Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – John C. Richter, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma, announced today that a federal jury has convicted GEORGE EDWARD BOYD, 60, of Stillwater, Oklahoma, of signing seven false federal personal income tax returns and claiming seven false tax refunds totaling over $163,700.
“We should not forget that the ultimate victims of tax fraud are those honest hard-working Americans who pay their taxes,” said U.S. Attorney John C. Richter. “This jury’s verdict on April 15th should serve as a stern reminder that everyone must comply with the tax laws.”
“We are very pleased with the trial results and would advise those who advocate violating the tax laws to heed today’s guilty verdict,” said Michael Lahey, Special Agent-in-Charge for IRS Criminal Investigation in Oklahoma. “Far too often people have followed bad tax advice regarding frivolous tax arguments that have been refuted time and again by the courts.”
Mr. Boyd retired from the United States Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1993 and has worked as an international cargo pilot for Atlas Air, Inc., since December of 1998. The evidence at trial showed that he has openly contested the legal authority of the federal government to assess, levy, and collect certain personal income taxes since 1996 and that he failed to file personal income tax returns for the calendar years 1996 through 2000. In 2003, after the IRS Office of Appeals determined that he owed taxes and imposed a penalty for a false Form W-4 that he signed, the United States Tax Court ruled against Mr. Boyd and in favor of the IRS. In 2004, the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico also ruled against Mr. Boyd and characterized his “arguments that the Internal Revenue Code does not tax the wages of United States citizens and similar arguments as frivolous.” In 2005, on further appellate review, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed the decisions of the United States Tax Court and the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico. The Court of Appeals noted that in response to IRS notices, “Mr. Boyd made the groundless argument that he, as a United States citizen and resident, was not required to pay taxes on the income derived from sources within the United States.”
Evidence showed that after the Tenth Circuit’s ruling, Mr. Boyd signed federal income tax returns for the years 2001 through 2007 in which he reported that he had zero wages. He earned between $80,000 and $115,000 in wages from Atlas Air in each of those years. On each of these seven returns, Mr. Boyd claimed a tax refund ranging from $5,853 for the 2001 calendar year to $33,349 for the 2005 calendar year. Mr. Boyd arrived at these figures by adding his Medicare and Social Security withholding to his federal income tax withheld. According to the jury’s verdict, Mr. Boyd knew that these seven refund claims were false because they were based on false information about his wages and the amount of federal income tax withheld from his wages. He signed the last three returns after IRS special agents with the Criminal Investigation Division told him that his legal theories were incorrect; he signed the last two returns after having received a letter from the Criminal Investigation Division that stated that his case had been recommended for criminal prosecution.
The jury deliberated only about 40 minutes before finding Mr. Boyd guilty on all 14 counts (seven counts of filing false tax returns and seven counts of making false claims against the government).
Sentencing has been scheduled for July 15, 2009. Mr. Boyd faces a potential penalty of three years in prison and a fine of $250,000 on each of the seven counts charging false tax returns. He could also be required to pay the costs of prosecution. On each of the seven false-claim counts, he could be sentenced to five years in prison and subjected to a fine of $250,000. These criminal penalties would be separate from any penalties and interest imposed by the Internal Revenue Service in any civil litigation with Mr. Boyd.
These charges are the result of an investigation conducted by the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott E. Williams and Susan Dickerson Cox.
