Originally published on Forbes.com July 28th, 2014
I was saddened to learn that Kent Hovind will be facing a new criminal charge. Many people believe that Doctor Dino’s incarceration for tax related crimes was actually a response to his effectiveness as a proponent of “creation science”. I remain quite skeptical of that view since there are several “creation science” organizations with IRS recognized 501(c)(3) status including Creation Today, which is run by Kent’s son, Eric. Nonetheless, the latest criminal charge which is scheduled for trial on September 8, 2014, really strikes me as piling it on. First some background.
Creation Science
There are many people who quite understandably consider “creation science” to be an oxymoron. A hyper-literal reading of the Bible will lead you to conclude that the world is about six thousand years old. That, of course, is not nearly enough time for evolution to work, but it is not just the biology department where you will get static from that viewpoint. The astronomers and geologists will also give you a hard time. Some people of faith are undisturbed by the apparent contradiction. My sister, for example, is a Catholic nun with a degree in biology who has taught high school science. Evolution does not trouble her, because she sees the Bible as a source of spiritual truth, not as a science textbook.
That type of thinking will not satisfy some. In their view, if establishment science contradicts Genesis, then establishment science must be wrong. One neat way out of the conundrum is to believe that God planted physical evidence that contradicts his Word, to test our faith. More common is to look for evidence that supports the Genesis account. Much of the evidence that geologists view as supporting an “old earth” is explained by the Flood. The latest story is about a scientist who found soft tissue in a dinosaur bone. That is either inconsistent with dinosaurs being extinct for millions of years or evidence that soft tissue can last a lot longer than people thought. My money is on the latter, but that’s just me.
Kent Hovind’s Tax Travails
Dinosaurs running around at the same time as people was important to Kent Hovind, hence his nickname, Doctor Dino. He had a theme park going called Dinosaur Adventure Land. It was the operation of Dinosaur Adventure Land that was the source of Kent’s tax troubles. He considered the operation a tax-exempt ministry and was apparently not filing income tax returns himself. He considered the people working there to be “missionaries” and did not withhold or pay payroll taxes. The largest number of counts in his criminal indictment was for “structuring” – dealing in amounts of cash less than $10,000 to skirt currency reporting requirements.
Kent Hovind has had quite a few lawsuits going protesting his criminal conviction, the finding of the Tax Court on his civil liability and the ways in which he has been treated. Many of the documents are available on his 2 Peter 3 website. My most constant commenter, Robert Baty, bane of the basketball ministers, administers a facebook page that follows developments in the Hovind drama.
The Latest Criminal Charge
The latest criminal charge relates to the efforts that the IRS has been making to collect from Kent Hovind. Real property in Pensacola had been forfeited to the government. In 2012, there was an injunction against Creation Science Evangelism and its representative and agents from seeking to file liens on the forfeited property. Nonetheless, a lien was filed – a lis pendens. I had to look that up.
In US law, a lis pendens is a written notice that a lawsuit has been filed concerning real estate, involving either the title to the property or a claimed ownership interest in it. The notice is usually filed in the county land records office. Recording a lis pendens against a piece of property alerts a potential purchaser or lender that the property’s title is in question, which makes the property less attractive to a buyer or lender. After the notice is filed, anyone who nevertheless purchases the land or property described in the notice takes subject to the ultimate decision of the lawsuit.
The notice indicates that the filing of the lis pendens constitutes criminal contempt and has scheduled a trial on September 8, 2014.
Is This Piling On?
I’m inclined to think it is. Being in prison and all it’s not like Kent could have gone down to the courthouse himself to file the thing. Kent Hovind has filed a motion in which he outlines why he thinks he is being picked on indicating that he:
… has filed pleadings in the courts and with the Department of Treasury which reveal in detail the government actors’ misconduct in willfully suppressing evidence of his innocence of the crimes he was found guilty of….
This “renewed” contempt order, made at the end of the petitioner’s 10 year sentence after the government has liquidated the properties which form the basis for the 2012 injunction, creates a rebuttable presumption that this July 8, 2014 motions is retaliation against the petitioner for him exercising his constitutional right to redress and appeal in furtherance of exposing the government’s aforementioned misconduct.
Here is a little more discussion from the viewpoint of his supporters.
Having Kent Hovind do more time for having something filed that did not do him any good seems to be a poor use of government resources. If he has a jury trial and is acquitted, which strikes me as a distinct possibility, it will be trumpeted as a major victory in the tax protester community. (Note Kent Hovind does not consider himself a tax protester). If he is convicted and sentenced to serve more time, he will be viewed as a martyr. Either way, I don’t see this effort as encouraging people to be more tax compliant, which is really the point of criminal prosecution.
You can follow me on twitter @peterreillycpa.