Make the government mad - They take your money

[voguy]

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Can government really seize $35,000 with little warning? Grocery owner sues IRS
8:17 PM, September 25, 2013 - Detroit Free Press

It has been eight months since the IRS seized more than $35,000 from the bank account of Tarik (Terry) Dehko’s grocery store in Fraser.

Dehko was not charged with a crime, but the IRS, according to court records, claims he violated federal law with the type of cash deposits he made into the store’s bank account, which the government drained in January.

Dehko and his daughter, Sandy Thomas, who works part time at the store — Schott’s Market on East 14 Mile — have filed suit in federal court Wednesday in an attempt to get the case before a judge. They want their money returned, and they want to stop similar actions in the future.

Dehko, 69, who came to the U.S. from Baghdad, Iraq, in 1970, calls the U.S. the land of opportunity, but he does not understand how the government can seize his money without warning and, according to him, without cause.

Dehko, who lives in Bloomfield Township, has owned Schott’s since 1978. He said he employs about 30 people, including some family members.

“If I did anything wrong, I’d be scared. I’m not scared because I didn’t do anything wrong,” Dehko said Wednesday from behind a counter at his shop. He wore the same name tag he wears every day, a gold-colored gift from a now-deceased customer that designates him as “Boss.”

Dehko said he works seven days a week at his store, and that it has been a struggle to cover expenses after losing so much money.

According to the court filings, the IRS claims Dehko skirted rules that deposits greater than $10,000 be reported by making many smaller deposits. Larry Salzman, an attorney with the Arlington, Va.-based Institute for Justice, which is working on Dehko’s behalf, said the deposits were often in the $9,000 range, but that Dehko made regular deposits in those amounts because his insurance policy will not cover him for loss or theft of more than $10,000 in cash in the store.

Dehko said a federal agent came to his store in January and told him his funds were being seized, and Dehko has been fighting ever since. Dehko noted that the government offered to settle with him, but the offer was for 20% of what was seized, so he rejected it. The court filings note that the IRS had found no violations during an audit of Dehko’s books in April 2012.

An IRS spokesman did not respond to a request for comment, and a spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade, also named as a defendant, said the only comment would come through court filings.

Salzman called the government’s investigation sloppy and said that if the IRS had bothered to ask questions before seizing the money, the issue could have been avoided. However, Salzman said, federal forfeiture laws are really the problem, especially because the law allows agencies to use the funds they seize, creating a kind of incentive for such actions.

“Civil forfeiture really turns the American principle of innocent until proven guilty on its head,” Salzman said.

Dehko’s daughter, Sandy Thomas, 40, of Southfield, said she never imagined the government could seize someone’s money just because of how the person put it in the bank, and the case has left her frustrated.

“We should be innocent until proven guilty, and we haven’t done anything wrong,” Thomas said. “We should be guilty of something other than making deposits in the bank.”

[Riddick]

According to the court filings, the IRS claims Dehko skirted rules that deposits greater than ,000 be reported by making many smaller deposits.

WTF? If he didn't make deposits in amounts that required reporting, then what's the problem? Is the IRS saying what they REALLY want is it all gets reported? If that's the case, why even have a rule based on deposit amount? Dehko took the rule as written. He abided by the law. Yet the IRS says otherwise.

IMHO this has bad rap written all over it. And it's nothing but nucking futz the IRS can seize people's property like this, just like that, and simply on their sloppy investigation say-so - Whatever happened to due process -?

Then again, I guess the IRS could say they're only abiding by the law, when it comes to federal forfeiture!

[SquidInk]

See, here's the thing. It's not your money. Did you buy the paper and commission the art work? Did you print, issue, and distribute it? And most importantly, did you make a deal with the guys who own the 'law enforcement' rackets to back you? No. It's a tool of convenience that you rent from the real owners. A tool of oppression for which we have all given up large amounts of our liberty for the 'right' to use. And like anything you borrow, lease or rent, there are fees involved - like interest and inflation, and there are terms involved to which you must adhere for the convenience of using a handy medium exchange provided to you. Sometimes, the rental agencies simply want their property back.

In the old days, it actually was your money, but in 1913 we traded freedom for convenience. The money in your pocket actually belongs to a private corporation (read:noble creator person, beyond criticism) - and they'll repo it any damned time they like using their proxies (with the guns and the monopoly on legal violence) in the US Government.

That's why you keep as little Federal Reserve bullcrap money around as possible. Convert it quickly into things you can actually own and control. Ideally, real rebels and mavericks will design businesses that avoid it altogether. I know what you're saying: businesses that avoid using Federal Reserve dollars cannot grow big - they're niche, and can't 'scale' . That's right. That's the sacrifice part - the kind that has to made in order to kill this thing. A few generations will have to accept modest income in exchange for a return to a state of Liberty.

[Riddick]

keep as little Federal Reserve bullcrap money around as possible. Convert it quickly into things you can actually own and control. Ideally, real rebels and mavericks will design businesses that avoid it altogether. I know what you're saying: businesses that avoid using Federal Reserve dollars cannot grow big - they're niche, and can't 'scale' . That's right. That's the sacrifice part - the kind that has to made in order to kill this thing.

Kill, or be killed? Yeah, I can see that. Still, the USG has a big edge in the killing off department. Dehko found that out the hard way, didn't he? Maybe he can start over yet though, and go the rebel route you speak of -

Heck, he's got plenty of time for it, donchaknow? Everyone knows life begins at 69.

[voguy]

A good position to be is when you can have precious metals which are graded for specific costs, which could be use in sale in lieu of paper currency. I have a feeling that the paper dollar could be like the Deutsche Mark post WW-1 at some point.

The other side of this is to get relationships solidified for barter. Everyone has a skill and it's just a matter of finding someone who needs it. Just last week I traded my services to a shop selling TVs and got a 60" LCD TV for my wife. My labor was well worth the trade.