Press Release
U.S. Department of Justice
United States Attorney
District of Hawaii
PJKK Federal Building (808) 541-2850
300 Ala Moana Blvd., Room 6-100 FAX (808) 541-2958
Honolulu, Hawaii 96850
For Immediate Release
Contact: Elliot Enoki
August 12, 2008
BIG ISLAND ARCHITECT SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR TAX EVASION
HONOLULU, HAWAII - HAMLET C. BENNETT, age 69, was sentenced yesterday by United States District Judge Susan Oki Mollway to 78 months in prison for conspiring to impede and impair the functions of the Internal Revenue Service and for federal income tax evasion. BENNETT was also ordered to pay restitution to the Internal Revenue Service in the amount of $1,368,593 and prosecution costs of $35,330.22.
Edward H. Kubo, Jr., United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii, said that BENNETT was convicted by a jury of one count of conspiracy and five counts of income tax evasion for the years 1999 through 2003. According to evidence introduced during the trial, BENNETT, a Holualoa, Hawaii resident, conspired with others, including convicted tax offender Royal Lamar Hardy (convicted in May 2005), to impede and impair the function of the IRS in ascertaining and collecting taxes. The evidence at trial essentially revealed that Bennett purchased "products" from Hardy and Hardy's organization, The Research Foundation, which promoted wide scale "non-filing" of federal income tax returns. Other information produced in court revealed that BENNETT established a domestic trust to hide his income and, even after Hardy was convicted, brought a frivolous lawsuit against the IRS and continued to send frivolous mailings to the IRS that were based on materials provided by Hardy.
At the sentencing, BENNETT's sentence was based on information produced for the court that the tax loss to the United States for 1999 through 2003, without any interest or penalties, was well over $1,074,004.
The case resulted from an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, and the prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Leslie E. Osborne, Jr. and Clare E. Connors.
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