A Maine Woman’s Illiteracy Will Be a ‘Fact of Significance’ in Her Tax Fraud Case

Posted on by Caleb Newquist

Not having a firm grasp on taxes is rarely an acceptable defense for committing tax-related crimes. HOWEVER, a woman in Maine is employing a slightly different angle for her defense:

Carole Swan testified Wednesday during a suppression hearing in U.S. District Court in Bangor that she’s basically illiterate. Swan’s inability to read much more than names and numbers will be a ‘‘fact of significance in her defense,’’ said Leonard Sharon, an attorney in Auburn. Swan couldn’t have known if her and her husband’s tax returns understated their income because she didn’t have a full understanding of their taxes without being able to read, he said. Her inability to read also plays into whether she understood that certain work had to be reported when filing for federal worker’s compensation claims, he added. ‘‘Her lack of reading ability affects her quantum of knowledge,’’ Sharon said. Swan was indicted in early 2011 on federal charges for allegedly using her position as a Chelsea selectwoman to extort $20,000 from a local construction company. She’s also charged with tax fraud and making false statements to obtain worker’s compensation payments.
Oddly, prior to her public servitude for Chelsea, Maine, Ms. Swan reportedly worked for a time at the U.S. Postal Service, which requires basic competency in English to be eligible for employment. So there's that.

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IRS Agent Who Threw Temper Tantrum Faces 55 Years for Threatening Treasury Agents, Filing False Returns

Last summer we told you about an IRS agent who threw a temper tantrum after threatening to kill Treasury Agents they showed up to search his home.

Just briefly refresh, after the agents stopped Albert Bront from going back into his house, where he kept three loaded guns (no doubt they were Remingtons), he was shoved into the back of the car where “he kicked the front seat of the law enforcement vehicle and pounded the door with his elbow.”


Besides the small matter of telling Federal Agents that ‘I’m Going to Kill All of You!’ Bront has also been indicted for filing false returns and helping others file false tax returns. Web CPA reports that he is convicted on all 16 counts in the indictment he faces 55 years in adult prison.

While we are firmly against the violence, we fully support seat kicking, foot stomping, pouting and all around conniption fits for those that feel wronged by the IRS. At the very least, it’s more effective than marching on the Internet.

IRS Agent Indicted for Threatening Investigators [Web CPA]