Pay your ___ taxes or expect to be indicted. Just ask Ryan Richmond how it’s going

Ryan Richmond owned and operated Relief Choices LLC, a medical marijuana dispensary in Warren...super indicted on Tax Evasion and its bad but in a delicious way

I don’t know about you but I was raised that being a good American actually requires you to not only file but to pay your taxes. No joke my farther told me “in life there are only two certains death and taxes”… Those who haven’t filed a tax return in years and then purport to be some kind of patriot, well it turns out that they are in fact charlatans, grifters and frauds. They are also on the high end of being federally indicted. It’s simple - file and pay your taxes and stop masquerading as some kind of patriot because you haven’t filed your Federal or State Taxes in years. Expect the IRS to come knocking…. Just ask Mr Richmond.

INDICTMENT and Charges:

Count One: 26 U.S.C. §7212 (a) - OBSTRUCTION OF IRS., Count Two: 18 U.S.C. §1001 - STATEMENTS OR ENTRIES GENERALLY- CORRUPT OR FORCIBLE INTERFERENCE, Counts three thru six: 26 U.S.C. §7302 - TAX EVASION, and Count seven 26 U.S.C. §7302 - WILLFUL FAILURE TO FILE a TAX RETURN

Related business Entities:

RELIEF CHOICES, LLC was a marijuana medical dispensary located in Warren, MI - Richmond was the sole owner, see Michigan State Corporation Commission Filing (MI-SCC) also see MI-SCC 2012 Annual Report, 2013 MI-SCC Annual Report and 2017 RESIGNATION OF RESIDENT AGENT

REALTY PLUS INTERNATIONAL, LLC - 2012 MI-SCC Articles of Incorporation , 2013 MI-SCC Annual Report

RICHMOND MEDIA LLC -see MI-SCC 2011 Articles of Incorporation also see 2012 MI-SCC Annual Report and the MI-SCC 2013 Annual Report

INDIVIDUAL A was the “store front manager” for Relief Choices and he duties included bookkeeping. I could be wrong but it certainly appears that Individual A is in fact Jacob Schell. When you read paragraphs 5 and 6 of the Indictment there really is no other conceivable alternative.

SCHELL GROUP, LLC - 2012 MI-SCC Articles of Incorporation and the 2013 Annual Report Jacob Schell is the principal of Schell Group.

If you are wondering why I provided you with the various MI-SCC documents, this was necessary for you to have to fully understand the Indictment via ECF as a vast majority of the actions occurred from 2011 thru 2015 and into 2016.

Overt Acts:

In October of 2014 the IRS sent a notification letter to Richmond and his wife. This notification informed the Richmonds their 2012 Taxes were under review. The preliminary investigation showed Richmond owed more than $66,700+ on his individual income tax. Thereafter Richmond, through his account informed the IRS, that he would be filing an “amended Individual Tax Return” and that the previously cited $66,748.53 in additional individual income taxes. According to Richmond and his accountant his 2012 additional taxes were only $1,726.00

In October 2015 IRS agents interviewed Richmond and he provided “false and misleading information” - unsolicited ProTip do not lie to the IRS and certainly if you fail to file tax returns, then you’re in for a world of hurt when the IRS comes knocking.

When Richmond lied to the IRS about his individual taxes and his business taxes in March of 2016 the IRS informed Richmond, the initial audit had been expanded. Originally the audit only focused on 2012 but after Richmond lied the audit was expanded to 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014, respectively.

If your keeping count - by 2016 Richmond had no less than three interviews with IRS Agents. And in each of these interviews Richmond provided IRS agents with false and misleading information. Thusly Richmond obstructed an official investigation.

One has to wonder did Richmond (for that matter any American who willfully fails to file a tax return) genuinely thought he’d get away with lying to the IRS. On page 9 of the indictment it specifies what Richmond’s lies were. Did Richmond forget that his MI-SCC filings show he is the President and sole owner of Relief Choices?

Indictment via ECF or via my public drive - on April 6, 2021 the Court Ordered: Appointing Federal Community Defender via ECF - see below;

If I wanted to be a real sh_t-stirer I could simply tag a certain account that purports to be a “a patriot” who’s also trafficking in “F__ck China”…”it’s the China-Virus”…”COVID-19 came from a lab” <—left side of the same disinformation horseshoe nonsense. The QANON-for-the-Left is equally dangerous as QANON. By amplifying this “it was created in a lab” narrative means you are contributing to the pollution of disinformation. And sure you don’t have to take my word for it - that there are videos out there of this person trafficking in Anti-Asian Rhetoric, go Google it and watch his video appearances where he said all of that during various video-streams (not to be confused with a podcast) but said “patriot” hasn’t filed a federal tax return in years. So I’ll just leave this fact nugget right here:

Justice Department Tax Enforcement Already in Gear

“Our criminal prosecutors are prepared for tax filing season too…Honest, law abiding taxpayers should know that the Tax Division is aggressively using its resources and expertise to identify, investigate, and prosecute those attempting to defraud and obstruct the IRS.” -Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg ¹of the Tax Division - https://www.justice.gov/tax

In today’s OPA - the DOJ highlighted various and notable cases prosecuted in 2020. For Example;

Prosecution of Business Owners

• On Dec. 1, 2020, a New York City restaurateur was sentenced to 24 months in prison for tax evasion. Adel Kellel, the owner of Raffles Bistro, diverted business income for personal expenses, including rent for a high-end Manhattan apartment, college tuition payments for his children, and purchases from luxury retailers. As part of his sentence, Kellel was ordered to pay $613,478 to the IRS.

