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When I first hired Summit Research to complete my taxes, they guaranteed me in writing that their tax preparation practices of using Blackbriar investments, LLC, Tahoe North Investments, LLC, and Sierra Pacific, LLC are completely permitted by the tax laws. In this guarantee, the CEO of the company Ron V Strawn, assured me that he would assist me for free if I happen to get audited for any reason.
Since many of their clients are likely being audited, the company is attempting to release itself of any liabilities and has changed its name, now called Columbia Financial and Tax Services, Inc. and South Coast Financial and Tax Services, Inc. Also many employees have been replaced, But Ron Strawn still remains. Now that I am being audited, the new company does not want to honor its obligations, instead wants to offer their services for $1, 500- $4, 000 for audit assistance. It seems like they caused a problem, and are now wanting to benefit from it. They are now even claiming they never offered any such guarantee in writing.
I know there are many past Summit Research clients (I know of two others myself) in the same current situation. If you are experiencing this, please post any relevant information on this complaint form so others can view; or directly send me a private message: [protected]@hotmail.com
Together we need to find a company that can assist us. A tax attorney or advisor that you were able to find, that could help the rest of us. Or the methods of going after this company for damages. Please feel free to share your thoughts here.
Company information:
Summit Tax Research Inc
5940 South Rainbow Blvd, Ste 100
Las Vegas, NV
151 KALMUS DR # 250
COSTA MESA, CA 92626
[protected] (disconnected)
Columbia Financial and Tax Services, Inc.
South Coast Financial and Tax Services, Inc.
9901 NE 7th Ave, Suite C120
Vancouver, WA 98685
4500 Campus Drive, Suite 608
Newport Beach, CA 92660
[protected]
[protected]
Since posting my original complaint 5 days ago, i have received 4 emails from other Summit Research Tax clients. I am now aware of a total of 11 people that have used this company, that are now being audited. They all have the same exact story.
Lets not be silent. Share your story, findings, and progress here or send me a direct message shouldbetold@hotmail.com
seekingjustice- I can easily believe your story. Feel free to send me a message and let me know what your current plans are with this audit.
Additional company phone numbers:
[protected]
[protected]
I started this discussion on complaintsboard.com because I new there were others out there in the same situation as myself, and unfortunately I was right. On a positive note, this allows all of us to work together in finding solutions and updates to our current FTB/IRS issues and additional information on the scams orchestrated by Ron Strawn.
After meeting with a handful of reputable tax attorneys and CPAs, and communicating with now a dozen Ron Strawn victims; everyone is in agreement that the best course of action for now is to choose option 1 and amend the affected tax years.
I agree with "ActionvsRonVStrawn", and it would be best to use either a tax attorney or CPA that has other Ron Strawn victims cases that they are working on. This allows additional leverage for the group, and if the CPA is successful with one client, that same case can be made for the rest of the group.
I have decided to work with a CPA who is fully experienced when it comes to FTB and IRS audits. He is also prepared to negotiate with the FTB/IRS for the penalty fees. Currently he has a handful of Ron's clients he is working with, which could again help our case.
He has agreed to offer a reduces price for his services, for clients that are in this situation. His rate is $350-400, for each tax year amended. This cost will be discounted further depending on the number of years needing to be amended. He will not only amend, but look for missed deductions, to minimize the taxes owed. Price also includes both FTB & IRS amendments together. He recommends only sending the amendment to the agency that is currently contacting you; however keeping the paperwork ready if the other agency comes knocking later.
Contact info:
mostofi@mostofi.com
http://www.Mostofi.com
(mention you were referred by Paul, for the pricing above)
I would still recommend you do your research if you have not done so. I just wanted to provide an option to the people that are looking for guidance.
