Monthly Archives: May 2025

According to Law360, the U.S. Tax Court decided on May 19, 2025, in Garcia v. Commissioner, docket number 27496-22P, for the first time that its review of a challenge to an IRS certification of tax debt as "seriously delinquent" is not limited to the agency's administrative record, saying a trial is needed in a man's case to determine the facts.

In the ruling, the full Tax Court rejected the Internal Revenue Service's request to find through summary judgment that the agency correctly certified the $130,000 tax debt of Alberto Garcia Jr. as seriously delinquent under Internal Revenue Code Section 7345(a), a designation that can cause a taxpayer's passport to be revoked.

Garcia argued that his tax liabilities, dating to 2005 through 2008, were unenforceable because they were so old and therefore couldn't constitute a seriously delinquent debt under the law. 

The IRS countered that the agency qualified for an exception to the 10-year time limit on collections because Garcia's liabilities had been reduced to judgment by a federal court within the proper time frame. 

Because He Was Never Served With The Lawsuit.

The court said the case tasked it with deciding an issue of first impression. As Judge Emin Toro framed it in writing the opinion for the court: "What is the scope of our review or, put differently, on what evidence do we determine whether the commissioner's certification that a seriously delinquent tax debt exists is correct?"

The court concluded that the text of the law and the court's precedents require it to review the case from the beginning, or "de novo," meaning that the review must include evidence introduced at trial.

"Because Mr. Garcia raises a genuine issue of material fact as to whether he was served in the district court suit, we cannot conclude at this stage of the proceedings that the liabilities at issue are legally enforceable," Judge Toro said.

If You Have Serious Delinquent IRS Debt, You Should Consult with Experienced Tax Attorneys, As There Are Several Ways Taxpayers Can Avoid Having the IRS Request That the State Department Revoke Your Passport. 

  Want To Keep Your US Passport?
 

 

Contact the Tax Lawyers at 

Marini & Associates, P.A.

for a FREE Tax Consultation Contact us at:

www.TaxAid.com or www.OVDPLaw.com 

or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888)882-9243.

 

Read more at: Tax Times blog

This Is an Example of How Not to
Handle an IRS Collection Matter!

According to the DoJ, a Florida man was sentenced on May 14, 2025 to 24 months in prison for evading nearly $2.4 million in taxes on income he earned from his business.

The following is according to court documents and statements made in court: Roger Whitman manufactured and sold Rife machines, devices that use energy waves to purportedly treat a wide range of medical conditions. Between 2002 and 2018, Whitman generated millions of dollars in gross receipts from the sale of such equipment. Whitman also has a long history of non-compliance with his tax obligations, having not filed an individual income tax return since 1997 and not made any tax payments since 2000.

In 2012, the IRS assessed nearly $800,0000 in taxes against Whitman for 2002 through 2009 and then began trying to collect these taxes from him. To thwart the IRS’s collection efforts, Whitman formed a trust with his girlfriend serving as the trustee. Whitman then directed his income from the business into the trust’s bank accounts and used the funds from these accounts to pay personal expenses. In approximately July 2019, to further thwart IRS efforts, Whitman formed a new entity to operate his business.

Through his actions, Whitman caused a tax loss to the IRS of more than $2.4 million. 

In addition to his prison sentence, U.S. District Judge John Antoon II for the Middle District of Florida ordered Whitman to serve one year of supervised release and pay $2,314,220.15 in restitution to the IRS.

Have an IRS Tax Problem?

for a FREE Tax HELP Contact us at:
www.TaxAid.com or www.OVDPLaw.com
or Toll Free at 888 8TAXAID (888-882-9243)

Read more at: Tax Times blog

According to the DoJ, a Florida financial advisor was sentenced on May 14, 2025 to eight years (8) in prison for orchestrating a nearly decade-long scheme to promote an illegal tax shelter and to steal client funds.

The following is according to court documents and statements made in court: Stephen T. Mellinger III, of Delray Beach, was a financial advisor, insurance salesman, and securities broker operating in Florida, Michigan, Mississippi, and elsewhere. 

Beginning In Late 2013, Mellinger Conspired With
Others To Promote An Illegal Tax Shelter Whereby
Clients Would Claim False Tax Deductions For So-Called
“Royalty Payments” To Fraudulently Reduce Their Taxes.

In reality, the “royalty payments” were merely a circular flow of money designed to give the appearance of genuine business expenses. Typically, a client would send money to bank accounts controlled by Mellinger and his co-conspirators, who then sent the money, minus a fee, to a different bank account that the client controlled. 

In total, Mellinger and his co-conspirators helped clients prepare tax returns that claimed over $106 million in false tax deductions, which caused a tax loss to the IRS of approximately $37 million. Mellinger and a co-conspirator, who was a relative, collectively earned approximately $3 million in fees from the scheme.

In January 2016, Mellinger learned that several of his clients were under investigation and that the United States had started seizing their funds. Mellinger and the relative subsequently stole more than $2.1 million from some of the clients, a portion of which Mellinger used to buy a home in Delray Beach.

In addition to the prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett for the Southern District of Mississippi ordered Mellinger to serve three years of supervised release and to pay approximately $37 million in restitution to the United States.

Have an IRS Tax Problem?

for a FREE Tax HELP Contact us at:
www.TaxAid.com or www.OVDPLaw.com
or Toll Free at 888 8TAXAID (888-882-9243)

Read more at: Tax Times blog

According to Law360, he wife of a man found liable for construction company employment taxes is off the hook for $2 million in liabilities, a New York federal jury found, saying she was not responsible for collecting the taxes and paying them over to the federal government in Martha Gonzalez v. U.S., case number 2:22-cv-03370, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

The jury unanimously found Friday that Martha Gonzalez, who had sued the government in 2022 to release her from liens related to the debt, was not responsible for collecting five quarters' worth of employment taxes in 2012 and 2013 for Camabo Industries Inc., in which she formerly owned shares.

The vote followed a five-day trial in which Gonzalez made the case that, as stated in a pretrial order, she "did not manage the company's day-to-day functions, had no control over the tax, financial, or business operations of Camabo" and "did not prepare, review, sign or file any employment tax returns on Camabo's behalf."

Gonzalez claimed the Internal Revenue Service had threatened to seize her property for years over the liabilities "in a bid to hold her personally liable in what can only be described as a strategy of trying to establish responsibility by association."

In October, a New York federal judge found that her husband, Boris Gonzalez, was liable for the taxes. The government sought to hold Martha Gonzalez liable as well, filing a counterclaim against her complaint seeking a money judgment for the trust fund recovery penalties the IRS had assessed against her. As of December, that balance was roughly $2 million, according to a pretrial order.

The government argued in a response to her complaint that: 

 Thinking of Borrowing From Your Company's
Payroll Tax Withholdings?

You Better Thank Again, if You Like Your Freedom!

 Have Payroll Tax Problems?

 

 Contact the Tax Lawyers at
Marini & Associates, P.A. 

for a FREE Tax HELP Contact Us at:
www.TaxAid.com or www.OVDPLaw.com
or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888-882-9243) 

Read more at: Tax Times blog