Dr. Kent “Dr. Dino” Hovind, Florida fundie who is the head of the Creation Science Evangelism ministry, faces a maximum of 288 years in prison for refusing to pay employee-related taxes at his Dinosaur Adventure Land in Pensacola, among other crimes, including falsifying bankruptcy documents, filing a false and frivolous lawsuit and complaints against the IRS, destroying records, and threatening to harm IRS investigators.
Hovind claimed that he didn’t have to pay taxes (citing paying them violated his religious beliefs), and that he was being persecuted for being a creationist (see my earlier post).
His wife Jo is also going to do hard time. (Pensacola News):
Pensacola evangelist and tax protester Kent Hovind winked at his wife and gave her a reassuring smile as he was led away to jail. Jo Hovind clutched the necktie he had been wearing. She kept her eyes on her husband until he was out of sight.A 12-person jury deliberated for 2½ hours on Thursday before finding the couple guilty of all counts in their tax-fraud case. Kent Hovind, founder of Creation Science Evangelism and Dinosaur Adventure Land in Pensacola, was found guilty of 58 counts, including failure to pay $845,000 in employee-related taxes. He faces a maximum of 288 years in prison.
…Kent Hovind, whose life’s mission is to debunk evolution, says he and his employees are workers of God and therefore exempt from paying taxes. He pays his employees in cash and does not withhold their taxes or pay his share as an employer.
“There’s a difference between wrong and committing a crime,” Richey said in his closing argument. “You can do all the wrong things you want and still not commit a crime.”
24 Responses to “Tax-evading ‘Dr. Dino’ creationist going to the clink”
Leave a comment
Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>
oh, this is excellent news. Dovetails nicely with Ted Haggard.
Thou shalt not fuck with the IRS in such a brazen manner.
oh, and I might add that if the jury only deliberated for 2.5 hours before finding him guilty on multiple counts, it was not a hard case to prove, especially when he claimed he was immune from taxes. Hey, “benefit of clergy” went out in the Middle Ages, you moron.
Wonder if he’ll get one of those last minute pardons when Dubya’s about to head out of town in ‘08? Doubt it–Dubya’s gonna be too busy signing his own.
For someone who takes the creation myth, I mean story so seriously, you’d think he might have come across “Render unto Caeser . . .” at least once.
I hereby declare myself a 100% tax-exempt servant of the Lord.
Shorter than the lifespan of most Biblical patriarchs.
Kent Hovind always reminds me of this comic — scroll down to the last one for the week.
Evolution at work.
288 years. Beautiful.
While it’s nice to see a crook get his comeuppance, I think the impact of removing Hovind from the “Creation Science” community is actually a bad thing. The real threat comes from the likes of Behe and the other ID folks. There was no real chance of young earth creationism being taught in schools. ID, on the other hand, is a real threat. Despite the recent setbacks the ID crowd has suffered, they aren’t going away, and they’ll adapt their strategies in light of their losses. Hovind was a handy figure with which to taint the entire enterprise, and his removal is a plus for the closet creationists.
I realise that it would be best for this fight to take place purely in the realm of facts and reason, but as we have already seen in multiple cases over the past few years, reason and empirical observation aren’t enough to win fights that are at root political. The ID crowd will never accept a fight on purely scientific grounds because they know that they are at a disadvantage. Hovind was a helpful figure because he tainted the preferred battleground of the ID advocates, namely emotional appeal under the guise of science.
Hey, here in California, he’d be eligible for parole in the year 2150
The News Journal’s editorial on this is great.
Render unto Ceasar, man!
The really funny stuff from the editorial at the Pensacola News Journal are the comments.
And the dino park that this guy ran often had a lot of people/kids there. So, yes, they may not have been in schools but they were teaching just the same. Nothing like big dinosaur statues and playground equipment to help encourage the children the learn. I’ve driven by that place quite a bit and won’t be sorry if it closes down permanently.
You may want to link to what the Southern Poverty Law Center has published about Hovind. They reported the IRS investigation years ago as well as why they were keeping a file on Hovind. The Southern Poverty Law Center not the IRS.
http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?aid=205
http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?aid=485
Notice the tax evading part and the going to jail for the writer part?
Funny how that wasn’t a huge clue that maybe you don’t want to follow what is in that book?
Oh how about Hovind’s lawyer or rather faux lawyer Glen Stoll who represents Hovind’s business intrests. Mr. Stoll is a part of that weird Citizen of Heaven cult in Washington state. Mr. Stoll had a bit of trouble with the IRS.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Stoll
http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/txdv05362.htm
The earlier news reports on the trial mentioned Glen Stoll as Hovind’s lawyer. Thing is he isn’t a lawyer as noted.
If he didn’t withhold employees’ taxes, they will probably have to pay the IRS whatever he didn’t. What a guy.
cminus, that comic’s hilarious. Not just the last one, but all of ‘em. The second one in particular, and the Joey Ramone one.
cminus, that comic’s hilarious. Not just the last one, but all of ‘em.
Yeah, I’m a big fan of Francesco Marciuliano’s web work. As opposed to his day job, writing “Sally Forth.”
(Yes, really. The guy who came up with “Joey Ramone on Sesame Street” also writes “Sally Forth.” As you might expect, though, he thinks “Sally Forth” is tired and trite; he just churns it out for the syndicates to pay the bills, so he can afford to publish “Teenage Girl President,” “Victorian-Era Superhero” and the rest on the web.)
