United States v. Victor S. Voorhies

Victor Voorhies appeals his convictions for two counts of willful evasion of the payment of income taxes for calendar years 1970 and 1972. See 26 U.S.C. § 7201 (1976). He contends that (1) a conviction for evasion of the payment of taxes cannot be based on a determination and assessment of tax liability made final only after the period of criminality alleged in the indictment; (2) even if a conviction can be so based, tax liability cannot be established solely by the opinion testimony of the examining revenue agent; and (3) his acts during the period covered by the indictment were insufficient to constitute a willful attempt to evade or defeat payment of his 1970 and 1972 income taxes. See 28 U.S.C. § 1291 (1976). We affirm.

I. FACTS

During an audit of Voorhies’ 1971 federal income tax return in 1973, revenue agent Nelson discovered that Voorhies had not filed personal returns for the 1970 and 1972 calendar years. Using bank statements, cancelled checks, and wedding receipts furnished by Voorhies’ accountants, Nelson prepared substitute returns for 1970 and 1972. Voorhies did not sign these returns.

On January 18, 1974, Voorhies’ corporation, United Chapel Associates, closed…