Man who hid gold to avoid taxes a "dangerous and hypocritical extremist"

[madfranks]

That's what they call you if you hold it and hide it. And if you have kids and teach them that the State has no right to your life, liberty and property, they "can’t imagine what possessed you to involve that child in this offense”.

$200K in gold, silver coins linked to tax evader (http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2010/oct/12/200k-gold-silver-coins-linked-tax-evader/)

GREENEVILLE — There’s gold in them thar hills — really.

Just ask IRS Agent Jack Bumgardner of the agency’s criminal investigations unit who last week dug up an estimated $200,000 or more in gold and silver coins in the Cherokee National Forest as part of an ongoing probe into the tax evasion scheme of Greeneville nurse anesthetist Edward K. Eastwood.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Helen Smith has long contended Eastwood, convicted earlier this year of using a mail-order bride from the Republic of Kyrgystan and her daughter as asset shields in a decade-long scheme to avoid paying nearly a half million dollars in federal income taxes, is still hiding illegal bounty.

But it was only when, earlier this month, mail-order bride Elina Gromova-Eastwood finally came clean that federal authorities found proof via a burial site in the Cherokee National Forest of four PVC pipes containing 128 ounces of gold and another 543 ounces of silver.

Bumgardner detailed the discovery of the treasure trove Tuesday as Greeneville U.S. District Judge Ronnie Greer considered the fate of Edward Eastwood, 63, and his mail-order bride, both of whom were convicted in a complex tax evasion scheme that included buying up properties titled in others’ names, hoarding gold coins and structuring financial transactions to avoid IRS triggers.

Elina Eastwood’s daughter, Violetta Gromova, has since confessed she lied on the witness stand at the direction of her mother and stepfather.

Testimony showed Edward Eastwood paid Elina Eastwood $65,000 to marry him and move herself and her daughter to Greene County, where he lived.

“It’s quite clear you went looking for a ready-made family to carry out this scheme,” Greer said. “What you have done to your daughter and to, a lesser extent, your wife simply cannot be explained. You brought them to this country, and you immediately involved them in a scheme to defraud the government.”

Both women face deportation to a country that is far different politically than they left 12 years ago, Elina Eastwood’s attorney, James J. Lonon, noted Tuesday.

“It’s no longer a Russian republic,” Lonon said. “It’s a Muslim republic.”

Noting that Edward Eastwood had stockpiled a cache of firearms, Greer dubbed him no mere tax protester but a dangerous but hypocritical extremist.

“You accept the services taxpayers pay for,” Greer said. “You drive on the roads taxpayers pay for. You use the institutions taxpayers pay for, but, on the other hand, you take the position … the government has no right to collect income taxes from you.”

Greer slapped Edward Eastwood with a 97-month prison term — nearly four years more than the legal maximum — before turning to the fate of Elina Eastwood, who had backed her husband until the eve of sentencing, when she finally disclosed one site where the pair had buried gold and silver currency.

She argued, via Lonon, that she was herself a victim, helping her husband hide assets because she feared he could have her deported. Smith, however, argued Elina Eastwood made a deal with the devil with no regard for her young daughter’s well-being and forced the girl to grow up a in a “house of horrors,” where secrecy was key.

“It’s abuse,” Smith argued.

Greer agreed, sentencing Elina Eastwood to a maximum five-year prison term.

“I just can’t imagine what possessed you to involve that child in this offense,” he said.

Violetta Gromova, who earlier this year pleaded guilty to perjury for lying on her mother and stepfather’s behalf, will be sentenced later this year.

[Desolation LineTrimmer]

I thought it wasn't legal to force married couples to testify against each other. I don't understand how buried gold coins are evidence of tax evasion, since gold coins are usually purchased with frn's, which have likely already been taxed, but if not, how does it matter that they are exchanged for gold coins and buried?

[Ponce]

And they call that a "treasure trove?"..........the government must really be hurting for money.

[midnight rambler]

The message sent here: fear your masters, there is NO escape from your bondage.

Surely Thomas Jefferson is looking down from the Great Beyond wondering, "WTF is wrong with those people?!?!?"

[Twisted Titan]

“You accept the services taxpayers pay for,” Greer said. “You drive on the roads taxpayers pay for. You use the institutions taxpayers pay for, but, on the other hand, you take the position … the government has no right to collect income taxes from you.”


It works for wall street and private corps just fine........

[willie pete]

what disgusts me is the gov't goes after you for every penny of tax, but turns around and gives away billions and billions to people who don't pay any taxes

[midnight rambler]

what disgusts me is the gov't goes after you for every penny of tax, but turns around and gives away billions and billions to people who don't pay any taxes


You mean like the banksters?

[ShortJohnSilver]

“You accept the services taxpayers pay for,” Greer said. “You drive on the roads taxpayers pay for. You use the institutions taxpayers pay for, but, on the other hand, you take the position … the government has no right to collect income taxes from you.”

