Opinion ID: 466323
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Denial of Judgment of Acquittal on Count Five.

Text: 21 SAC next argues that the district court erred as a matter of law in denying its motion for judgment of acquittal on Count Five of the indictment. The basis of the motion, as with SAC's pretrial motion to dismiss, was that Wilson had never intended his SAC-prepared return to be his true return for 1981 and that the return could not, therefore, serve as the basis for conviction under 26 U.S.C. Sec. 7206(1). This court must affirm the district court if it applied the correct standard of law and if after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 1979, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 2789, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (emphasis in original). 22 SAC bases this argument on our decision in United States v. Dahlstrom, 9 Cir., 1983, 713 F.2d 1423. In Dahlstrom, we held that the filing of a return is an element of a section 7206(2) violation (assisting in the preparation of a false return) and implied that a completed filing requires that the taxpayer intend the return to represent his true return with the IRS. Id. at 1429. The taxpayer in Dahlstrom, who cooperated with the IRS in gathering evidence against a tax adviser, was told by his IRS contact that the fraudulent return did not represent his true return. Id. at 1426. The taxpayer also prepared and filed a second return that served as his actual return for the year in question. Here, but one return was filed by Wilson and acted upon by the IRS. Even assuming, therefore, that Dahlstrom 's true return requirement extends to offenses charged under section 7206(1), a question we do not decide, there is sufficient evidence in the record to permit a rational finder of fact to conclude that Wilson's return meets that requirement. 23 SAC concedes the differences between the handling of the returns in this case and in Dahlstrom, but argues that they are insignificant in light of Wilson's agreement with the IRS that he would be audited at the close of the case, but would not be assessed the usual penalties and interests on any additional taxes owed. The problem with SAC's analysis is that it implies that the only true return filed by a taxpayer-informant is one in which he bears the full cost of all improprieties he helps to reveal. Such a result would unfairly penalize honest taxpayers for cooperating with the IRS and would undoubtedly undermine their willingness to come forward at all. We decline to adopt so restrictive a view. Thus, the differences between Dahlstrom and this case are significant and support a finding that Wilson's SAC-prepared return was his true return for 1981. 24