The Shuster Project

Tobacco Industry Fraud & False Claims Issues

Click HERE To Read Our Letter Sent to Senator Kerry's Presidential Campaign

To: The Honorable Members of the United States Senate and Select Members of the House

From: Robert X. Shuster – The Shuster Project / The New Dance Project

177 Andrew Avenue – Naugatuck – CT – 06770-4359

http://www.RXShuster.org

Telephone: 1-203-723-1690 - 1-203-723-9266

Re: NON-Health related Tobacco Industry Fraud and False Claims

Date: 6/16/99

Honorable Senators and Congressmen and Congresswomen,

I began organizing The Shuster Project and The New Dance Project prior to the Tobacco Hearings of the Waxman Committee of several years ago, which I contacted shortly after they convened their hearings.

Their focus was strictly health related issues, therefore, I used the intervening time to organize vehicles to expose and explain an incredible array of fraudulent tobacco industry policies, practices and procedures which deny the federal and state governments tens of Billions of dollars in various tax revenues and income streams.

My Web site, http://www.RXShuster.org, launched on May 14, 1999 is the beginning of one of these vehicles.

The Web site is at less than 1/16^th of 1% of planned content.

Approximately March of last year, represented by a prestigious lawfirm expert in tax matters, I initiated contact with the IRS to begin to inform them of the issues relative to fraudulent tobacco industry false claims as it negatively impacted the income of the IRS.

After several phone and written contacts, a meeting was held with a Special Agent of the IRS relative to the first issue I supplied to them.

Upon their request that I file Original Information Claims in order to assist their prosecution of the Social Security, FICA, Medicare and Employment taxes defrauded by the tobacco companies in an amount the Special Agent agreed was in excess of $30-$50 million dollars going back just 20 years.

Plus, because fraud is involved, that amount could have easily tripled, not including interest and other penalties imposed by the separate political subdivisions; the total was approximately $270 Million dollars for this, the smallest of the fraudulent issues I would have given to the IRS.

After an unexplained and lengthy delay, I, not my lawyer, was sent a ridiculous and obtuse form letter informing me that the IRS was choosing to walk away from actively recovering these moneys for one of 3 reasons.

1. That the amount(s) to be recovered were not sufficient to justify the action(s) needed to do so. I believe that approximately $270 Million dollars justifies recovery.
2. That if an investigation was already done on the issue(s) relative to the information provided, it had nothing to do with our information. Yet the Special Agent, in the presence of my lawyer, several times indicated to us that this was information the IRS had never known of before and that it was new and unique to them. So much so that part of the reason for the meeting was to help them to understand the fraudulent nature of the issue we were supplying to them.
3. That the information would have been available to them through public records and documents. Yet there are no public records or documents which would have indicated this fraudulent tobacco industry policy to the IRS, because the practice we brought to their attention is still occurring to this very day, unabated or addressed by the IRS in any fashion whatsoever.

I cannot allow the IRS to cover this up or allow them to not address this first issue we brought to them.

It also affects those states that have income taxes, and those municipalities that also impose an income tax.

Inasmuch as I am in the process of working with the 50 states to provide them with crucial information which will give them the knowledge and means to recover Billions of dollars in defrauded tax revenues, I expect that the federal government will take the necessary steps to do the same to recover those defrauded funds that apply to it.

It is also important to note that with "corrections" in the fraudulent tobacco industry policies, practices and procedures, income streams will be created that should have been generating revenues for the states for decades, but have not. These income streams will approach the total of the Tobacco Settlement over the same length of time that the tobacco industry intends to drag out the payments to the individual states with whom they have "settled" claims.

I ask that you visit my Web site at http://www.RXShuster.org to see some of the IRS documentation for yourself and, as the Website grows, to keep informed of the issues that will be revealed as I am able to do so.

If you have any questions, there is a public feedback page inside my Web site with a form that you can use to submit your question(s) and if they are limited to the present content of the site I will be more than happy to send you an answer.

You should have a few questions for the IRS once you visit my Web site.

Sincerely,

Robert X. Shuster

This web site is equipped with the "Get 1 on 1" guest response system.
If I am in my office, you can contact me in "real time."
If I am out of my office you will be prompted to send me an e-mail.
I will get back to you as quickly as I can.