JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SUES TO SHUT DOWN
ALLEGED MULTI-STATE INTERNET TAX SCAM

Cincinnati Man Allegedly Sold Fraudulent Trust Schemes to People in 42 States

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Department of Justice filed a civil injunction suit today in federal court in Ohio to stop Cincinnati resident Dana Ewell and his business, !SOLUTIONS! Group, from selling alleged tax scams. According to the complaint, Ewell uses several Internet websites to sell sham trusts to customers to use to conceal income and assets. The suit also asks the court to order Ewell to disclose the names and social security numbers of all his customers.

“Unlawful tax scams, many using the Internet to spread their fraudulent schemes to eliminate taxes, cost honest taxpayers billions of dollars every year,” said Eileen J. O’Connor, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division. “The Department of Justice is committed to eradicating these schemes with civil injunctions and, in appropriate cases, criminal prosecutions.”

Today’s filing identifies the products Ewell sells as The Liberty Pure Trust and The Liberty Product Series. The complaint alleges that Ewell has used several websites to sell the scheme to residents of 42 different states, Guam, and the District of Columbia.

Abusive trusts are on the IRS’s “Dirty Dozen” list, which is available at: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=120803,00.html.

The Justice Department has sought and obtained a number of injunctions against promoters of tax scams. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department website at: http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/taxpress2004.htm.