After we resolve our tax issues and get the FTB and IRS off of our backs, then we should all discuss strategies on how we can recover our damages from Ron and his bogus companies. As of right now, i think this is very premature to do, since we technically do not know how much damage he has caused each of us. I would recommend that we keep all documents, emails, etc that Ron, Summit, Columbia, So Coast have provided us, as this could be valuable later in the civil or possibly criminal case against them. Another recommendation, lets not threaten Ron and his new employees too much, as this may backfire and cause them to flee and open up shop somewhere else. We already know that they are professional scammers and are not willing to help any of us, instead are still trying to continue defrauding with the same technique from the past. Lets let them think that no one is on to them. Lets be smart with our posts and the specific actions we take, as Ron has proven to all of us how he can take advantage of anyones weakness.
For now, lets focus our attention and minimize our losses with the FTB/IRS. I hope we will all soon put this behind us.
Anyone can feel free to send me a private message: shouldbetold@hotmail.com; or post additional information on this forum for all to see.
I am shocked on how the government will allow for this to continue. As of today Columbia/So Coast is performing the same "blackbriar" hocus pocus scams to their new and existing 2009 & 2010 clients. I can only imagine on how long the tax agencies have known about this scam and have let it continue, especially since people started receiving letters in 2008. By not shutting Ron down, and only going after the victimized clients (usually waiting till the last minute, after 3 years from the tax date) with the 20-40% penalties, interest and fees, it seems that the agencies are attempting to allow the victims list to grow while bringing in additional funds for the state and fed.
Its almost to the point of empowering Ron and his employees to keep thinking they are protected since they are generating additional income for the state/fed. This does not seem right at all. With all of the evidence they are using against all of us, they can easily shut down Ron at the very least. We should not be required to pay a penalty if the scam could have easily been stopped by the same agency that is now coming after us. How can the government demand us to pay penalties for a scam that they are allowing to continue?
Has anyone brought this point up with their negotiating CPA or Lawyer? I feel this should help our case in negotiating with the state and irs.
as always, you can send me private messages at: shouldbetold@hotmail.com
I have a great CPA I can refer, if you need help
Another helpful tip :
If you haven't done your 2009 returns, you can always file for an extension. This way you can have more time to sort through this mess.
Hope this helps some of you out there.
shouldbetold@hotmail.com
Two major developments:
-This thread has skyrocketed to the top 5 complaints for this site. This only helps get the message out further, great work in sharing thoughts and suggestions.
-Received a tip that Ron is currently planning to travel to Mexico.
If this is true, he is in violation of his probation. We have very little time before he leaves the jurisdiction of the US. Any chance of us receiving retribution, vanishes when he leaves the country. We need to stop him asap. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, now is the time to take action.
shouldbetold@hotmail.com
Its funny how Columbia financial is adamant that Ron has never been a part of their company and he is simply hired on as an advisor. How can anyone believe this garbage when he is the only person listed in the WA Corporation information:
http://www.sos.wa.gov/corps/search_results.aspx?search_type=simple&criteria=all&name_type=starts_with&name=COLUMBIA+FINANCIAL+AND+TAX+SERVICES&ubi=
This guy didn't even try to hide his identity or lies. He most have known these things would eventually catchup to him. Seems as if he doesn't care if he gets caught.
With all of the pending legal actions against Ron for "financial fraud", how can this man openly create and operate multiple financial business in 3 different states? He is repeatedly doing this in the face of everyone, even after he gets caught. And what does the government do? Tracks down his victims for their 20% cut (in penalty fees). I feel like i'm in the twilight zone.
If you have had Ron or his company complete your taxes for you in the past, and have not yet received a letter from the FTB or IRS (which you will more than likely receive, since Ron has been red flagged), I have discovered some information that can help you. Contact me at shouldbetold@hotmail.com
People continue to ask on this forum and private emails to me, if a class action has any potential? if we should pursue one?
Here is an example of an OC tax fraud that occurred earlier this year: http://ocbiz.freedomblogging.com/tag/western-tax-services/
The victims were awarded 500K in damages in a class action and the owners went to federal prison. Funny coincidence, Ron used "Western Tax Services" as one of his companies name: http://www.sos.wa.gov/corps/search_results.aspx?search_type=simple&criteria=all&name_type=starts_with&name=Western+Tax+Services&ubi=
My answer, i think a class action can diffidently serve its purpose.
