JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SUES ILLINOIS MAN TO HALT ALLEGED TAX SCAM

Government Suit Alleges Illinois Man Sells Bogus “Defense” To Refusal To File Tax Returns And Pay Taxes

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Justice Department today asked a federal court in Chicago to stop William J. Benson, of South Holland, Illinois, from selling an allegedly fraudulent tax scheme and from unlawfully interfering with the Internal Revenue Service. The civil injunction complaint, which was filed on November 16, alleges that Benson, who also operates under the name Constitutional Research and Associates, charges $3,500 for documents, identified as the “Reliance Defense Package”, that supposedly provide purchasers with a legal defense to IRS action against them for failing to file federal income tax returns or pay taxes. The complaint says that Benson contends that the federal income tax is unconstitutional, a claim the Justice Department suit notes has been rejected by every federal court in which it has been raised.

In addition to barring Benson from selling the Reliance Defense Package, the government’s suit also asks the court to order Benson to send his customers a copy of the injunction; to give the government the names, addresses (including e-mail), Social Security and telephone numbers of his customers; and to post a copy of the injunction on his website, www.thelawthatneverwas.com.

"People who buy ‘defenses’ to tax evasion are not only wasting their money, but also buying trouble for themselves," said Eileen J. O’Connor, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division. "People who sell or use tax fraud schemes can expect serious trouble, including criminal charges where appropriate."

This case is part of the Justice Department’s initiative to enjoin promoters of fraudulent tax schemes. Information on other recent cases is available at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/taxpress2004.htm. Frivolous tax arguments are number ten on the IRS’s list of the Dirty Dozen tax scams. The full list is available at http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=120803,00.html. Information about the Tax Division is available at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/index.html.

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