The Michael Quiel Story about Rigged Justice!...

Category: BULLET POINTS

International Identity Fraud: The US Government Offers No Help

Identity theft is a massive problem for US citizens, but what happens when fraud moves offshore? According to Michael Quiel’s experience, you will be not helped. In fact, you run the risk of US-government prosecution.

As Quiel describes in his book, Rigged,in 2006 he was seeking to attract European investors. Up to this point, Quiel and his business partner had overseen approximately $200 million of successful financing deals in the United States.

Christopher Rusch, Quiel’s tax attorney, was establishing a Swiss bank during this time. He proposed that Quiel and his partner invest in Rusch’s startup to give them access to otherwise unavailable European investors. The potential for such lucrative markets motivated Quiel to purchase a minority interest in the venture. From the start, Quiel had no intent for a management or control position with Rusch’s bank, and this was the main reason he kept his investment small.

Swiss banking laws at the time allowed a person to open up an account with merely a photocopy of anyone’s passport, even if the passport holder wasn’t present. Without telling his client, Rusch used his Swiss banking connections and a copy of Quiel’s passport to open a holding account under his client’s name with UBS and Banque Pictet & Cie.

The identity fraud on an international level proved catastrophic for Quiel. Rather than the US government help its swindled taxpayer, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the IRS indicted him. They accused Quiel of seeking to hide income. During the criminal trial, Swiss representatives of UBS and Banque Pictet & Cie testified that, according to how Swiss bank accounts were set up and protected, Quiel had no access to the accounts Rusch had opened using his client’s passport.

“I had no idea what my tax attorney had done. Who would have thought he could take a photocopy of my passport and open up a bank account under my name?” Quiel says. “And because of Swiss banking laws at the time, I had no way to access information about these accounts. Yet that didn’t stop the US government from suing me for avoiding paying taxes through fraudulently opened Swiss bank accounts.”  

From LifeLock to credit-monitoring services, protecting American identities is a multi-billion dollar industry. But when criminals open up accounts in foreign countries, the US government’s message is clear: You aren’t protected. In fact, the justice system is rigged against you.

Collateral Damage

Most people forget about everyone else affected when a person is falsely charged with a crime. You have friends, co-workers, maybe even employees, and most certainly family, all brutally impacted by the viciousness of the government’s unrelenting pursuit of conviction. In my case, my entire family suffered. Not only did they know I hadn’t done anything wrong to justify being charged, they were terrified I would be convicted. All through the trial, my family was beside me, having to endure the lies told by government prosecutors and my own former tax attorney.

Victoria Quiel, my high school sweetheart, wife of 36 years and mother of my beautiful daughters was especially impacted. Her father was a decorated U.S. Air Force Officer and was raised to think highly of the government. She believed in a system where you are supposed to be considered innocent until proven guilty, and where justice is honored above all else. She wasn’t ready for the reality of the injustices that occured to me – to her! And, she wasn’t prepared for my conviction. It broke her.

I really thought I had lost her. She became incoherent and inconsolable. In a short period of time I ended up having to take Victoria to the ER three times.

With me being taken from them and put into prison for something I didn’t do, my family’s faith in the United States justice system disappeared.

They are afraid. They are injured. They are Collateral Damage.

That is the worst part about my false conviction.

BULLET POINTSHOME

IRS Investigation of UBS……. UBS sells its clients out!

After the crash of Lehman Brothers in 2008, UBS, the biggest Swiss bank, found itself on the edge of collapse. The Swiss government bailed them out to a tune of $60 billion dollars. What came next was well outlined in an April 8, 2010 special report by Lisa Jucca with Reuters titled, How the U.S. cracked open secret vaults at UBS.

The report, in part, read:

Investors the world over breathed a sigh of relief on October 16 when the Swiss government rescued UBS. But unbeknownst to them at the time, the bank faced a potentially devastating crisis on a very different front.

One day after the bailout, top executives from UBS and Swiss regulators were summoned to a closed-door meeting in New York by U.S. officials who were conducting a wide-ranging tax fraud investigation that centered on the bank.

