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Business Owner
I worked hard to build a company that held exclusive contracts to take photographs of tourists at established tourist attractions. The company grew and we had hundreds of employees.
When the tragedy of 911 occurred, it rock the tourist industry. I tried not to lay off my employees even though the tourism business was a disaster. As a result the business fell behind on its payroll taxes. It took several years to recover. When we did several hurricanes wiped out several attractions.
Again I tried not to lay off employees. Again the company had problems with its payroll taxes. Ultimately, we were audited by the IRS. The collection agents assigned to our case were miserable. They made my life hell for several years. Then they decided to refer the case for criminal investigation.
I could not sleep at night. I could not believe that the IRS was investigating me when all I tried to do is help my employees by not laying them off. I hired a tax attorney who used to work for the IRS. He had a good reputation and I thought he would have good contacts to explain that I was not a criminal.
To my disappointment DOJ tax in WashingtonDC authorized the IRS to seek an indictment. The lawyer was not effective at all. He told me to sell everything and be prepared to go to jail for a long time. He told me I should plead guilty.
I decided to change lawyers. I asked several accountants and civil tax lawyers who they would hire if they had the problems I had. The name that they told me was David Garvin. I met with Mr. Garvin. For the first time I felt like I had a chance. It was not all doom and gloom although he was far from a cheerleader.
Finally, we had a meeting with the special agent and the Assistant United States Attorney assigned to the case. They were going to indict me in a few weeks. David told my story. To my surprise they really listened. They told us they would think about it. The statute of limitations was only 12 weeks away and they would decide what they were going to do before then.
Mr. Garvin spoke with the Assistant United States Attorney on my behalf several times. Finally, he received a call only a few days before the statute would have expired that the United States had changed its mind and would not seek an indictment against me. Up to that time the indictment appeared to be inevitable.
I cannot describe the relief and joy that I felt for me and my family. It was unbelievable. If I had not changed lawyers and hired Mr. Garvin, I am certain that I would have lost everything.
Kemal Arin