Anti-tax advocate sentenced to 15 years

An Oklahoma businessman whose anti-tax movement put two Branson businessmen in hot water with the IRS was sentenced to 15 years in prison for a tax fraud scheme to avoid paying federal income taxes, the U.S. Department of Justice announced last week.

Lindsey Springer, of Kellyville, Okla., and co-conspirator Oscar Stilley, of Fort Smith, Ark., were found guilty in November of defrauding the United States and committing tax evasion, with Springer also convicted of failing to file tax returns. According to a DOJ news release, neither man has filed income tax returns since the late 1980s.

The release said that Springer used the name Bondage Breakers Ministry, the stated purpose of which was "to get rid of the Internal Revenue Service," to solicit and receive money.

Stilley, according to the release, maintained a special interest-bearing bank account reserved for attorneys, along with other devices, to conceal Springer's actual income. Springer told the IRS that the funds were gifts and that he did not have any taxable income.

Springer's scheme was partly responsible for two Branson men being sentenced to probation. As Springfield Business Journal first reported in 2007, Martin Dingman and Shane Grady attended seminars held by Springer, who they said encouraged them to not file tax returns and shelter their assets.

Springer filed a defamation suit against SBJ, Dingman and Grady in December 2007 after the story was published. U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Sarah Hays dismissed the suit in October 2008, and the U.S. Court of Appeals denied Springer's appeal in March of this year.

"This conviction serves as yet another reminder that individuals who break our nation's tax laws face serious consequences," said Assistant Attorney General for the Tax Division John A. DiCicco in the DOJ release. "Citizens who comply with our tax laws can be assured that the United States vigorously prosecutes those who choose to violate them."