United States v. Young

215 F. Supp. 202, 11 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 1538, 1963 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6340
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedFebruary 26, 1963
Docket39577
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 215 F. Supp. 202 (United States v. Young) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Young, 215 F. Supp. 202, 11 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 1538, 1963 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6340 (E.D. Mich. 1963).

Opinion

FREEMAN, District Judge.

The defendant, a medical doctor, who stands indicted on 3 counts for willfully and knowingly attempting to evade the payment of a large portion of his income taxes owing for the calendar years 1957, 1958 and 1959, in violation of § 7201, Title 26 U.S.C., has moved to suppress as evidence his books and records for the years 1957 and 1959 and all of his receipt books.

The indictment and defendant’s motion arise from the following events. Pursuant to a previously made appointment, Internal Revenue Agent Raymond Gawel called on the defendant at his office on October 6, 1960, to investigate his tax affairs. On that particular visit, Gawel asked for and received certain 1958 and 1959 books and records of defendant, including his 1958 daily log book, a copy of his 1959 tax return, 1958 and 1959 summary books, appointment cards, some checks, etc. On this visit, in response to an inquiry by Gawel, the defendant said that he had no receipt books and did not issue receipts.

Defendant’s office building consisted of 5 rooms with a garage attached at the rear. He made available a room used as a kitchenette and his receptionist’s office for the use of Agent Gawel on October 6th and also for two subsequent visits on October 13th and 20th, when Gawel was also allowed to further examine defendant’s books and records above mentioned.

During Agent Gawel’s visit on October 20th, his ear was parked in the rear where some children were playing. On this occasion, the office phone rang and Gawel heard a thumping noise, which appeared to be coming from the vicinity of the garage closely adjoining the kitchenette where he was working. Gaw-el, fearing some tampering with his-ear by the children, went into the garage to investigate and observed that the thumping noise was coming from the telephone switchboard located in the garage. While he was in the garage and proceeding to return to the kitchenette, Gawel discovered a box containing defendant’s receipt books, which he examined and then determined that such receipt books covered the years 1952 to 1959. After Dr. Young had left his office on that date, Gawel ran a tape on the 1958 receipt books and took with him to his office one receipt book and some of the other records. On October 27th, Gawel returned again to defendant’s office, and in the absence of the defendant, who was out of the office, replaced the receipt book taken on the previous visit and ran tapes on the 1957 and 1959 receipt books. All of these events relating to the discovery of the receipt books, the running of the tapes, the taking and returning of one of the books, took place without the knowledge or consent of the defendant.

Agent Gawel then suspended his examination and referred the case to the Intelligence Section of the Internal Revenue Service. On December 13, I960, Special Agent Julius Sigman, accompanied by Agent Gawel, visited the defendant, identified himself as a Special Agent and informed defendant that they were interested in violations of the Internal Revenue Code, that Gawel had referred the case to him, and that there were certain discrepancies he wanted to check. At that time, Sigman warned the defendant “that he did not have to give me or say anything to me,” and then requested and received from the defendant daily books for 1958 and 1959, summaries of daily books for 1957, 1958 and 1959, miscellaneous expense data, can-celled checks, monthly statements of two *204 accounts, a business account for 1958 and 1959, and an econo-check account for 1958. At this December 13th meeting with the defendant, Agent Sigman asked him whether he had any receipt books, to which the defendant replied that he didn’t and that it was not until January, 1960, that an accountant and an insurance man had helped him to install a receipt system. ,

On December 22, 1960, Agent Sigman returned the material the defendant had ■given him at the previous meeting and ■asked the defendant “why he had denied the existence of receipt books, because we knew he had receipt books.” The defendant replied that he had misunderstood Sigman if he had asked for such books and he did not remember being asked about them, whereupon Sigman again requested the receipt books, and defendant then went to the garage and brought out the receipt books in a box, which he turned over to Sigman, who again reminded defendant that he was a Special Agent, and in response, the defendant said that he so understood and wanted to “clean the thing up the best way possible.”

Defendant’s motion to suppress involves (1) all books and records for 1957 and 1959, and (2) the receipt books which were in the garage.

In support of his motion, defendant contends that such evidence was illegally seized and is inadmissible because (1) the Government concealed from defendant that Special Agent Sigman was making a criminal investigation, which constituted a fraud upon defendant; (2) that there was more than one investigation of defendant’s books for the year 1957 before defendant was notified that an additional inspection was necessary, which was in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7605; and (3) that the discovery and use of defendant’s receipt books was illegal under the Fourth and Fifth Amendments to the Constitution.

The fact that the Government fails to disclose that the investigation of a taxpayer is changing from a civil to a criminal inquiry does not constitute fraud or deceit upon such taxpayer. United States v. Sclafani (C.A. 2), 265 F.2d 408; Turner v. United States (C.A. 4), 222 F.2d 926; United States v. Burdick (C.A. 3), 214 F.2d 768; Montgomery v. United States (C.A. 5), 203 F.2d 887; Hanson v. United States (C.A. 8), 186 F. 2d 61; United States v. Wolrich (D.C.S.D.N.Y.), 119 F.Supp 538. A statement that the purpose of the investigation is a routine audit is not the equivalent of a promise that only civil liability will be considered regardless of what the examination reveals. United States v. Wolrich, supra; United States v. Sclafani, supra; Turner v. United States, supra.

However, the Government’s agents may not act so as to obscure the warning inherent in their request for permission to search, as by assuring the taxpayer in order to quiet his apprehensions that no proceeding can or ever will eventuate, and then rely successfully on the consent so procured. Gouled v. United States, 255 U.S. 298, 41 S.Ct. 261, 65 L.Ed. 647. See also Shapiro v. United States, 335 U.S. 1, 68 S.Ct. 1375, 92 L.Ed. 1787.

Since the Government, in the instant case, did not assure the defendant that there would be no criminal prosecution, there was no fraud or deceit practiced upon the taxpayer in violation of his Constitutional or statutory rights.

26 U.S.C. § 7605(b) provides:

“Restrictions on examination of taxpayer.

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451 F.2d 352 (Sixth Circuit, 1971)
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230 F. Supp. 91 (N.D. Ohio, 1963)

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Bluebook (online)
215 F. Supp. 202, 11 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 1538, 1963 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6340, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-young-mied-1963.