United States v. Raymond, Robert R.

228 F.3d 804
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
DecidedSeptember 26, 2000
Docket99-4024
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 228 F.3d 804 (United States v. Raymond, Robert R.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Raymond, Robert R., 228 F.3d 804 (7th Cir. 2000).

Opinion

FLAUM, Chief Judge.

Robert Raymond and Robert Bernhoft appeal the district court’s entry of a permanent injunction preventing them from engaging in a number of activities related to the sale of a collection of materials known as the “De-Taxing America Program.” For the reasons stated herein, we affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

Raymond and Bernhoft are active members of the U.S. Taxpayers^ Party and were *807 the chief participants in a business known as Morningstar Consultants (“Mornings-tar”). Between January and June of 1996, Morningstar ran a weekly advertisement in a local Wisconsin newspaper under the caption “Just Say No.” The Just Say No advertisement contained the following statements: 1) “Federal, State & Social Security Taxes are Voluntary;” and 2) “The Internal Revenue Service has no Statutory Authority to: Compel you to file a Tax Return, Require withholding from your paycheck, Levy or Lien your property, Audit your Books & Records.” This advertisement was part of an effort by Morningstar to market the “De-Taxing America Program” (the “Program”).

The Program consists of three volumes of materials. These materials contain information presenting the view that, among other things, the federal income tax is unconstitutional and that persons who are not federal employees or residents of the District of Columbia are not legally required to pay federal income tax. In addition to providing information regarding general tax-protest principles, the Program includes several forms and instructions to guide the purchaser through the process of “de-taxing.” Purchasers are informed that if they complete the materials and directions in the Program they will be “withdrawn” from the jurisdiction of the federal government’s taxing authorities and the social security system and will no longer be required to pay federal taxes.

The materials in the Program are pre-printed with the purchaser’s name and various personal information. The Program instructs the purchaser to, among other things, send pre-printed letters and numerous Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) requests to various government agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), the Social Security Administration (“SSA”) and the Attorney General. Program customers are instructed to file W-4 forms with their employers asserting that they are exempt from federal taxation and requesting that the employers stop withholding federal income tax and social security payments from their paychecks. The Program also informs the purchaser that since any previous tax payments were made entirely voluntarily, he or she may request a refund of taxes paid in prior years. The Program then directs the purchaser to file several forms with the IRS requesting a refund of taxes paid over the previous three years. The Program also provides the purchaser with instructions on how to complete future tax returns to reflect that the purchaser has not incurred any tax liability in the previous year and consequently does not owe any federal income or social security taxes. The Program represents that all of the activities it instructs its purchasers to pursue are legal and that it is legal for purchasers to cease paying federal taxes after completing the instructions provided in the Program materials.

Morningstar sold the Program to fifty-five customers in several different states for a negotiated price ranging from $446 to $2,600 and earned at least $34,578 from the sale of the Program. At least 12 Program customers informed their employers that they were exempt from withholding and requested that the employers stop withholding federal tax payments from their paychecks. At least 20 Program customers failed to file income tax returns for either the 1995, 1996 or 1997 tax year, which the IRS estimates resulted in a loss of $691,731 to the United States. In addition, the IRS estimates that it spent a total of 291 hours responding to more than 124 FOIA and Privacy Act requests sent by the appellants or their customers. The IRS also estimates that it spent more than 500 hours on administrative functions such as audits, responding to frivolous W-4 forms, and collecting delinquent taxes as a result of the conduct of persons who purchased Program materials.

By the summer of 1996, the appellants had stopped selling and promoting the Program. On November 15,1996, the IRS informed the appellants that an investiga *808 tion of their involvement with the sale of the Program had been completed and that the IRS would pursue penalties and a civil injunction as a result of this investigation. On March 3, 1997, at the request of IRS Assistant District Counsel Edward G. Lan-ger, the Attorney General filed a civil suit under 26 U.S.C. § 7408, requesting a permanent injunction against the appellants’ sale of the Program and against the appellants’ participation in any conduct intended to interfere with the enforcement of the internal revenue laws. 1

The suit was referred to a magistrate judge where the Government moved for summary judgment. The magistrate judge issued a report recommending that the Government’s motion be granted and a permanent injunction be entered against the appellants. 2 The magistrate’s report also informed the parties that they had ten days to submit objections to the report and that failure to file objections within that time period “shall result in a waiver of your right to appeal all factual and legal issues.” The appellants requested an extension of time to file their objections that the district court granted. However, the appellants did not file their objections until two days after the extended deadline. Because the appellants’ objections were filed late, the district court issued an order adopting the magistrate’s recommendation in its entirety without review. The appellants then filed a motion to reconsider that the district court denied because it found there was no excusable neglect for the appellants’ late filing of their objections. The district court then went on to state that it would have adopted the magistrate’s recommendation even if the appellants had filed their objections in a timely fashion. Raymond and Bernhoft now appeal.

II. DISCUSSION

A. JURISDICTION

The appellants first assert that the district court had no jurisdiction to hear this case because the Secretary of the Treasury had not authorized suit against the appellants as required by the provisions of 26 U.S.C. § 7408. 3

*809 The appellants assert that the district court receives jurisdiction from § 7408 to enter an injunction to enforce a violation of § 6700. However, the district court in fact is granted jurisdiction to enter injunctions to enforce the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”), 26 U.S.C. § 1 et seq., through the broad grant of power authorized by § 7402(a).

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Bluebook (online)
228 F.3d 804, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-raymond-robert-r-ca7-2000.