We need to find out if Ron has any large assets (other than his new car and tailor). Does anyone have any insight on this? Real estate would be key. Can anyone do a search on this? Let me know asap..
shouldbetold@hotmail.com
I agree with both lane1981 & dreadanddoom, Cyrus is diffidently taking care of the situation. He was able to get an extension for me until June 30th. I'm no longer feeling rushed or stressed about my FTB audit. I already have enough things on my mind.
If you have not yet found a CPA to help, give him a call and see if he is a good fit for you.
shouldbetold@hotmail.com
well said dreadanddoom. I hate paying taxes too, as much as most people. I dont thing anyone enjoys paying taxes. However you cant simply stop paying them, otherwise everyone would do this. Brok, are you saying that you are not paying taxes and no one is coming after you? Show me a case where the IRS will allow this theory to work.
One note to keep in mind, Cyrus is doing both my FTB and IRS audit for the flat fee of $350 total. Although i have not yet received anything from the IRS, i and many others agree it is inevitable. Rather than going through the process a second time, i will have the documents ready when the IRS makes contact. I am even considering submitting my IRS amendments before they make contact, to possibly have a better case in avoiding the penalties, due to my voluntary revisions.
Quoting from a famous Spanish proverb, "Cheap things turn out to be expensive". I have learned this turns out to be the truth in many aspects of life.
The people that are just doing their FTB filings may want to consider getting all of it out of the way. You may want to ask the CPA that is doing your FTB amendments how much they charge for IRS amendments. Because keep in mind, that the IRS is the bigger ticket item, not the FTB.
I dont think $350 is too much for both FTB and IRS.
One last note to consider is that the statute of limitation will not really protect us. On the cases of when the IRS considers something as tax evasion, they are permitted to go back 10 years. In which the FTB already considers this case with us. And if they consider it as tax fraud, there is absolutely no statute of limitations. My point is that if the IRS/FTB want to come after us at anytime, they always can, based on what they consider the case. Of course you always have the option of fighting them, but we all know that is an uphill battle within itself.
Has anyone gotten out of paying the penalties or interest charges after amending for either FTB or TTB? Lets not let this forum die, lets continue to share our stories... Knowledge is power for the entire group.
@troymoto25, yes i know the feeling. No one has even started to go after Ron. Ron can do this again and again, why wouldnt he? He's already not supposed to, but its like a slap on the wrist each time. In a way, he would be stupid to stop.
In the meanwhile he's making himself and FTB/IRS a lot of money.
On another note, does anyone know of a good bk attorney that can discharge tax liabilities? After everything is said and done, i am going to be under a lot of water and have no way of getting out.
Ive contacted the IRS, and they simply don't care. They told me since Ron is not certified with them (a CPA), they do not police this. They told me that I can only file a complaint with someone that is fully licensed. They didnt even care to find out who it was, or anything about the situation. Give me a break! Does that even make sense?
What if Ron was doing cosmetic surgeries without a license? Would the medical board or agency in charge simply turn the victims away, and tell them to contact someone who cares? IRS really cares about one thing right now, collecting as much money as possible, and from their viewpoint, Ron is doing a great job in helping them.
There is got to be something that can be done. We need to take this to a bigger forum, or possibly the news. How the IRS is handling this case is a complete joke.
I created this thread in this forum so that the information about our situation would spread, which it has. I pray it doesnt end here. I will try to do more since this is a big amount of money to me. WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF YOU? Are you simply going to pay for Ron's scam and let him get away with what he did? And worst off, let the government penalize the crap out of you? Im not going to quite, and i hope you dont either. From what i know, there is hundreds of us. We need to all make a strong effort on getting the message out and letting the world know whats going on. We need to make a stand!
or the alternative is to sit back and give the government your hard earned money that you no longer have, for someone else's gain (Ron).
shouldbetold@hotmail.com
@Ifitstoogoodtobetrue - You mentioned you have someone that would be interested in this case, any luck with that?
