Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Man Who Bulldozed His $245k Home in Dispute With IRS and Bank May Do the Same to His Carpet Business
The local newspaper reports today that the man who bulldozed his $245,000 home in a dispute with the IRS and a local bank holding a $160,000 mortgage is now considering renting the bulldozer again to demolish the $500,000 building in which he operates his carpet business.
https://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2010/02/man-who-.html
Comments
If the article is correct, Mr. Hoskins willfully destroyed $85,000 of equity in the residence. If the IRS had a federal tax lien on file for the property, which is likely the situation here, I think he is running the risk of being charged with a crime under IRC 7212, interference with administration of Internal Revenue laws. I don't have any citations offhand, but I believe that section has been used in similar situations in the past. I also believe that destruction of property under the control of a bankruptcy trustee is a crime; and at the very least contempt of court. I think Mr. Hoskins has gone a long way towards making a bad problem far worse. I hope his family has another source of income, since Mr. Hoskins may be spending some time in jail.
Posted by: Ron | Feb 25, 2010 7:36:12 AM
I'm surprised that he didn't try to bulldoze the bank and IRS office first. If I was the bank, I'd get the RepoMen tv series to sneak in and take the guy's bulldozer.
Posted by: Woody | Feb 25, 2010 6:43:15 AM
I'm not quite sure what he's accomplished. He admits the bank will likely get a judgment against him and the IRS isn't going anywhere. He's forced his family to live in an outbuilding on the property. The automatic stay of the Chapter 7 bankruptcy would have halted the Sheriff's sale. All to send a message to the bank? I think the bank got a message all right but I don't think it's one Mr. Hoskins intended to send.
Posted by: Pete Terranova | Feb 24, 2010 12:22:09 PM
@ Woody.
In other words, you're just guessing because it doesn't seem right. Tell you what. I think Hoskins is probably smarter than the rest of them. I don't see any Sheriffs showing up at his house, do you?
Of course, you might be the type of person who asks the bank what color you can paint your house, or whether you redecorate the kitchen, or put on a new roof.
Do you really understand what you're suggesting? Of course not. It just doesn't seem right to you that Hoskins can do what he wants with his property. Well guess what. It's his to do with what he wants, and I don't see that the bank can do anything about it, unless he burns it down.
Posted by: Spankin Old | Mar 1, 2010 4:26:30 PM