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Arkansas Business are reporting: Gassville Business Owner Convicted on Tax Charges
5/22/2006
Quote:
A 56-year-old Gassville podiatrist who had refused to pay taxes since 1999 was convicted Friday of 25 federal charges involving tax related charges.
Clifford “Ben” Marston faces of to 93 years in prison and fines up to $6.25 million for income tax evasion, filing false income tax returns and assisting in the preparation and presentation to the IRS of false individual income tax returns, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.
Marston, who owns Sunshine Foot Clinic Inc. of Mountain Home and Harrison hadn’t paid some taxes since 1999.
Marston’s defense was his research on the Internet and had bragged about it since at least 2001.
“Personally, I am grieved at the whole income tax process … the massive intrusion at the threat of perjury into the intimate details or our financial lives … contributes to the massive erosion of freedom in this country and is totally inconsistent with the legacy of a Free People,” Marston wrote on an Internet site dedicated to the anti-tax movement.
During his five-day trial last week, Marston testified that he visited Web sites promoted by Thurston Bell and Larken Rose that claimed income earned within the United States was not taxable to U.S. citizens and only foreign income was taxable, the news release said.
“The courts have repeatedly rejected these arguments as frivolous,” the news release said.
HARRISON — A Gassville man who worked as a podiatrist in Mountain Home was sentenced Tuesday to two years in prison and was ordered to pay about $300,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.
Clifford B. Marston, 57, was sentenced by Judge Jimm Larry Hendren in U.S. District Court, Western District of Arkansas in Harrison, after being convicted in May of tax evasion and filing false income tax returns.
Hendren sentenced Marston, who owns Sunshine Foot Clinic Inc. in Mountain Home and Harrison, to 26 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Marston also must pay $296,477.35 in restitution to the goverenment and pay a $5,000 fine, according to a news release from the IRS.
In June 2005, Marston was named in a 25-count indictment charging him with income tax evasion, filing false income tax returns and assisting in the preparation and presentation of false individual income tax returns to the IRS.
After a five-day jury trial in May, a jury found Marston guilty on all 25 counts.
Marston could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
During the trial, the prosecution proved Marston illegally stopped withholding employment taxes from his employees' salaries in 1999, and was filing false employment tax returns with the IRS from 1999 to 2001, claiming no federal wages were paid to employees, according to the news release. After 2001, Marston stopped filing employment tax returns and personal income tax returns.
Marston also was convicted of income tax evasion for personal tax returns from 1998-2000.
Last year, Marston told The Baxter Bulletin that his actions were based on his conscience and personal convictions. After researching the tax code, he felt the IRS had misapplied regulations and that most Americans do not have taxable income, he said.
Marston was represented by Joe Izen Jr. of Bellaire, Texas, and Christopher Plumlee and Matt Fleming from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Fort Smith prosecuted the case.
A former Gassville podiatrist filed court documents Friday indicating he intends to file an appeal to his conviction and sentence on tax evasion charges.
Clifford B. Marston, 57, was sentenced Dec. 12 in federal court in Harrison to two years in prison and was ordered to pay about $300,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.
Marston owned Sunshine Foot Clinic in Mountain Home and Harrison. His medical license was taken away after his conviction, said Marston's attorney, Joe A. Izen Jr. of Bellaire, Texas.
In June 2005, Marston was named in a 25-count indictment charging him with income tax evasion, filing false income tax returns and assisting in the preparation and presentation of false individual income tax returns to the IRS.
After a five-day trial, a jury found Marston guilty on all 25 counts. Judge Jimm Larry Hendren sentenced Marston to 26 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.
A notice of appeal was filed Friday with the U.S. District Court, Western District of Arkansas. An appeal will be filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit at St. Louis, Mo., according to court documents.
The appeal will be based on alleged inconsistencies with the way the IRS handled the case compared to past cases involving failure to file taxes, Izen indicated.
In previous years, the IRS determined that people protesting the government who filed "zero" on their tax returns were guilty of failure to file, a misdemeanor, Izen said. He said the IRS changed its rules when they claimed Marston lied on his tax returns and was guilty of felony charges.
Hendren denied a motion that would have allowed Marston to remain out of prison on bond pending the outcome of the appeal, Izen said. Marston is ordered to report to prison Jan. 5.
Special conditions of supervision would include not incurring any new debt, or opening new bank or credit accounts without prior approval from a federal probation officer, according to Hendren's judgment.
Last year, Marston told The Baxter Bulletin that his actions were based on his conscience and personal convictions. After researching tax code, he felt the IRS had misapplied regulations and believed that most Americans do not have taxable income, he said.
Podiatrist refused to pay taxes
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