The UBS delegation, led by newly-appointed Group General Counsel Markus Diethelm, arrived armed with the results of an internal report highlighting instances of tax fraud within the bank, insiders told Reuters. The plan was simple: admit guilt, settle the case quickly and move on.

But Kevin Downing, the U.S. Department of Justice Tax Division Attorney who had been investigating UBS since the middle of 2008, chose that meeting to drop a bombshell: he wanted the bank to disclose names of U.S. tax evaders as a condition for a settlement.

That put UBS in the nightmarish position of either breaching nearly a century of Swiss bank secrecy or risking indictment in the United States.

“UBS was already in a position of weakness from the credit crisis,” said one person who attended the meeting and spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity. “It became crystal clear at that meeting that without addressing the issue of client names, no settlement could be found.”

Interviews with insiders and a review of documents reveal previously undisclosed details about how the sprawling tax case was resolved — at several points in the process, for example, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was involved.

The article goes on to talk about the UBS case but what it doesn’t mention is the deal that Hillary Clinton brokered kept the lion’s share of the mega-tax-dodgers out of the limelight.

Read more on Hillary Rodham Clinton.

BULLET POINTSHOME

Hillary Rodham Clinton

Hillary Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton

To some Hillary Rodham Clinton is the perfect female role model. She is powerful. She is intelligent. To others, Clinton is the shining example of how government corruption fosters oligarchs who believe they can rule over the people and steal as much wealth as possible – damn anyone who gets in their way.

Hillary Clinton sworn in as Secretary of State

 

 





A matter of days after Clinton was sworn in as Presidents Obama’s Secretary of State on January 21, 2009, she raced to Geneva, Switzerland on an urgent matter. The battered Swiss UBS bank – who had just received a bailout to remain solvent – was also being targetted by the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS). In what should have been an open and shut case against a financial institution that ignored U.S. law, UBS executives and Swiss diplomats unconventionally reached out through diplomatic channels to make their problems disappear. Clinton arrived to broker a deal.

In February of 2009, UBS reached an agreement to pay the IRS $780 million in criminal fines for offering tax haven accounts for U.S. clients. Of the more than 50,000 U.S. account holder names the IRS initially sought, UBS agreed to provide just 4,450 names, breaking Swiss law. Not only that but part of the agreement was that 240 of these names would be released directly to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for prosecution.

Unbeknownst to me, my name was on the list. My case was never reviewed by the IRS or the FBI, or anyone else to determine criminal intent – which there was none. There was no criminal review and no criminal referral! My case went straight to the DOJ and the assumption was guilt.

Just like that, UBS Executives had negotiated deferred prosecution for themselves, which means no UBS executive would be processed criminally.

So much for punishing the truly guilty.

But why would Hillary Clinton broker such a deal? She and her family profited directly from it, as was well outlined in a 2015 Wall Street Journal Article titled, UBS Deal Shows Clinton’s Complicated Ties.

Read more about the profit she received in UBS Donations

BULLET POINTSHOME

UBS Donations

According to the 2015 Guardian article, After Hillary Clinton helped settle tax case, UBS increased foundation support:

Since the deal was struck, disclosures by the foundation and the bank show the donations by UBS to the Clinton Foundation growing “from less than $60,000 through 2008 to a cumulative total of about $600,000 by the end of 2014”, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The bank also teamed up with the foundation on the Clinton Economic Opportunity Initiative, creating a pilot entrepreneur program through which UBS offered $32m in loans to businesses, the newspaper reported. Other UBS donations to the Clinton Foundation include a $350,000 donation from June 2011 and a $100,000 donation for a charity golf tournament.

Additionally, UBS paid more than $1.5m in speaking fees to Bill Clinton between 2001 and 2014, the newspaper reported.

A UBS spokeswoman told the Journal that any insinuation of a connection between the legal case and the Clinton Foundation “is ludicrous and without merit”.

Yeah, right. The Clinton’s directly profited from Hillary’s involvement. Plain and simple.