Also what are the rest of you doing? Have you guys all just given up? Lets not let this story die. What is happening to us is wrong. Lets make things happen instead of keeping silent.
shouldbetold@hotmail.com
@Troymoto25, becareful what you wish for. Ron has been in Washington prison for the past couple of months, however i have recently learned that he is scheduled to be released on December 24th. Now you'll get your chance of running into him.
In my opinion, this was not justice. The guy is a convicted repeat offender of financial/forgery/tax crimes. He has been in and out of court and jail, and still goes back to his old ways. Each time, slightly improving his scam craft so that he can last longer and scam more people out of more money. I wouldn't be surprised if he did this again next year, would you? But the good news (sarcasm), the TTB and IRS get a piece of their share by charging us (the victims) penalties and interest, each round. Its as if they've hired the guy to keep scamming the public.
All of us on this forum that have been scammed out of thousands, need to come up with a solution to go after Ron for compensation (class action lawsuit) and work out a deal with the government so that the penalties and interest are waived (or greatly reduced). There are so many of us, but we all need to be motivated again and start thinking and being active on this forum. The forum has greatly dried up over the last couple of months, which is not good. We need to catapult this thread to the top again, and maybe get attention from other mediums.
A few months back there was talk on the forum about a class action lawsuit. Whats the status on this? Can someone look into this? If the original firm wont do it, then lets get another law firm, but we need to act quickly, as I would imagine Ron is hiding and spending money like crazy right now.
Good news, i have recently learned that we may qualify for the newly passed Voluntary Compliance Initiative SB86. This was signed in March and will take effect on August 1, 2011. The initiative is designed for tax payers that have participated in tax shelters schemes and would like to voluntarily come forward and benefit by removing all penalties. Taxpayers will have between August 1, 2011 and October 31, 2011 to make elections to participate in the new program using forms and under procedures to be adopted by the Franchise Tax Board. The FTB can place your account on hold until August if you ask them, so that you can take advantage of this program.
I hope this helps some of you.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
My family memeber just filed bankruptcy. Her name is Lorraine L. Loder one bunker hill 601 west 5th st, 8th floor Los Angeles, CA 90071 also at lloder@sbcglobal.com #[protected]. She is a bankruptcy lawyer. I have also had a few friends that have used her and they all love her work she does. I'm talking with a few lawyer firms on seeing what I can to lower the amount of money we owe. My wife and I owe about $20k and there is no way we can pay that money back. I have rent, cars, daycare for our cureent child and etc. So I used Daniel E. Greene 27720 jefferson ave ste.310 Temecula, CA 92590 egreenecpa.com #[protected]. He did my 2006-09 for $1000.00. He is very helpful and had a lot of Ron Strawns clients and they are in the same shape as everyone here. He gave me a few options on what I can do for repayment and also offer and compromise with the irs & ftb.
I just contacted Lanza & Goolsby A Professional Law Corporation
3 Park Plaza, Suite 1650 Irvine, CA 92614 Toll Free: [protected]. I advised him of what everyone financial situation to the tax matter and he will look into it for us. We all need to come together and pay for this lawyer if he is able to help us fight this case against FTB & IRS. I cant afford to pay the FTB & IRS $30, 000 and still have a life and food on the table for me kids and wife. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at lane906@yahoo.com or the law firm as well above.
We just realized, that our worse fears have been confirmed...we should have read this information a couple of months ago before we paid more money for Ron and Columbia to handle our audits. His personal cell phone is no longer accepting phone calls-voice mail full. Office line and fax lines do not lead to a voice, and email communication is not being returned. So for those of us that trusted again...we have just been screwed even further. At this point, I will read through these messages to determine what, if anything we can do, but at first glance it appears we have no rights.
Has there been any update on coming together for a class action lawsuit?
I finished my first interview with the IRS and basically the outcome is this... you will pay the taxes you owe + interest + penalty. In process with CA FTB for amending necessary returns.
At this point, the only thing left to fight is the penalty amount... 20% min penalty - 75% max penalty.
If anyone has any info on how to reduce the penalty amount, Im sure a lot of people would benefit on this discussion board.
