tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14007337.post7999442142245145141..comments2023-10-25T06:36:25.124-07:00Comments on Mortgage Fraud: The Lovely Bride (2-22-09)Whistleblowerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13144659621472624683noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14007337.post-67380738589388961242009-03-25T17:43:00.000-07:002009-03-25T17:43:00.000-07:00The more desperate the Govt, the more desperate th...The more desperate the Govt, the more desperate the action.ONLY 98 COUNTS,TALK ABOUT THROWIN SHIT AGAINST THE WALL.<BR/>IRS Loses BIG in US Virgin Islands Criminal Tax Case <BR/>Despite the governments's vigorous prosecution, a jury recently found four businessmen not guilty on 98 charges of tax evasion and conspiracy in connection with a U.S. Virgin Islands economic development program. Taxpayers engaged in similar complex transactions can expect to find themselves criminally prosecuted as the government gears up to take more punitive action on alleged shelter activity, practitioners told Tax Analysts.<BR/>The IRS spent millions of dollars and used many agents and 1000's of hours. The government used 40 witnesses and the defense put only ONE witness on the stand and won the case. They clearly did not break any laws.<BR/>The case was groundbreaking, Ungerman said, because the govermment tried a criminal case on a sham argument: that the transactions lacked economic substance even though there was a congressionally enacted tax incentive program. "'This shows that the govermment is not having a problem attempting to criminalize behavior in the past that no one thought was criminal," he said. "on a broader perspective, that seems to be the trend."<BR/>Justin A. Thornton, a private practitioner in Washington, said the case is representative of the challenge the government faces in prosecuting complex criminal cases against individual taxpayers. Historically, the government took on black-and-white criminal tax cases with evident badges of fraud, but it now must tread carefully in countering a good-faith reliance on professional advice defense, he said. “Alleged tax shelter transactions have now taken on shades of gray and are not so clear," he said. Thus, the government has to move beyond its traditional practices and look for false statements, perjury, and other attempts to mislead or conceal, Thornton said.<BR/>The government's new assertiveness in taking on complex cases is not surprising, said Thornton. "Whereas historically a good-faith reliance on professional advisers was a rock solid defense - and it continues to be a strong defense - the government got tired of hearing the reliance defense after the likes of Worldcom and Enron," he said. As a result, more lawyers and accountants are facing indictments - as in the KPMG and Ernst & Young cases - for their roles in tax transactions that the government is challenging, he said.judge allslophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05853039694168415983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14007337.post-21846635374000434152009-03-24T18:54:00.000-07:002009-03-24T18:54:00.000-07:00The heavy handed efforts by the USGovt against Uni...The heavy handed efforts by the USGovt against Union Bank of Switzerland, and their US-based offices, has caused a major stir across the Atlantic. Swiss bank secrecy and privacy is under threat. Retaliation by the Swiss against the bully bankrupt desperados is a certainty. No nation with heavy debt burdens should throw its weight around and jeopardize a centuries old bank business. The USGovt is not prepared for either the blowback or the accompanying isolation.This economic crisis is in large part the result of financial manipulation and outright fraud to the detriment of entire population, leading to a renewed wave of corporate bankruptcies, mass unemployment, and sudden poverty. The criminalization of the global financial system, characterized by a Shadow Banking network, has resulted in the centralization of bank power and an unprecedented concentration of private wealth. No under-statement is possible on the announcement by the US Federal Reserve to print money toward direct purchase of $300 billion in USTreasury Bonds and $750 billion in USAgency Mortgage Bonds. That brought the total USFed purchase of Fannie & Freddie mortgage bonds to a hefty $1.25 trillion.In essence, the inept confused and never correct US central bankers have thrown caution to the wind and will permit hyper-inflation in all likelihood. Their concerted actions create the next monstrous problem. They are the problem.<BR/>The message to take is that the USFed will eventually monetize at least $3 trillion, and possibly up to $5 trillion. The size of commitments is only half the quarterly amount needed. We are shooting the patient with morphine so they can go back to work without treating the disease. The next phase of this financial credit crisis may take down the US Bond and the dollar. That is what is known as a financial heart attack.” Notice that no meaningful structural reform has taken place to date, except minor tax changes.<BR/>People need to correctly grasp the true image of one trillion dollars. Many years ago, a good image was given. A stack of one million $1 bills would reach the top of the Empire State Building in New York City. A stack of one billion $1 bills would extend to the outer stratosphere of the earth. A stack of one trillion $1 bills would stretch one third of the way from the earth to the moon. <BR/>The USFed decision to heavily monetize debt runs parallel to the risk of disintegration. It addresses the forces to produce that disintegration. Bernanke and Wall Street leaders have refused to address the insolvency problem at major banks. They have created Black Holes where federal funds enter, losses overwhelm them, and the process worsens over time. We are witnessing the death of the United States as an economic entity, from its financial foundation. Political implications, geopolitical fallout, and military consequences are the most dangerous of all.judge allslophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05853039694168415983noreply@blogger.com