I was put up as a patsy even though I had done nothing wrong. I wonder how many of Hillary’s friends were on that initial list of 50k names the IRS wanted… We’ll likely never know.

You might be wondering how I got in the position of being on any list to begin with… For that, you need to read about the Swiss Bank Investment.

BULLET POINTSHOME

Swiss Bank Investment

Rusch / Reeves solicited me to invest into his Swiss Bank. I contributed shares of stock worth over two million. Documentation provided by Rusch said I owned 4% of his bank. This was described in emails and documentation, and he explained it was his responsibility to file all other reporting. To my knowledge, I owned 4% of the bank, which is not required to file ownership. FBAR reporting triggers at 50% ownership. When Rusch / Reeves testified, he stated that I owned 100% of the bank. Imagine if you own 4% of a mutual fund, money was stolen, and you were accused of owning 100% and then had to go through this entire ordeal after losing your entire investment. That is exactly what happened here.

BULLET POINTSHOME

Hedge Fund

After the financial crisis of 2008, real estate prices had fallen 60% in the Phoenix area. I saw this as a good opportunity to invest in real estate, so I contacted my trusted Attorney Rusch / Reeves to set up a Real Estate Venture Fund in hope of attracting Swiss financing. I would be operating the companies in the United States.  I bought nearly 100 properties and solicited my friends and associates to invest into the Hedge Fund. The Hedge Fund was up 35% in the first year of operation. I filed and paid U.S. and State tax returns on this CAYMAN ISLAND investment fund structure recommended by Rusch / Reeves. The difference between the Hedge Fund was, I was in control of this venture unlike the Rusch / Reeves Swiss Bank.

BULLET POINTSHOME

The Indictment, Arrest, and Publicity

The indictment was sealed and filed with the U.S. District Court of Arizona on December 8, 2011 and a warrant was issued for my arrest on Sunday, January 29, 2012. That day five agents arrested me while I was golfing and took me to 4th Street County Jail, and because I was arrested on a Sunday, I was held overnight with the typical Sunday night crowd of drunks and drug addicts until the U.S. Marshall office opened Monday morning at 10AM. The judge determined no bail was needed and I was processed, released and put on pretrial probation.

BULLET POINTSHOME

Wrong Indictment / Paperwork

The indictment was incorrect. They indicted me on the wrong section of the tax return. The Judge allowed the Department of Justice to amend their indictment while we were in trial.

BULLET POINTSHOME

Attorney Christopher Rusch / Reeves Arrest

After the indictment, Rusch / Reeves abandoned his wife and daughter and fled to Panama.  When he landed at Tocumen Airport in Panama, officials were waiting for him at the end of the jetway. He was arrested and extradited back to the United States.  Upon arriving in Florida, they used “diesel therapy” on a bus until he got to Florence, Arizona. He was held for more than six weeks without being arraigned and without being formally charged of a crime.  He was incarcerated with general population of murderers, thugs, rapists and gangs, etc. until he would “cooperate”. After 5 months, he decided to sing their song and testify against his clients. He was then released on bail.

BULLET POINTSHOME

Disclosure of Social Security Numbers

The Pacer System (Pacer is the court filing system used to file court filings and evidence) that the prosecutors posted evidence to, had my tax returns. It explicitly states that any personal information should be redacted from the system. My tax return was not redacted, and the evidence was published all over of the internet with my children’s social security numbers.  One of my children had her identity stolen because of the “mistake”.

BULLET POINTSHOME

Files

I backed up my server at a special data company in 2010 when I found out I was under investigation. It cost $30,000 to backup and secure my data. I did not want to be charged with obstruction.  I am an honest taxpayer and I knew to preserve data and documents.  I complied with all subpoenas for all records. Hillary Clinton is an attorney and has been involved in so many investigations as a Senator and Secretary of State and she had the knowledge to preserve her records.  She deleted her files!  If her last name was Quiel, Smith or your name she would be in prison for 20 years and would never be heard from again.