I was told by CA that the penalty amount has already been reduced from the standard 40% to 20% because the State knows we are all dealing with the same thing. I'm pretty sure that is the best consideration any of us are going to get from the Government. The IRS agent in charge of my case, although polite, told me that we are all 100% responsible for knowing exactly what we sign for on our returns and that's pretty much that. So interest & penalties will be assessed accordingly. What she did tell me is that we can go after Ron for payments made to his companies, all interest, and all penalties. The only thing we cannot go after him for is principal amounts owed to the Government.
All that being said, it seems that an lawyer that has been contacted regarding this won't even look at the case unless we know there are enough assets to go after. Otherwise the law firm would be wasting their time to walk away with nothing, even after a win.
Just did a google search to see if there was any new news with our ol' pal Ron...I guess there was a meeting or court date of some kind back at the end of July. Under it it said it was USA vs. Ron V. Strawn. It was up in ORegon? I'm not sure if this is recent activity is for or if they are finally going after him? Does any one know what is going on with this?
Just FYI,
Ronald V Strawn was arrested for violating his parole. It seems he pled guilty to impersonating a lawyer, tax fraud, and fasifying a power of attorney, back in 2006? He was arrested last July in Oregon, then was moved to Seattle, and now is in the Oklahoma City grey bar inn.
You track his progress though the prison system:
http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/LocateInmate.jsp
My take on digging out from this mess is, if you can afford it, get a real tax lawyer to represent you, and file an appeal when you get your 60 day letter. If you can afford to pay, you will have to pay plus interest. A competant lawyer should be able to the Federal penalties removed. If you have no money, you should be able to negotiate the amount owed to what ever you have in your bank account.
This was sent to me by a friend a few days ago... I'm currently working with Lanza & Goolsby on this tax case i can't afford to pay back over $30k
Hello everyone so I wanted to put this out here. I spoke with the law firm Lanza & Goolsby and he advised that he can help us with a class action law suite against Ron Strawn. We would have to have 5-10 people to start the law suite. I myself would love to start this process ASAP my wife and I are on board for this fight. If anyone would like to join please do so with us and my other friends that have been due in by Ron Strawn bad tax work. My email is lane906@yahoo.com if you have any questions.
Regarding Taxes, Interest and Penalties...I'm in same boat as you all and can't pay back my past taxes now, so trying to work out payments.
State of California has already taken this issue to court and they settled on 20% penalties. That's been set. IRS has yet to take this to court to settle on a penalty (this is all per my CPA). He amended by taxes and we sent them in. IRS is asking for taxes and interest back, but no penalties. They are extended a 'kind hand' for those up front and sending them in before being asked to. After they take this issue to court, they will settle on a penalty too.
As for hiring an attorney to reduce your taxes owed, do not waste your money. They all say "I worked for IRS for 20 years, I will reduce your owed taxes by xx%!"
What they really do is get all your financial information and fill out the Offer to Compromise form you can pull right off the IRS website and Franchise Tax Board website.
They are a little time consuming, but save the $2000 the attorney will charge you and do it yourself.
I haven't sent mine in yet because I'm waiting to get my 3rd amendment back from IRS to see what my grand total owned is before I ask for reduction. They base it on your immediate situation, money owed, income, mortgages, assets, equity, etc. Although I own 3 homes, I'm so far underwater, I should be able to get it reduced. Crossing fingers.
Lane1981, I shot you a personal email. I'm very interested on this class action lawsuit and may be able to get several more if it's looking up and up.
Hfello everyone has anyone yet have any new developments in there case with the FTB & IRS yet? I'm still waiting on the FTB & IRS to finish going throw my audits. The CPA I used really helped me out well and referred me to really good tax consultant. He was able to get them to stop all interest so far and he is now negotiating on what I can afford to pay and since then I had to submit all my financial income to him so this way the FTB & IRS can see what I have left over after rent, utilities, car payments, daycare, groceries. So not much on the table but a few pennies. So I'm very optimistic to see how far down this guy can negotiate my $18, 000 down.
