Chappell

MEMORANDUM ***

Based upon the following, the judgment of conviction for Ronald L. Chappell is affirmed.

A. Sufficiency of the Evidence as to 18 U.S.C. § 371

In order to convict Ronald L. Chappell of conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service under this statute, the government had to prove that he (1) entered into an agreement (2) to impede, impair, obstruct or defeat the lawful assessment and collection of income taxes, (3) by deceitful and dishonest means, and (4) that he perpetrated at least one overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy. United States v. Caldwell, 989 F.2d 1056, 1058 (9th Cir.1993).

At trial, the government called fourteen witnesses. Former clients testified that, in a “pass,” although they conveyed their businesses and homes into Chappell’s trust program, they continued to control the assets, while deducting personal and household expenditures as business expenses. One client also testified that Chappell told him to conceal information from the Internal Revenue Service and destroy relevant documents.

Former trustees testified that they were mere figureheads, with no real control over trust assets, and no effective decision making power. They said…