Huh. My response to Bill S went into the moderation queue.
Is a certain phrase referring to a female older than 12 and younger than 20 so common among a particularly lowbrow class of comment spammers that it gets a comment otherwise devoid of obscenity or links sent to moderation?
You too hk? That place is an eyesore. I’m hoping some credit union buys it up at auction, beautifies the neighborhood a bit, and simultaneously provides honest banking to the folks to live nearby. Barring that, anything but another ugly used car lot.
I think that the reason so many people make fun of Kent Hovind is because they don’t believe in God. He could come up with countless facts to prove evolution wrong, but the problem is, most don’t want to except that it’s wrong. If evolution really is a crock, then how else did we get here? That is a disturbing thought.
Guess this shows what really is important to the US government. A person who tries to preach his sincerly held religous beliefs and also trys too use the the Governement given tax free status of a church but argues with the government about what taxs he must still pay will get put on trial.
But people who illegally enter into the country get paid in cash, willfully avoid the law and avoiding paying any taxs, who suck up public resources, these people congress will give a pardon to and give them benfits the rest of us paid for and do it retoactively. Also local government will be burdoned with teaching their illegal kids in two languages. The whole system is corrupt. Justice is not blind. The truth be know if the government inforced the laws of the land alot more people would be in jail. That includes many government officals.
Dr Hovind should have said they were independant contractors. Then they would have been responsible for their own taxs. He just was not up on the latest tax evading tools of many business use these days. Sad he lacked the wisdom to deal with Uncle Sam.
My husband and I are in ministry work. We pay our taxes every year, we live in a parsonage, and our “employer” doesn’t hold any taxes out. We fill out self-employment forms every year. We get a nice chunk taken out.
If Hovind didn’t pay any taxes, then he should pay the back taxes he owes, with normal penelties. If there is jail time, the punishment should fit the crime. To make him give up any monies he has been given over the years in ministry is grossly over and above enough. So far, it sounds like most of you on this site would like the punishment to be “rot in jail you zealot.” It’s too bad. I’m sure if the shoe was on the other foot, that you would want your punishment to fit the crime.
I also notice, that any link that is highlighted goes back to sources that are only against Hovind, Creation, and ID in any way. Once again we see that freedom of religion and speech is fine as long as it isn’t Christian and Creationist.
As to the bulldozing of Dinosaur Adventure Land, that seems harsh also. Sure, I’m against the Liquor establishments, but am I driving by every day and telling others “that building is too old and is a terrible eyesore, they should bulldoze it.” Not by a long shot. Yeah, I would prefer it not be there, I’ve seen the effects it has had on it’s customers and owners. Sad at the least. But that was the choice they made to have it. I’m sure you have proof that DAL is a threat to all those who enter, or is it just that you don’t agree with what they teach? And if that is the case, what other “Religious places” are you wanting to tear down?
I’m sure the Vatican is shaking in thier boots. Who else is more religious?
Other sources I found, state that DAL has tried to get permits for thier buildings, and have been stopped by the one willing to authorize it. They have had it inspected on several occasions, passing inspection each time, but the ones who have to sign the permit refuse. There are usually two sides to every story.
Those comments on ID, “ID, on the other hand, is a real threat.” I guess you have your opinion, just as I see Evolution as a Theory and even a religion, it is being taught as fact in schools, which to me, is a threat also. The fact of the source of the earth shouldn’t even be discussed in school. None of us were there when it happened, and so far, the Bible is the only book claiming a source, (which by the way I believe, but science is so much bigger than just “God made it, and we will answer to Him” or “we all came from nothing and answer to only ourselves.” Those statements and others like them can be totally left out of the science classroom. I’m sure in your High School classroom, that you were honestly worried whether or not that frog, cat or pig you disected was created by God or not. That more than likely wasn’t a question on the test either. There should be a place that Science is taught without the lean right or left. There are plenty of subjects to fill the textbook pages without mentioning God or Evolution. Then, Mr. “joe darwin” and “joe christian” can co-exist in a science class together, learning of so much and leaving the religion behind to be taught at home.
Yes, he’s been given a guilty sentence, but think about why you are so happy about it, and the toll something like this would take, if it were you. Hovind never said, “sure I’ll pay my taxes” or ” the checks in the mail” he just said No. His story didn’t change midstream, or so far hasn’t. He didn’t ask you to support him either.
I agree with “dale” that the US hasn’t cracked down on illegal aliens or with the welfare system that supports them. The other issue would be the Government supported Reservations, that evade most tax laws and are covered by Indian Medical, and then also Medicaid too. Those programs are so highly abused. You just don’t see much being done there. I know, I live in the same county as a huge Reservation. If support had been taken away a long time ago, the Indian people would have to support themselves just as the white people have done since the start of the US. I’m not saying abolish help all together, for there are those who are truly in need, but for those who get new glasses every month, just to match thier frames with thier lastest outfit, that is abusing the system! I’ve seen Hovind and visited with him, and I don’t feel that that is what he is doing. Wealth is not an issue he deals with. He seems a very common man, not made of money or controlled by it.
Fraud by claiming a PhD and a thief.