I'm actually happy to hear that a few friends of mine, and you, have penalties that aren't astronomical... Try being a divorced single guy, with no deductions, and a large child support payment on top of all this. The IRS alone has stated that I owe $50k! It looks like I will be paying the government back for the rest of my life, at least I hope they let me set up my payments that way. I really hope I happen to run into the guy that did all this to us, there are a few things I'd love to say to him...
Hi Shouldbetold, just keeping the interest alive. Unfortunately, I could probably point someone toward every other profession except for a lawyer. If I knew one, I'd be all over him to get something going against Ron. But most my buddies are accountants or utility engineers. Accountants can only say, 'that sucks'. Anyone gets this thing going, I'm definitely in.
My current status is payment plan. State has already approved my $200/month for next 5 years and IRS is evaluating my $680/month for next 5 years. In fact, I need to call for an update today. Problem is, while they analyze my offer for the last 3 months, my interest and penalties keep accumulating.
Hopefully a couple years of good tax returns knocks my balance down a little so it's only 4 or so years of payments to get out from under this thing.
Sports, do you have a personal email address I can shoot you a message? Just sent you a message through this website. I am approaching the payment plan point of this process and wanted some info and advice. Thanks
mazinblue7, sent you a message back via this site. I haven't found any benefits to going through an accountant to speak to the IRS. Just keep trying them until you get someone with a little compassion. (this took a call each month for last 3 months). Now they'll entertain a letter and proof (newsclippings, court dates, etc) that shows Ron was a fraud and they'll consider dropping interest and penalties (CONSIDER!). Anyway, hopefully one of us on here finally comes up with an attorney so we can recoup some damages from this whole mess.
Sports, just sent you a message explaining everything on my end
Sports, so you're dealing with an IRS agent who said they would consider dropping interest & penalties given the evidence that Ron was a fraud!?!? That is HUGE news for all of us, because if one allows it I have to assume all must follow & we all have the same basic case. Can you elaborate on what they told you? Do you have their "consider" comment in writing or was it just a verbal conversation?
My husband and I are also victims of Ron Strawn. Does anyone know of any lawsuits started that we can be a part of? We are still not sure of the final amount of our damages. Please feel free to contact me (Connie) at: parisinfall@gmail.com
Hi everyone sorry for being gone for so long have some family medical issues going on. I have talk with with a lot of lawyers and i think this one can help us all out here with a class action suite. I need everyone contact info first name, last name and contact number or if you don't feel safe emailing it to me at lane906@yahoo.com or you can fax it over to attorneys of Lanza & Gooslsby offices at [protected] fax also can call [protected]. I'm current working with this company called Absolute Tax Relief, LLC and his name is John Scott at [protected] or fax [protected] to see if they are able to help with the tax debt. The law firm well give us a break down of what we can sue for and what we would be looking if they did take on our case and go forth to a courtroom. We all need this help immediately to pay back the money to the IRS & FTB.
Hi everyone sorry for being gone for so long have some family medical issues going on. I have talk with a lot of lawyers and i think this one can help us all out here with a class action suite. I need everyone contact info first name, last name and contact number or if you don't feel safe emailing it to me at lane906@yahoo.com or you can fax it over to attorneys of Lanza & Gooslsby offices at [protected] fax also can call [protected]. I'm current working with this company called Absolute Tax Relief, LLC and his name is John Scott at [protected] or fax [protected] to see if they are able to help with the tax debt. The law firm well give us a break down of what we can sue for and what we would be looking if they did take on our case and go forth to a courtroom. We all need this help immediately to pay back the money to the IRS & FTB.
This is Lanza & Goolsby, a law firm in Irvine, California, now known as Lanza & Smith.
Although we were the attorneys in a tax fraud class action lawsuit against Western Tax Services and Samuel DeAngelo, which resulted in a class wide settlement distribution, we have never been engaged as legal counsel with respect to Summit Tax Research or Ron Strawn. This law firm may only be engaged pursuant to a fully signed written agreement, which has never occurred in relation to Summit or Strawn. We have provided this information so as to ensure that nobody, including any potential victim of Summit Tax Research or Ron Strawn, believes that this law firm has been engaged to represent them -- or anybody else -- in this matter.
