Ogden Man Pleads Guilty to Obstruction of Justice
Admits Filing Ficticious Forms, Sending Forms to Judge as a Part of Effort to Impede Justice
| U.S. Attorney’s Office December 21, 2012 |
SALT LAKE CITY—Harvey Douglas Goff, age 55, of Ogden, pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in federal court Thursday afternoon in connection with an effort to impede a proceeding in the United States Tax Court. As a part of the agreement, Goff and the U.S. Attorney’s Office agreed to recommend that a 36-month prison sentence be imposed in the case.
The sentencing recommendation is subject to the approval of U.S. District Judge David Nuffer, who will sentence Goff at a hearing on March 18, 2013, at 2:30 p.m.
As a part of court documents filed today, Goff admitted that between April and July of 2010, he endeavored to obstruct and influence the administration of justice in U.S. Tax Court. He admitted that he repeatedly filed false and fictitious forms in a national database. Those forms asserted that the judge had provided him with tens of millions of dollars in cash in “suspicious” transactions. He also admitted that he sent the judge copies of the forms he filed and that these efforts constituted obstruction of justice.
Goff, who is in custody, was charged in a 14-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in May 2011. Charges in the indictment included obstruction of justice, impeding internal revenue laws, fictitious obligations, attempt to commit mail fraud, and mailings in furtherance of a scheme and artifice to defraud. 10 counts of the indictment related to conduct that started with traffic stops in Ogden and continued through subsequent court proceedings in Weber County related to the traffic stops. Goff claimed diplomatic immunity during one of the traffic stops and challenged the jurisdiction of a state court judge, among other things.
Goff also filed a lien against various employees and entities of the State of Utah, Weber County, Ogden City, and the Ogden Police Department, falsely asserting that the employees and entities each owed Goff more than $53 trillion. The lien was filed on 77 parcels located within Weber County, including municipal property and private residences associated with the employees and entities.
Although the U.S. Attorney’s Office has agreed to dismiss 13 counts of the indictment at sentencing, Goff consented to pay any restitution ordered by the court for conduct relating to those counts as a part of the plea agreement. He also agreed that failure to pay any restitution ordered could be considered a violation of supervised release.
The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Salt Lake City and investigated by special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation and the FBI.