• On Oct. 20, 2020, two biofuel company owners were sentenced to prison for conspiracy to defraud the IRS and preparing a false tax claim, among other offenses. Ben Wootton, 55 of Savannah, Georgia, was sentenced to 70 months and Race Miner, 51, of Marco Island, Florida, was sentenced to 66 months, after a jury convicted both defendants and their company, Keystone Biofuels Inc., in April 2019.

Prosecution of White-Collar Professionals & Individuals

• On Dec. 21, 2020, two Atlanta-area tax professionals pleaded guilty to promoting a syndicated conservation easement tax scheme involving more than $1.2 billion in fraudulent charitable deductions. Stein Agee of Canton, Georgia, and Corey Agee of Atlanta, Georgia, are currently awaiting sentencing for their role in the scheme.

• On Nov. 2, 2020, a New Jersey man was sentenced to 78 months in prison for conspiring to defraud the United States, filing false claims, and obstructing the internal revenue laws, following his conviction at trial. According to evidence presented at trial, between 2015 and 2016, Kenneth Crawford Jr. and his co-conspirators promoted and sold a “mortgage recovery” tax fraud scheme in which they obtained fraudulent refunds from the IRS for their clients. As a result of Crawford’s scheme, more than $2.5 million in fraudulent refunds were sought from the IRS.

• On Aug. 21, 2020, a North Carolina risk consultant pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return and illegally possessing a firearm. From 2011 through 2017, Charles Atkins underreported income from several risk consulting businesses, causing a tax loss of more than $800,000 to the IRS. Atkins is currently awaiting sentencing.

Maryland Return Preparer Pleads Guilty to Tax Fraud

• Lenore Worthy² provided tax return preparation services in Temple Hills under several business names, including United Tax Services LLC. For the tax years 2012 through 2018, Worthy and her co-conspirators fraudulently inflated client refunds by adding false deductions and business losses. The IRS later expelled Worthy and United Tax Services from the IRS e-file program after Worthy prepared a false return for an undercover IRS agent. Worthy then began using another co-conspirator’s e-filing credentials in order to continue preparing clients’ returns. In total, Worthy caused a tax loss to the IRS of $189,748.

California CEO Pleads Guilty in Employment Tax Scheme - Did Not Pay IRS Millions in Employee Withholdings

• Michael Todd Lucas, CEO of i3 Brands Inc³., controlled a number of inventory software development businesses from 2008 through 2017, including i3 Brands Inc., Trademotion Inc. (formerly known as Trademotion LLC), Intelligentz Automotive Corporation, and Intelligentz Corporation. Lucas had significant control over the finances of these companies and had a legal duty to account for and pay employment taxes to the IRS. Lucas caused these entities to withhold taxes from employees’ paychecks, but he did not fully pay the withheld taxes to the IRS. Rather, Lucas caused the businesses to spend thousands of dollars for his personal benefit. In total, from 2008 to 2017, Lucas’ entities failed to pay over more than $4.9 million in payroll taxes, penalties, and interest.

Arkansas Businessman Sentenced to Prison for Income Tax Evasion - Owed more than $1.3 million to the IRS

• James Brassart⁴ of Bentonville filed a 2006 individual income tax return that reported adjusted gross income of $1,502,749 and taxes due to the IRS of $486,438. Brassart failed to pay all of the taxes owed and was assessed penalties and interest. To evade his tax liabilities, Brassart took extensive steps to conceal his income and assets. He used three nominee corporations, Eagle Creek Construction and Development Inc., Mono Pro LLC, and Sierra Madre Contracting LLC, to conduct business and purchase assets.

So the lesson here is - if your only taxable income is paid subscriptions and you have willfully evading taxes, that is criminal. Failing to file a Federal Tax Return, that too is also super criminal. Prosecuting tax crimes tends to be very cut and dry - because these cases are largely based “on paper” and “on paper” tends to eliminate the “subjective” nature - Pay your taxes and file a federal tax return. Otherwise expect a knock on your door from the IRS and/or DOJ…

1. April 8, 2021 DOJ-OPA Press Release - https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-tax-enforcement-already-gear

2. April 7, 2021 DOJ-OPA Press Release - https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/maryland-return-preparer-pleads-guilty-tax-fraud

3. April 7, 2021 DOJ-OPA Press Release - https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/california-ceo-pleads-guilty-employment-tax-scheme

4. April 6, 2021 - DOJ-OPA Press Release - https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/arkansas-businessman-sentenced-prison-income-tax-evasion