Tax preparer on trial
for fraud is jailed
for contempt of court
A state judge has found the owner of a tax preparation service in contempt of court and revoked his $150,000 bail.
Richard J. Basuel, who was to go to trial yesterday on charges of tax evasion and preparation of fraudulent tax returns, was taken immediately into custody, and his trial was postponed to Nov. 26.
Circuit Judge Michael Wilson charged Basuel with contempt after he remained in the audience and refused to appear at the defense table.
Basuel told the court he was appearing before the court under duress and that he was entitled to a hearing proving the court had jurisdiction over him.
"I am a living soul and not in the jurisdiction of the court," he said.
Basuel has made similar arguments in earlier court hearings, prompting the court to order a mental examination to determine his fitness for trial. He was found fit.
Wilson said Basuel was not technically present if he was not in the well of the courtroom.
"As a condition of bail, you have to be in the courtroom," Wilson said.
Basuel, who has twice refused the court's offer to provide an attorney for him, has maintained he will represent himself.
Basuel previously served six months in prison after he was convicted in July 2001 of filing false tax returns by claiming Hawaii as a foreign country and overstating his clients' itemized deductions.
