United States v. Garrison M. Everett and Richard I. Chira

Appellants Everett and Chira appeal their convictions for conspiracy to impair, impede, and obstruct the Department of the Treasury in the collection of tax revenue in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371 . A jury found appellants guilty of conspiring to sell tax shelter investments that had been backdated to allow the buyers to claim deductions on their federal income tax returns for years prior to those in which the transactions actually took place.

The government’s evidence at trial consisted primarily of the testimony of an undercover IRS agent who answered an advertisement in a newspaper offering tax shelter investments and was referred to appellant Everett’s firm, Intervest Associates, Inc. The agent posed as the representative of a wealthy resident alien who wanted to shelter 1980 and 1981 income. The agent met with Everett, appellant Chira and two others from Intervest to discuss general tax strategies. After this initial meeting, the agent met or spoke with Everett eight times and with Chira three times to plan a tax strategy to shelter income for both 1980 and 1981.

In March 1981, the agent asked Everett about sheltering between $150,000 and $180,000 that his fictitious client…