James and Pamela Moran — who always maintained their innocence — were acquitted on all 64 counts of conspiracy, wire fraud, mail fraud and assisting in the preparation of fraudulent tax returns.
They were accused of involvement with the discredited Anderson Ark Associates, a Seattle-based company the IRS said sold fraudulent tax shelters and operated a variety of financial schemes that bilked $121 million out of the government and individual investors between 1996 and 2001.
“We’re still lightheaded,” James Moran said by phone from Seattle Friday. “We’re so grateful that justice has been served and that the truth has prevailed after seven years. We want to thank everyone in this community that has stood by us with their prayers and support.”
Agent John Harrison, investigator and public information officer with the IRS’ Grand Junction Office, said the government was now waiting for an order to release assets previously seized from the Morans.
Arrested in 2002 after a two-year investigation, the Morans were convicted during a 2004 trial and sentenced to seven years in prison, but successfully appealed to the Ninth Circuit. The appeals court found the trial court erred in disallowing Pamela Moran’s testimony as “hearsay” even though it went to the heart of the couple’s good-faith defense.
“In income tax cases, unlike any other crime, if you have a good-faith belief in the legality of what is presented, it’s an absolute defense,” James Moran’s attorney, Peter Mair said Friday.
He said the Morans were “used by felons and con-artists” and had been told others were filing corporate and other tax returns.
“There’s no way any third party like the Morans could do that,” Mair said. “All they saw were copies of checks from clients. They were being used because they were good, Christian sincere people.”
Mair said the Morans went through seven years of hell, having their assets seized and difficulty finding work because of negative publicity. Additionally, they thought they had money through their investments with AAA, “but these crooks lost it all,” Mair said.
“(The IRS) charged them with conspiracy with these people when they (AAA) were stealing their own money. They put their parents’ life savings into it,” he added.
Mair said he believed in the Morans so much that he represented James at court-appointed counsel rates, as did Pamela’s attorney, John Zulauf, and other tax attorneys.
The Morans’ acquittal was a legal first, Mair said.
“I hope their hometown now has a different view of them. They are the only AAA people who have been prosecuted in the entire United States that have been acquitted.”
Emotions ran high in court Friday, he said. According to Mair, jurors approached the Morans after the verdicts were read and apologized for what they went through.
“When the first not-guilty verdict was read, Pam just collapsed in tears. When the second one was read, Jim collapses,” Mair recounted.
“The emotional strain of seven years of carrying this, knowing you’ve been sentenced to seven years in prison the first time — it’s just unimaginable. It all got washed away. I started crying.”
LANCE wrote on Feb 25, 2008 8:56 PM:
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Dallas & June Harding, Uncle and Aunt of Pam's wrote on Dec 31, 2007 10:35 AM:
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1776 . . . again! wrote on Dec 30, 2007 7:46 AM:
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Steve Anderson (Pam's cousin) wrote on Dec 29, 2007 10:56 AM:
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Friends wrote on Dec 26, 2007 5:50 PM:
Jim Hobbs wrote on Dec 26, 2007 4:33 PM:
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Michael Moran wrote on Dec 24, 2007 4:59 PM:
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RAPTUREASAP wrote on Dec 23, 2007 10:15 PM:
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anonymous please wrote on Dec 23, 2007 11:37 AM:
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Barry White wrote on Dec 22, 2007 7:58 PM:
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WAJones wrote on Dec 22, 2007 1:15 PM:
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TLee wrote on Dec 22, 2007 9:21 AM:
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Jonathan Moran wrote on Dec 22, 2007 1:00 AM: