing to instruct the jury that section 7212(a) required proof that he was aware of a pending IRS proceeding; that his conduct was constitutionally and statutorily protected; and that certain witness testimony was improperly introduced at trial because the witness opined about his state of mind. View "United States v. Miner" on Justia Law