United States v. David Scheufler

David Scheufler appeals his conviction on two counts of willfully attempting to evade and defeat federal income taxes during 1971 and 1972, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7203 . Scheufler contends that the district court erred in: (1) not dismissing the indictment on the ground that a Government agent committed improprieties in his testimony before the grand jury; (2) not dismissing the indictment on the ground that the Government breached a contract with a third party by presenting certain evidence to the grand jury; and (3) failing to instruct the jury on the difference between the “net worth” and “specific item” methods of proving income tax liability. We affirm.

I. Alleged Improprieties in Agent’s Grand Jury Testimony

At the grand jury proceedings, the Government presented Agent Richard Andersen, the Internal Revenue Service agent assigned to the case, to establish that Scheufler had willfully attempted to evade and defeat federal income taxes during 1971 and 1972. Andersen introduced abundant detailed evidence concerning the amount of taxes owed by Scheufler for 1971 and 1972. Scheufler contends, however, that the indictment should be dismissed because Andersen allegedly made…