Has anyone successfully worked with a CPA or tax attorney to reduce the penalties with the IRS? I owe about $38K to federal and $10K to state...with no hopes of being able to afford the $600 monthly payments they want from me. If anyone can recommend a company that has successfully assisted please send me a message. I don't think we should all be penalized for being defrauded and scammed.
thanks in advance!
Contact John at Absolute Tax Relief, [protected] or john@absolutetaxrelief.com "Lane1981" mentioned them a little while ago, so I called them because I was looking for some good news. They have done wonders with my personal situation. I'm so stoked about it, that I'm seriously telling everyone I get the opportunity to tell, including friends that I unfortunately referred to that jerk Ron. Anyway, that goes for everyone reading this thread still, call them, it's free to talk to them, I doubt you will regret it! Good luck
@ troy, thank you for the recommendation!
I too am a former employee of Ron. It sickens me that all of this went down. Ron was a complete creep and totaly dick who blinded young, naive girls with big paychecks (from all the money he swindled out of good people) all while sexually harassing and belittling them. I quit after becoming suspicious of his ways bc he was forging my signature on documents. I was then was scolded for taking a call from the FBI. He attempted to refuse paying me and tried to withold my w-2 after I quit.
I know this guy has a heart condition so I hope that catches up to him if the law doesnt.
My biggest complaint after all this is how can the State & IRS fall back on a very tired excuse of, "You signed your returns stating that all is true". That implies that I have the same degree of knowledge as the person who prepared my returns & who I HIRED to prepared my returns. Which most if not all of us don't. We all in some degree of fashion believe that there are legit loopholes that some that are privy to the information use & that unless you do research & keep your ears open you won't know about. I hired Strawn because I believed his lies of being an ex IRS agent & ex IRS attorney so I believed he had an inside scoop & being an ex IRS attorney no one would DARE question his tactics!
I have absolutely no problem paying an affordable "fine" & then having my returns let's say audited for the next few years just to make sure my current CPA or preparer is on the "up & up", kind of like "parole". But why am I paying back fully an amount THEY KNOW I can't afford to pay back or would take me a life time to pay back? That makes no sense at all. Go after the ### who probably still has all this money or spent it on cars, boats & new houses & seize his assets. All they're doing is pushing people against a brick wall & then pissing them the "F" off! This is never productive.
Like many of the other contributors, I too am a former employee. In 2008, I worked for him, for a whole 2 weeks! Until I was fired for "asking too many questions" . As many of the others, I was still in college (pre-law), working for someone who I thought to be an attorney, and from what I observed, Ron was temperamental, controlling, egotistical, and very suspicious and paranoid of everyone around him. Everyone walked on egg shells around him and it appeared as though all of his employees knew he was doing something unethical but enjoyed the money so kept their mouths shut. Shortly after my termination, I commenced a labor action against Ron for failure to relinquish my final pay check. He even had the audacity to hire a labor attorney (who usually represented injured parties like myself) to defend him? According to labor laws, statutorily I could have received over $5k but I settled with him. He truly proved to be a world class act. During my short two weeks, I found many things to be odd in the office, including those individuals who consented to the preparation of their returns. I found it odd, that people who were making $27k were writing off $6k in investment losses. Although I have compassion for you individuals who suffered as a result of Ron's misrepresentation, any sound business minded person would also have found this claim odd. For this reason, I think you people should be held responsible as well as Ron. Obviously, your enormous tax refunds were not a problem back then, but now prove to be a problem as you are accused of tax fraud. Aside from this, you all must know, that I commenced several actions against Ron post-employment. I too found records of felony forgery and misrepresentations. In 2008, I made claims to the California State Bar, IRS, and to Arizona officials. I was contacted by all organizations. The investigation eventually consolidated all of the cases into the FBI case which was already open.
