Posted on 05/15/2015 4:38:03 AM PDT by Timber Rattler
Lyndon McLellan fought the law -- and apparently, he won.
The North Carolina business owner for months has been battling the federal government after IRS agents last fall seized $107,000 from him, under a controversial practice known as civil forfeiture. But his attorneys at the Institute for Justice announced Thursday that the IRS and Department of Justice have moved to dismiss the case and give him back his money.
(snip)
Two months ago, the government offered McLellan 50 percent of his money back and warned him against chasing publicity, even going so far as to suggest it would rile people inside the IRS and could hurt his chances of seeing his cash again, his attorneys said.
(snip)
Wilson said McLellan had other resources to keep his business, “L & M Convenience Mart,” open since last October. But he had to fork over $3,000 for his initial legal fees, and some $19,000 for an accountant to audit his business to prove to the government there wasn’t anything untoward going on. The government said it will not repay those costs or any interest on the seized money.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
This is unbelievable.
A little more exposure about this may apply some needed pressure.
Also, offering to give him back 50% of his money and warning him to keep quiet is extortion.
Apparently, the 50% “settlement offer” is the IRS’ standard practice in these cases, just like the Mafia.
This type of governmental thuggery could happen to any of us, at any time. We could wake up one morning and find our bank accounts have been seized on one pretense or another. This is a good reason to keep some portable wealth, away from the electronic banking system.
Sounds like the Mafia.
EXACTLY like the mafia.....”nice little bidness you got here mister...be a shame if anything happened to it....”
What I don’t understand is why won’t one of the GOP candidates glom onto this story, or any similar story, and ride the wave. Maybe Cruz will, he’s been the most ardent abolish the IRS candidate so far.
This kind of thing is powerful.
“Also, offering to give him back 50% of his money and warning him to keep quiet is extortion.”.........
It certainly sounds like it but then, the gubmint makes the rules and will change them whenever/wherever they choose.
“Also, offering to give him back 50% of his money and warning him to keep quiet is extortion.”.........
It certainly sounds like it but then, the gubmint makes the rules and will change them whenever/wherever they choose.
Ain’t OBAMUNISM great???
This is unbelievable.
People who work for large companies don’t have constitutional rights - if they want to keep their job. Small business owners and their employees are harder to corral. It keeps them from controlling everyone. They don’t like that.
Civil forfeiture in which the object itself is ruled criminal is totally un-American and unconstitutional. It needs to be killed all the way. Charge them with a crime, get a conviction and then go after their ill-gotten gains.
“Also, offering to give him back 50% of his money and warning him to keep quiet is extortion.”
Not extortion since the IRS commissioner was grilled about this case in a congressional hearing.
The agent was pissed that he had already gone public by giving the ‘sealed’ case papers to his congressmen who then grilled the commissioner in public hearing.
T
Civil forfeiture is a bulwark (and got it’s start with) the Drug War. That may be your answer right there.
When we moved to KY, my wife got one of those state tax cards because she expected to do some buying and selling for an antique booth. But we never used it.
Then, a few months after tax time we found out our small, local checking account had been cleared of its entire contents - ~$1,200 - because the state estimated that that ~$2500 was the tax savings on the card but we didn’t have $2500 in our account so they took it all. In the end, we got about 800 of it back but lesson learned.
We’re all over grey market stuff now*, as are most people around here (and in Greece). Lots of barter goes on in these parts. When the cost of living is very low it is a very practical way to live. And the government trying to nail them is like trying to nail 10,000 counterfeiters producing one $100 bill each rather than one counterfeiter producing 10,000 $100 bills.
*I am not under oath here and will deny this in court. ;-)
That would make me think Rand Paul would jump at this opportunity - and Cruz too. Of course, Rand may want to wait until it has a druggie victim. His passion about principle seems situational.
Plus the interest the money would have charged him X 2 and administration and accounting fees + time.
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