BULLET POINTSHOME

Judge James Teilborg

William Jefferson Clinton was elected president in 1992. President Clinton nominated Judge James Teilborg on July 21, 2000.  In the last order from Judge Teilborg, after brought to his attention, he lied about my requests for my Internal Master File from the IRS.  Judge Teilborg had the opportunity to compel the IRS to get my IMF, but instead, Judge Teilborg stated if I would have requested the files prior to appeal, and received them, I would have evidence they did exist. Thus, the Court would not reconsider the claim because it “involves information that could have learned…… prior to trial”. This is a blatant lie because not only did we request the IMF file before the trial, we requested the file during the trial, and after the trial.  The trial transcript validates my claim.  I obtained my IMF file in February 2020, nearly 7 years after my trial.

BULLET POINTSHOME

IRS Cheryl Bradley / Christopher Rusch / Reeves Consipracy

IRS Agent Cheryl Bradley had worked with Rusch / Reeves on an audit completed in 2006. This was prior to my trial for my tax years 2000 – 2003.  My request for my IMF file before, during and after trial continued for eight years. They purposely did not include these returns in evidence but only testified about them.  The reason I wanted my IMF file was because the forms that Rusch / Reeves filed on my behalf, proved Cheryl Bradley and Rusch / Reeves lied. Rusch / Reeves testified he checked the box and filed an FBARs for the same years (2000 – 2003). Cheryl Bradley verified his testimony and stated she received them. The only problem was the years they testified about, the box was not checked and no FBARs exist. They FABRICATED evidence so they could tell the jury that I was fully aware of what forms to file while they conspired the lie of importance of tax forms, they accuse me of filing incorrectly.  THIS IS THE EXACT SECTION OF THE RETURN I WENT TO PRISON FOR.  THE EXPERTS LIED!

BULLET POINTSHOME

The Trial

The trial started on March 5, 2013 and lasted five weeks. Four weeks of testimony was from the government spouting securities fraud when that was never charged. The key witness for the prosecution was MY Attorney Rusch / Reeves, who had reached a settlement with the government that he would plead guilty and cooperate with the investigation in exchange for a lesser sentence and immunity on other charges.  The whole trial took an emotional toll on my wife, especially since her father just passed, dying for our country

BULLET POINTSHOME

Securities Fraud

In the beginning of the trial, the prosecutors asked to use the word “fraud” separately because of the Tax Returns. The Judge granted the request.  The prosecutors also asked the Judge if they could use “securities” because I donated stock to fund Rusch / Reeves bank. The Judge granted their request.  Immediately upon approval of both words separated, Judge Teilborg allowed “security fraud” to be referenced throughout the entire trial in front of the jury.  For four weeks the jury heard “securities fraud” when securities fraud was never charged.

BULLET POINTSHOME

Switzerland Form A

Per Swiss Law, any foreign bank must retain a Form A on file signed by the beneficial owner.  This is needed in order to open and maintain an account.  UBS did NOT have a form A with my signature! I was unaware of the form A and never signed the form. UBS Bank never contacted me!  They only corresponded to Rusch Reeves.  Rusch / Reeves stole my identity and put my name on his corporate bank accounts, unbeknownst to me.

BULLET POINTSHOME

IRS Tax Refund $500K

At the request of my defense council, Michael Minns, I wrote a check on August 7, 2012 prior to trial for $500,000 to the IRS, in the event I owed any money to the IRS for any reason On November 12, 2012, the IRS issued a refund check back for the same amount, $500,000.  I did not cash the check prior to trial and the UNCASHED REFUND check was in evidence for the jurors to see.

BULLET POINTSHOME

The Recording

Prior to trial and before Rusch / Reeves fled to Panama, Rusch / Reeves sat down at a meeting with defense council Michael Minns. During the meeting Rusch / Reeves described in detail, that Quiel would have had no idea to file anything. Any shortcoming from this investigation would be derived from when he set up the Swiss Banks paperwork and not following through.  Rusch / Reeves stated Quiel did nothing wrong. That tape was played at the jury to discredit Rusch / Reeves.