I came across this "complaint board" now, as I am in my final year of law school, b/c I was curious what ever happened to "Ron Strawn" and his alias "Blackbriar". It saddens me to know that he was able to negatively impact so many peoples' lives after I had made such significant efforts to put a stop to this man's unethical business practices. At one point, I stopped "googling" his name, checking up on his companies, and checking progress because I made an affirmative decision to get on with my life. However, with the knowledge that I have about "how the system works"...if I were in your position, I would take care of my financial obligations to the government prior to continuing to pursue an action against Ron, our legal system is slow and complex in nature. If I were you, I would first want to put an end to the massacre he put into force. But then, once you have your things settled. You cannot sue the government in general. However, you do have a pretty good argument re the Notice the IRS and other agencies had about Ron's unfair business practices prior to any relationship he commenced with you as clients. And because they failed to stop this individual he ultimately effected your life. Although, I have no correspondence from the agencies themselves in writing, b/c I communicated with them over the telephone. I do have correspondence, whereby I put them on notice if that would be helpful. However, remember it is most important to fulfill your obligation and get your finances straight before exerting additional energy on this criminal.
UPDATE: It appears Ron was arrested again in April 2012. Here is what the OC Weekly article says:
Based on an Internal Revenue Service investigation and a 50-count federal grand jury indictment issued this week, authorities today arrested a Costa Mesa tax preparer in Prescott, Arizona.
Ronald Vernon Strawn, 67, will face charges that he fraudulently prepared income tax forms that focused on manufacturing false deductions, according to the IRS criminal division.
The Tax Man isn't happy because Strawn allegedly listed more than $6.5 million in fake business losses on at least 50 tax returns, the IRS claims.
The government's statement on the case does not specify the period of the alleged false filings.
Strawn, who was caught cheating in 2008, now faces 150 years in prison and a $5 million fine if he is convicted by Assistant United States Attorney Todd T. Tristan.
http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/2012/04/irs_arrest_costa_mesa_ronald_v.php
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It's about time is what I have to say! I worked for him briefly in 2008 and filed a complaint with the IRS, FBI, and CA bar. I really hope justice is served and look forward to seeing him be prosecutor for all of his illegal activity.
NOTE:
The investigation of Ronald Vernon Strawn is being conducted by IRS Criminal Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Todd T. Tristan of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California. Assistant United States Attorney Todd T. Tristan may be reached at [protected].
UPDATE: On July 19, 2013 Ron Strawn pled GUILTY to multiple felony counts of "AIDING AND ASSISTING IN THE PREPARATION OF FALSE TAX RETURNS; CAUSING AN ACT TO BE DONE" in the Central District of California criminal court. Sentencing is set for 12/9/2013 11:00 AM before Judge Cormac J. Carney.
UPDATE: On July 19, 2013 Ron Strawn pled GUILTY to multiple criminal felony counts of "AIDING AND ASSISTING IN THE PREPARATION OF FALSE TAX RETURNS; CAUSING AN ACT TO BE DONE" in the Central District Court of California. Sentencing is set for 12/9/2013 11:00 AM before Judge Cormac J. Carney.
UPDATE: Ron Strawn was arrested in April 2012 on a federal grand jury indictment. On July 19, 2013 he plead GUILTY to multiple criminal felony counts of "AIDING AND ASSISTING IN THE PREPARATION OF FALSE TAX RETURNS; CAUSING AN ACT TO BE DONE" in the Central District Court of California. Sentencing is set for 12/9/2013 11:00 AM before Judge Cormac J. Carney. The head US attorney prosecuting the case is:
Daniel H Ahn
AUSA - Office of the US Attorney
Santa Ana Division
411 West 4th Street Suite 8000
Santa Ana, CA 92701
[protected]
Fax: [protected]
Email: daniel.ahn@usdoj.gov
CONTACT HIM if you want him to let him know Ron NEEDS to be put away for a LONG time.
What was the sentence? Is he in prison for life? i can't find any further info
Apparently he was sentenced Monday to 30 months in prison to be followed by a year of supervised release and ordered to pay nearly $2 million in restitution: http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/2014/03/ronald_vernon_strawn_false_irs.php