United States v. Corona

MEMORANDUM

Appellants Richard and Tracy Corona appeal their convictions for conspiracy to defraud the government by impeding the lawful function of the IRS in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 871 and three counts each of willful failure to pay taxes in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7203 . Additionally, Richard Corona appeals his conviction for tax evasion in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7201 . We affirm.

The Coronas’ first set of challenges concerns the good faith instructions given by the district court. None of these challenges has merit. First, the Coronas’ contention that the district court instructed the jury that disagreement with the IRS’s interpretation of the law could not be a good faith defense rests on a misreading of the instruction actually given. Second, the Coronas’ contention that a belief that the tax laws are unconstitutional should be a defense to willfulness has been rejected by the Supreme Court. See Cheek v. United States, 498 U.S. 192, 205 , 111 S.Ct. 604 , 112 L.Ed.2d 617 (1991). The Coronas’ third argument, that the district court erred by telling the jury to disregard the legal arguments in two documents challenging the validity of the tax laws, and by instructing the…