Harvey Goff Sentenced to 36 Months in Prison for Obstruction of Justice, Filed Fictitious Forms as Part of Effort to Impede Justice
Randy Huffaker Sentenced to Time Served, Ordered to Pay $33,996 in Restitution After Filing False Liens Against Government Officials, Impeding IRS
| U.S. Attorney’s Office April 08, 2013 |
SALT LAKE CITY—Harvey Douglas Goff, age 55, of Ogden, who pleaded guilty in federal court in December to obstruction of justice in connection with an effort to impede a proceeding in the United States Tax Court, will serve 36 months in federal prison.
U.S. District Judge David Nuffer imposed the sentence during a hearing Monday afternoon in U.S. District Court. Goff also will serve 36 months of supervised release when he finishes his federal prison sentence and cannot have contact with sovereign citizen-related groups during his supervised release period. Goff has been in custody but was released Monday and will be allowed to self-surrender to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons to begin serving his sentence by May 30, 2013.
Goff, as a part of a plea agreement reached with federal prosecutors, 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 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. Ten counts of the indictment related to conduct that started with traffic stops in Ogden and continued through subsequent court proceedings in Weber County. 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 dismissed 13 counts of the indictment at Monday’s sentencing hearing, Goff’s 36-month sentence included consideration of that relevant conduct.
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.
In another case involving false liens against government officials, Randy Merrill Huffaker, age 60, of Taylorsville, who pleaded guilty in December to one count of impeding the IRS and two counts of filing false liens or encumbrances against government officials, was sentenced to time served (about three days) in late March.
U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups, who imposed the sentence, also ordered him to serve 12 months of supervised release when he concludes his prison sentence. Huffaker also must pay $33,996 in restitution.
Huffaker admitted that in July, August, and September of 2011, he filed or attempted to file false and fictitious liens or encumbrances against the commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service and the comptroller of the Currency, both of whom are government officials protected by federal law. He admitted that he filed the documents against the two individuals because of their performance of their official duties.
He admitted he repeatedly mailed extensive documents to the personal residence of the commissioner regarding his tax debts, demanding action, and falsely claiming that the commissioner was personally indebted to him. He admitted in court documents that he knew the liens and encumbrances were false and fictitious.
Charges against Tari A. Huffaker, age 56, of Taylorsville, who was also charged in the case, were dismissed by federal prosecutors in December.
The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and investigated by special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.