Unless they got him on using farm fuel that is exempt from road taxes, or he stole the gas or diesel for his vehicles, he DID pay fuel taxes far in excess of what is actually spent on roads. And if he owned property, he paid property taxes.

I am not surprised a judge didn't make that distinction however.

[madfranks]

What bothers me most about this article is I think this is a glimpse into how many people see us, the lowly gold bugs who hoard metal. In their eyes, we are extremists who abuse children and defraud others.

[willie pete]

Please enlighten me as i do not know nor understand all the laws in the US ...

How did they knew there was gold or silver before the forced confession ?

+ if the gold or silver was not swapped back to frn's, there is no profit to declare ...

Why, amidst the pressure didn't they just STFU ???? Was there anything for them to gain by disclosing the location of the bullion coins ?





But it was only when, earlier this month, mail-order bride Elina Gromova-Eastwood finally came clean that federal authorities found proof via a burial site in the Cherokee National Forest of four PVC pipes containing 128 ounces of gold and another 543 ounces of silver.( Is it illegal ? )

...that included buying up properties titled in others’ names, hoarding gold coins (Is it illegal ? )and structuring financial transactions to avoid IRS triggers.


Noting that Edward Eastwood had stockpiled a cache of firearms,( Is it illegal ? ) Greer dubbed him no mere tax protester but a dangerous but hypocritical extremist.( A hypocritical extremist...Is it illegal ??? )



Greer slapped Edward Eastwood with a 97-month prison term — nearly four years more than the legal maximum( 4 more years than the legal maximum ????? ) —l with no regard for her young daughter’s well-being and forced the girl to grow up a in a “house of horrors,”( Was she abused ? beaten ? tortured ? ) where secrecy was key.


“I just can’t imagine what possessed you to involve that child in this offense,” he said.(she was involved ???)








it seems there's much more to the story than is presented, it mentions he owed or was responsible for approximately $500k in taxes...taxes on what? ..the buried PMs are only worth about $188k today....maybe some else knows, if you hold an asset, any asset, (excluding property tax) and it increases in value, unless you take a drawing or sell it or a portion of it, I didn't think it was taxable....not until you do something with it

[Twisted Titan]

What bothers me most about this article is I think this is a glimpse into how many people see us, the lowly gold bugs who hoard metal. In their eyes, we are extremists who abuse children and defraud others.



I cant stop the way how others see me

One of My key objectives is to have enough means of defense between me and those who want to steal it through force or tricks of paper.

[Desolation LineTrimmer]

What bothers me most about this article is I think this is a glimpse into how many people see us, the lowly gold bugs who hoard metal. In their eyes, we are extremists who abuse children and defraud others.



I cant stop the way how others see me

One of My key objectives is to have enough means of defense between me and those who want to steal it through force or tricks of paper.


Chances are the US government will always out-force you. Just pay your ******* taxes. ;D

[Ponce]

"If you don't hold it, you don't own it"... Ponce

"If you can't hide it you won't own it"... Ponce <----------for things to come.

[Neuro]

This story reads like it is some kind of fantasy fairy tale. Sadly I think it is not. Laws don't matter one iota! Image is everything.

[Liquid]

Chances are the US government will always out-force you. Just pay your g*d* taxes. ;D


I agree, the goal here is to fly under the radar. Not paying taxes put you on the radar screen, then leads to arrests like this one. By not paying taxes, the government will take anything and everything you have, even deport your wife.

I really disllike the term 'hoarding' gold coins. We see that in a lot of articles. How many gold coins makes one a 'hoarder'? 5, 10, 20? They really need provide a definition to clerify that.

[palani]

I really disllike the term 'hoarding' gold coins. We see that in a lot of articles. How many gold coins makes one a 'hoarder'? 5, 10, 20? They really need provide a definition to clerify that.

I believe the plank that abolishes private property did not incorporate the concept of a minimum amount that you would be allowed to retain.

[Liquid]

I believe the plank that abolishes private property did not incorporate the concept of a minimum amount that you would be allowed to retain.




My point is conceptulizing swapping gold coins, and money. If a man has a million dollars in the bank, he is successful. However if he has 1000 gold coins buried in his backyard, he is a "hoarder"? :conf:

Hoarder, bad. Successful, good. Having a bunch of gold/silver buried sounds pretty successful to me.

It's brainwashing from our media, and shaming from our government. Nobody shames anyone for having a bunch of FRN's hoarded in a bank.

[zap]

QUote from Liquid; It's brainwashing from our media, and shaming from our government. Nobody shames anyone for having a bunch of FRN's hoarded in a bank.


It is changing though, look back 20 years ago would anyone have let their house go and walked away and not been ashamed, mostly it is a business decision now, not many are ashamed.

[Desolation LineTrimmer]

I believe the plank that abolishes private property did not incorporate the concept of a minimum amount that you would be allowed to retain.




My point is conceptulizing swapping gold coins, and money. If a man has a million dollars in the bank, he is successful. However if he has 1000 gold coins buried in his backyard, he is a "hoarder"? :conf:

Hoarder, bad. Successful, good. Having a bunch of gold/silver buried sounds pretty successful to me.

