United States v. Fritz Erne

Erne appeals from his conviction on four counts of violating 26 U.S.C. § 7215 , a provision of the Internal Revenue Code. He contends that the district judge erroneously interpreted the statute and improperly refused to hold an evidentiary hearing on his claim of discriminatory prosecution. We affirm.

I

In January 1974, Erne became president of California Aero Topo (C.A.T.), a company engaged in making aerial photographs and maps. At that time, C.A.T. was suffering financial difficulty because of the defalcations of prior management and the dilatory payment practices of its clients. As a result, when Erne took office C.A.T.’s withholding tax payments were .approximately $70,000 in arrears. This amount represented delinquent withholding taxes for the third and fourth quarters of 1973.

In April 1974, Revenue Officer Farley was assigned to secure the delinquent funds and keep C.A.T.’s account current. Farley personally contacted Erne on several occasions and requested immediate payment of the back taxes. Nevertheless, during the ensuing weeks, C.A.T. continued to fail to meet its tax obligations.

In late April, Farley accepted C.A.T.’s assignment of accounts receivable in…