BULLET POINTSHOME

Lead Juror

The lead juror was the only male on the jury.  During the juror selection he stated he was a manager at a convenience store.  When the backgrounds came back, the juror was a manager with Cricket.  He as very modest about his employment along as well as his education.

BULLET POINTSHOME

Sentencing Letters

My friends and business associates wrote over one hundred (100) letters to the Judge for sentencing saying that they were prosecuting the wrong guy.  They all confirmed I was honest and had faith in my morals and ethics.  I had not cheated them or anyone they knew, and all stood up for me. Six (6) of the letters where from Attorney’s I had hired in the past. Even during trial, the jury was told I hired over fifty (50) professionals to make sure I was compliant with every transaction.  The government theory was I only hired one to break the law.

BULLET POINTSHOME

ZERO Taxes Due

Two (2) different Forensic Accountants examined all the documents and made calculations of tax positions related to the years 2007 and 2008 for the purpose of determining the tax liabilities. Their calculations were conducted in accordance with tax preparation techniques. Based on the results of their calculations, they found sufficient evidence to support the conclusion that I owe ZERO net tax.  If the unidentified deposits resulting expenditures and losses were included substantial refunds would be granted.

BULLET POINTSHOME

Closing arguments

After five weeks of the trial, misuse of “securities fraud” terminology, Timothy Stockwell the DOJ Prosecutor, called me a “bank robber” claiming taxes were not paid. We all know taxes were paid because zero taxes were due at sentencing.  After I reviewed the transcripts later, the “bank robber” was removed from what was actually said.

BULLET POINTSHOME

Deliberation of Charges

The jury deliberated on April 11, 2013.  Of the five felony charges, I was found NOT guilty on Count 1 for Conspiracy to Defraud. I was NOT guilty for counts 8-9, Willful Failure to File FBAR Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts for 2007 and 2008.  For Counts 4-5, I was found guilty for Making and Subscribing a False Tax Return for 2007 and 2008 (not checking the box).  Rusch / Reeves was my tax attorney and pled guilty to conspiracy.  He is the sole conspirator.  It is unbelievable the jury can find me guilty of tax forms when I had an expert attorney / tax professional / only conspirator, advise on filing my tax returns.

BULLET POINTSHOME

Passport

When they arrested me on January 29, 2012, while being processed, they took my fingerprints and my passport. Once the trial was concluded, they asked for my fingerprints again because they had lost them. Once I completed my sentence, I filed a request for my passport. After several months, the Department of State said they could not find it. I filed a motion to compel the Department of Justice to return my passport. I requested a chain of custody of my passport that it went back to the Department of State.  After that motion, the Department of Justice admitted they lost it, and I had to file for a lost passport.

BULLET POINTSHOME

Michael Stuck CPA

Michael Stuck has been my tax preparer since the late 1990’s.  Stuck assisted Rusch / Reeves and Cheryl Bradley in the prior audit.  Stuck was the tax preparer on all the taxes for the thirteen (13) different corporations I was filing in 2010, including the Hedge Fund, I was managing.  The government had Stuck testify at trial and his testimony stated I was always in compliance. His insurance company instructed him not to continue to handle my taxes because of the criminal investigation.  Once the investigation was over, Michael Stuck began handling my taxes again and prepares them to this day. If he thought I was trying to cheat, he would NOT have taken over my tax returns again.

BULLET POINTSHOME

Retired Air Force Colonel John Lee

In 2011 when I was under investigation, my Father in Law USAF Ret. Colonel John Lee, was diagnosed with cancer. He passed away in March of 2011.  The cancer was directly linked to agent Orange from flying planes delivering in the Vietnam War.  This was confirmed by the Air Force after his death.  In his last days, I went to see Colonel John Lee and he had been incoherent for days. I walked into the room and he woke up and recognized me immediately.  He looked me right in eye and said “I believe in you. Fight the government for yourself and your family”.  To this day, that keeps me motivated to follow through for this injustice.

BULLET POINTSHOME

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