It's brainwashing from our media, and shaming from our government. Nobody shames anyone for having a bunch of FRN's hoarded in a bank.


Shows the connection between the media and banking cartels. They want that money circulating because then it becomes their money. They would be almost as concerned if it were buried dollars under the dog's house in the back yard, but not quite so, as they would still be free to devalue those dollars. At bottom, all this is a question of civility. Gold is just plain barbarous.

[midnight rambler]

It is changing though, look back 20 years ago would anyone have let their house go and walked away and not been ashamed, mostly it is a business decision now, not many are ashamed.


But they are still relieved of their wealth nonetheless.

[Spectrism]

I will watch those self-righteous bastards in black robes and wearing IRS badges stand before a Holy God and shake in fear as they are sentenced for their love of evil. And I will have no regrets when just judgments are pronounced. I will say: "Yes! Hallelu-Yah!"

[palani]

Nobody shames anyone for having a bunch of FRN's hoarded in a bank.

Apples and oranges. FRNs are hoarded in a bank. These "assets" are turned over to permit someone else to oversee them. They are not owned property anyway. They are someone elses debt. Might as well let someone else manage them.

For the same reason you register your car ... essentially turning it over to the state because you are incompetent to manage it yourself.

Same for land ... you register it with the county so that they will oversee it for you.

You lose legal right to the property in exchange for equitable right to use it the way the omnipresent state feels that you should.

On the other hand a trove is property that you elect to manage and oversee yourself. Private property. Non-commie. No trust in anyone except for yourself. A "hoarder" is one who chooses private property over state management. Possibly there is a better word for it:


Nibelungenlied
German epic poem of 13c., lit. "song of the Nibelungs," a race of dwarves who lived in Norway and owned a hoard of gold and a magic ring, lit. "children of the mist," related to O.H.G. nebul "mist, darkness," O.E. nifol (see nebula).

[Twisted Titan]

I will watch those self-righteous bastards in black robes and wearing IRS badges stand before a Holy God and shake in fear as they are sentenced for their love of evil. And I will have no regrets when just judgments are pronounced. I will say: "Yes! Hallelu-Yah!"




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bB_NmxfYV2E

[gunDriller]

I really disllike the term 'hoarding' gold coins. We see that in a lot of articles. How many gold coins makes one a 'hoarder'? 5, 10, 20? They really need provide a definition to clerify that.


it's a term, like "conspiracy theory", that has a purpose - to discredit the person doing the hoarding.

in other words, the guy's f'ing rich/ medium rich/ slightly rich.

i didn't read the whole article so i don't know how much "cause" the government has. it does sound like a witch-hunt though.

maybe when the guy's in prison he can write a Tax Advice book.

[Ponce]

Any excuse is a good excuse to confiscate his gold and silver..........hes a horder, hes a survivalist, hes a terrorist.

[gunDriller]

“You accept the services taxpayers pay for,” Greer said. “You drive on the roads taxpayers pay for. You use the institutions taxpayers pay for, but, on the other hand, you take the position … the government has no right to collect income taxes from you.”

what would a good attorney have said right there ?

i thought the government has no right to collect income taxes, it's one of those legal gray areas but they have a Gestapo dedicated to collecting the taxes anyway.

[palani]

i thought the government has no right to collect income taxes
The government enforces your right to engage in private contract.

Actions of account are virtually impossible in law. In equity it is entirely another matter. However for equity to work a fiduciary has to step forward. The prosecution claims the breach of a trust relationship. The defendant is presumed to be a fiduciary and since he has not rebutted it the court proceeds as if this were the case in equity.

Things not expressed are entirely what make the case.

[Glass]

Maxim of Law: Improvements to the land go with the land.

If someone wants to build a road on some land then that's good for them. Under common law that does not compel any other man or women to contribute to that. If the land is a through way, highway or right of way then their improvements to the land are not their own to claim and everyones to use. This is why LEO interdiction and tolls on highways are actually highway robbery. The people that demand the payment are highway men in the historical sense of the word.

[Horn]

Sure a stockpile of arms could be dangerous & extreme to certain people.

What I don't understand is the hypocritical part?

[Serpo]

And they call that a "treasure trove?"..........the government must really be hurting for money.


Anything over 0 in value is a treasure trove for the gov only because they are how many trills in debt..........hehe

[Book]

Trillions stolen on Wall Street and only Madoff is in prison.

:oo-->

[Filthy Keynes]

...but it's ok when the Fed HOARDS it? Now THIS is really truly a HOARD in the worst sense of the term. That poor guy only had 1/2 of one of those 400 ounce bricks.

http://adamsayler.com/wp-content/uploads/image/gold01.jpg

http://xmb.stuffucanuse.com/xmb/image.php?&aid=1873&5-billion-gold.jpg

http://www.chrismartenson.com/files/u4/Fedd_Gold_Vault.jpg