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Federal Judge Shuts Down Tax Freedom & Privacy Committee

February 3, 2005
A federal court in Los Angeles has permanently barred Joseph O. Saladino, of Palmdale, California, and his organization, Freedom & Privacy Committee, from selling two tax fraud schemes.

In entering the permanent injunction order, Judge Florence-Marie Cooper found that the “corporation sole” and “claim of right” tax programs Saladino sold were frivolous.

The court found that Saladino falsely advised prospective customers that they could avoid income tax by transferring their income and assets to a so-called corporation sole and claiming that it was a tax-exempt church. Judge Cooper also said that Saladino’s claim of right program falsely claimed that income earned for labor is not taxable and that customers could therefore get refunds of past taxes paid.

The court held that Saladino knew or should have known that these claims were false or fraudulent.

“The Justice Department is committed to fighting tax fraud, beginning with shutting down the operations of those who promote tax fraud schemes,” said Eileen J. O’Connor, Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice’s Tax Division. “We will use all appropriate tools, from injunctions to criminal prosecutions, to assure those who pay taxes that those who do not are not getting away with it.”

“The courts have ordered more than 100 injunctions against people who promote abuses of the tax system,” said Kevin M. Brown, Commissioner of the IRS Small Business/Self-Employed Division. “The IRS is committed to continue aggressively pursuing those who sell these fraudulent schemes.”

The court ordered Saladino to notify his customers of the injunction and barred him from representing other persons before the IRS. He must also remove materials about the banned promotions from his website and post a copy of the injunction order on that site.

The Justice Department has sued other alleged promoters of Saladino’s programs, in suits that are pending in several other courts.

Courts in Colorado, Texas and North Carolina have entered permanent injunctions against Saladino-related promoters. In a separate case involving Saladino, the Court of Federal Claims earlier this month barred Saladino, who orchestrated the filing of more than 90 suits in the Court of Federal Claims on behalf of himself and his customers, from filing lawsuits in that court for 10 years.

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