Opinion ID: 2653405
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: trial evidence pertaining to leitner

Text: The indictment alleged and the government proved at trial that Leitner worked as a “qualified consultant” for PQI. In this role, Leitner sold PQI memberships to individuals. At trial, extensive evidence showed that, as a qualified consultant, Leitner sold information intended to help individuals flaunt tax laws. A. Communications with Undercover IRS Agent Hampton An undercover Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), Theresa Hampton, testified that, in 2003, she accessed a website, “nettaxfreedom.com.” Agent Hampton requested additional information from the website’s operator. In response, she received an email stating, “‘Are you still paying taxes? Did you know that most people are legally and lawfully eligible to be tax exempt? This invitation comes directly from the Internal Revenue Service.’” Using a false identity, Agent Hampton responded to this email by requesting additional information. Agent Hampton then received another email, this one 3 Case: 10-13826 Date Filed: 02/14/2014 Page: 4 of 18 coming from the address “PQIServices@aol.com.” The second communication stated: “Hi, my name is Mark Leitner and I am a consultant for the educational organization PQI. We are for expert consultation, education and services in the area of debt elimination, asset protection, and freedom and privacy . . . . If you are looking to reduce or eliminate your income tax burden legally and immediately, then this is information that can help you. Our education will blow your socks off and leave your toes smoking. And we have a money back guarantee to . . . . back that statement up. .... “[Y]ou may also wish to be introduced to a few of the many people that have taken advantage of our services and who are now living a tax-free lifestyle, people like doctors, CPAs, attorneys, housewives, business executives, construction workers, nurses, and many other Americans just like you. We have helped tens of thousands. Our financial tools and processes are applicable to almost everyone. W-2 wage earners will be able to keep most of their paycheck in as soon as several weeks time. Our experts will handle all paperwork and correspondence for you. .... “I am looking forward to speaking with you and hope to help you on your way to living completely income tax and debt free. You will find beyond a doubt that PQI’s education services will elevate you above the vast majority of Americans in knowledge and financial freedoms. You will have many advantages and opportunities that most Americans will never know about. .... “I look forward to speaking to you soon, prosperously yours, Mark Leitner.” 4 Case: 10-13826 Date Filed: 02/14/2014 Page: 5 of 18 Defendant Leitner also telephoned Agent Hampton and left a message on her voicemail. The government played a recording of Leitner’s message for the jury. Agent Hampton returned Leitner’s call. During the ensuing conversation, Leitner told Agent Hampton about PQI’s various tax elimination products, including the IMF Decoder. Agent Hampton testified that Leitner assured her that, after purchasing a PQI membership and using PQI’s IMF Decoder, she “wouldn’t have to pay any more taxes.” After this telephone conversation, Leitner started sending Agent Hampton daily emails. In these emails, Leitner tried to convince Agent Hampton to purchase a PQI membership, and provided her with links to articles on tax and debt elimination. One article purported to “contain all that would be needed to get the IRS off your back.” Later during the course of her investigation, Agent Hampton, again, using a false identity, purchased a Q1-level PQI membership directly from Leitner for $1,280. After doing so, Agent Hampton received an email from the address “ClientCare@support@PQI.cc.” The email assured her that defendant Leitner “is a qualified consultant in good standing with PQI.” Agent Hampton later learned that a large portion$1,000—of the money she paid for her PQI membership went directly to Leitner. 5 Case: 10-13826 Date Filed: 02/14/2014 Page: 6 of 18 After purchasing her PQI membership, Agent Hampton remained in contact with Leitner. Leitner introduced Agent Hampton to other PQI vendors and advised her that she should “control [assets] and not own them.” Later on, Agent Hampton purchased a Q2-level PQI membership. Once again, Agent Hampton made this purchase through Leitner because, as she described, “he was my upline person, which was the person who I contacted for everything. I had to go to him for anything that I did.” When Agent Hampton became a Q2-level member, PQI invited her to attend conferences. Before going to a conference, Agent Hampton had to sign a document, in which she “agree[d] not to disclose to any person who is not in attendance at [the] conference—at [the] event, any conference information or speaker contacts.” Leitner explained this provision to Agent Hampton stating that she “didn’t want to talk about this with people who were not like-minded like ourselves because they wouldn’t understand.” Later on, Agent Hampton became a PQI consultant herself, purporting to sell PQI memberships. As a PQI consultant, she received emails from defendant Leitner via another one of Leitner’s addresses, “truthandfreedom1@aol.com.” On April 15, 2005, Leitner sent Agent Hampton an email from that address, writing: “In case you don’t already know, the IRS is a fraud, and the vast majority of Americans do not owe income taxes. . . . In honor of April 15, which is just 6 Case: 10-13826 Date Filed: 02/14/2014 Page: 7 of 18 another day for me, I have posted below the attached different proofs of what I’m saying, along with ways to research getting out of paying fraudulent income taxes and keeping the hard-earned money for yourself.” Leitner did more than try to convince Agent Hampton that she did not have to pay taxes. He also falsely promised Agent Hampton that the PQI vendors’ products would enable her to not pay her taxes or credit card debt with impunity. For example, Leitner described the IMF Decoder (also called “IMF Codebusters”) product as “a letter-writing campaign to . . . take you out of the tax system.” He told Agent Hampton that, after using the IMF Decoder, she “wouldn’t have to pay any more taxes.” The government’s evidence showed that Leitner received $150 for each PQI member he referred to IMF Decoder. Leitner also referred Agent Hampton to the PQI website, which falsely stated that PQI vendors’ products would make her “lien, levy, and judgment proof.” B. Recruiting of Andrew Cordova Agent Hampton was not the only witness who described Leitner’s marketing activities for PQI. Andrew Cordova, testified that, in 2002, defendant Leitner persuaded him to purchase a PQI membership. Leitner told Cordova that PQI was “[b]asically an investment club” with “offers of areas to invest in” and “[v]arious plans on how to either avoid or not pay taxes.” During their first meeting, Leitner told Cordova that he (Leitner) “wasn’t paying taxes.” Cordova learned that Leitner 7 Case: 10-13826 Date Filed: 02/14/2014 Page: 8 of 18 had “structured” his finances so as to hide his assets from the government. After one meeting with Leitner, Cordova decided to join PQI, purchasing a Q2-level membership for himself and his wife. PQI charged approximately $9,000 per married couple for a Q2-level membership. Cordova summarized his relationship with Leitner, stating: “Mark introduced me [to PQI], sold me the Q2 package, sold me on PQI being a viable entity and a good thing to be interested in.” Within the course of a year, Cordova lost $100,000 as a result of PQI-related activities. Cordova testified that, after losing money, he “asked Mr. Leitner to look into this, and he said, oh yeah, he would talk to the leadership group again, and I never heard from Mark again.” C. Leitner’s Failure to Pay Income Taxes At trial, the jury also heard evidence that defendant Leitner failed to pay income taxes between 1999 and 2007. An IRS records custodian testified that the IRS had conducted an audit and assessed penalties on Leitner for the years 1999, 2000, and 2001. For those years, including penalties and interest, Leitner owed: (1) $3,599.75 for 1999; (2) $4,336.33 for 2000; and (3) $3,768.62 for 2001. The records custodian also affirmed that “[t]here were no tax returns filed or received by Mark D. Leitner for [the] years, 2002 through 2007.”