JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SUES ARIZONA COUPLE TO BAR ALLEGED TAX SCHEME

Former Lawyer And Her Husband Alleged To Promote Sham-Trust Scam

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Justice Department announced today that it has asked a federal court to stop a husband and wife from promoting an allegedly fraudulent tax scam. According to court filings, Tony S. and Micaela R. Dutson of Mesa, Arizona sell a program that uses sham trusts and corporations to hide customers’ income and assets from the IRS.

The complaint, filed in Phoenix, alleges that Micaela Dutson is a former practicing attorney who resigned from the Oregon bar in 2002. The complaint alleges that the Dutsons charge customers between $4,000 and $8,000 to purchase their program, and that the IRS has identified over 100 persons who have purchased the Dutsons’ scheme. The government also alleges that the Dutsons previously sold their scheme in conjunction with David Carroll Stephenson, who was barred by a federal court last March from promoting the scheme.

“Stopping tax scams at the source is a high priority in tax enforcement,” 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."

The government also seeks an order directing the Dutsons to give the Justice Department their customers’ names, mailing and e-mail addresses, phone numbers, and Social Security numbers.

Information about the injunction against David Carroll Stephenson is available at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/txdv04155.htm. More information about the Justice Department's efforts against tax-scam promoters can be found at: http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/taxpress2004.htm. Information about the Justice Department's Tax Division can be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax.

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