Sufficiency of Evidence – Jury Instruction

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Criminal

7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Officials: BAUER, EASTERBROOK, and RIPPLE, Circuit Judges

Sufficiency of Evidence – Jury Instruction

No.14-3515 United States of America v. Eugene Clarke

Patently false tax returns sufficient to demonstrate knowledge of false checks tendered to IRS.

“We have held before that “patently false and utterly groundless” tax return forms were sufficient to demonstrate the defendant’s knowledge of the falsity of her claims in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 287. Ferguson, 793 F.2d at 831. In Ferguson, the defendant filed several forms to the IRS seeking tax refunds for taxes she paid, as well as taxes withheld by her employer. 793 F.2d at 831. We concluded that the “forms on their face demonstrate [the defendant’s] knowledge of the falsity of her claims,” where the name on one form reflected her efforts to gain a refund through her baseless interpretation of tax laws and where some of the forms reflected a refund for a tax that the defendant was never required to pay. Id. Clarke’s claims are similarly groundless. Because the information on Clarke’s tax returns was “patently false and utterly groundless, id., Clarke’s forms provide sufficient evidence for a jury to conclude Clarke knew the falsity of his claims”

Affirmed

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.