Opinion ID: 70708
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Tax Perjury

Text: 18 The bulk of the evidence presented on counts three and four, the tax perjury charges, involved the same facts as those underlying the tax evasion charge. Specifically, the indictment alleged that in his 1986 income tax return and 1988 amended return, defendant failed to report as income the money owed Depository Trust; failed to report as income the liquidating dividend received by R. Mueller & Sons; reported a capital loss instead of a gain from his sale of Omni stock to R. Mueller & Sons; and underreported his adjusted gross income. To the extent that these charges mirror the tax evasion count, defendant does not raise any additional arguments. 19 However, defendant was also charged with falsely checking the no box on his 1986 return that asked whether he had signature or other authority over a foreign bank account. It is not disputed that, in fact, he did have such power. Defendant contended that the matter was simply a mistake, and he produced evidence that on July 31, 1987, he filed a form with the IRS in Detroit reporting his connection with the London bank accounts. However, he had filed his tax return at the IRS office in Atlanta. 20 The government points out that, when defendant filed an amended return on October 3, 1988, again in Atlanta, he did not correct the false statement about the foreign bank accounts. The determination of whether the misrepresentation about the bank accounts was willful, or merely a mistake, is a typical issue for a jury to resolve, and here it decided against defendant. 21 We conclude, therefore, that there was adequate evidence to sustain the convictions on counts one, three, and four.