- MANCHESTER, NH --
From 1996 through 2002, Steven Swan of Manchester, New Hampshire was a
follower and promoter of nationally-known income tax protester Irwin Schiff
of Las Vegas, Nevada. Schiff believes that there is no law making the federal
income tax mandatory; that anyone can legally stop paying it; and that
the Internal Revenue Code was purposely written in a confusing manner so
as to obscure these facts. Schiff estimates that up to 1 million Americans
have stopped paying income taxes based upon his theories.
-
- Up until 2002, Swan conducted his own tax seminars and
did everything he could think of to disseminate Schiff's income tax theories
to others. Then in Jaunuary of that year, IRS Special Agents executed a
search warrant at Swan's home and office and informed him that he was the
target of a criminal investigation for alleged violations of the internal
revenue laws. In March of 2003, Swan was indicted on 18 felony counts of
these alleged violations. Swan pleaded "not guilty" to all charges
and is defending himself in federal court. His trial is scheduled to commence
on February 3, 2004 in the U.S. District Court at Concord, New Hampshire.
-
- At a motion hearing a couple of weeks ago, Swan informed
Chief U.S. District Judge Paul J. Barbadoro that he was not attempting
to suppress any of the Government's evidence against him; that he was even
providing the Government with more evidence that the IRS agents had missed
when they searched his house (in order to be able to use it in his defense
at trial), such as copies of radio and television interviews of Swan, video-tapes
of other tax seminars that he had conducted; legal research which Swan
has conducted over the years; etc.; and that Swan was probably going to
stipulate or admit to most of the evidence that the Government was going
to present at trial.
-
- Swan is charged with intentionally violating the internal
revenue laws and assisting others in intentionally violating the internal
revenue laws. Swan told the judge that he is going to argue at trial that
he is not guilty of intentionally violating the internal revenue laws because,
as a follower and promoter of the income tax theories of Irwin Schiff,
he never believed that there were any laws making the federal income tax
mandatory in the first place and that he has a tremendous amount of evidence
and many witnesses who can vouch for that fact.
-
- Swan told the judge that the Government is going to be
arguing at trial that Swan had intentionally violated the internal revenue
laws, whereas Swan is going to be offering a tremendous amount of evidence
proving that he never believed that the federal income tax was mandatory
in the first place and that he is, therefore, not guilty of committing
any crimes.
-
- The judge then informed the U.S. Attorney that in cases
such as this, where the issue is whether or not the defendant had intentionally
violated the law, that he was going to allow Swan to present much of the
evidence he wants to present and that he is going to allow Swan to call
many of the witnesses he wants to call.
-
- For more information, Swan can be contacted at (603)
622-3236; by e-mail at <mailto:stevenswan@earthlink.net>stevenswan@earthlink.net;
and by regular mail at P.O. Box 453, Auburn, NH 03032. Swan's case can
be followed docket entry by docket entry at <http://www.stevenswan.com>www.stevenswan.com.
|
