Hans Forster v. United States

Hans Forster, beginning meagerly about 1929 in the State of Washington, by 1944 had become a milk king in the Seattle area. But when the wartime and post wartime high income taxes came (while he was amassing his principality) he paid over a period of years just a small portion of the taxes that were due by himself individually and by one of his operations, the incorporated Issaquah Creamery Company. He was indicted for attempting to evade his and his company’s income taxes. The years under scrutiny were 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948 and 1949. After a hundred day trial he was convicted on all nine counts. He was sentenced to concurrent prison terms, but a separate fine was imposed on each count. The jury acquitted codefendants, L. Hicks Taylor and Harold Erickson. Taylor was the accountant who exercised considerable control over the Forster books of account. Erickson was the head bookkeeper.

At the threshold, Forster conceded that the nine income tax returns to Internal Revenue greatly understated the income on each return. There was little dispute, if any, as to the amount. But the hard fought issue was that of wilfulness, that is, specific intent to evade. Forster shifted the blame…