KenHunter

One thing appears very troubling regarding Hunter. After Phil Marsh was raided by the IRS, he wrote a letter to many of the Marsh followers claiming that he had a close, working relationship with both the IRS agents involved in the Marsh case and the government prosecutor. According to Hunter, TPCS members needed him because of his friendship with the IRS and he could get them out of trouble. I simply ask: after the raids upon Marsh, where did Hunter get the names of the people who joined TPCS? The only source I know where such could be obtained was the IRS, so apparently Hunter had very good connections with the IRS, and perhaps he had the connections of an informant.

I have had many people call me and complain about Hunter and how they got ripped off. Many gave Hunter big bux and got absolutely nothing in return but an IRS investigation. A number of people brought into the movement by Hunter eventually saw his true colors and decided to join a better organization, Save A Patriot Fellowship in Westminster, Maryland.

I have lots of documents Hunter has generated for his "clients" and they are nothing but garbage. For example, one letter which Hunter drafted for a client cites lots of cases, but usually there was no formal citation of these cases so that someone could look them up in a law library. Hunter cited the case of "US v. Spine (1994)," for an amazing legal proposition, but here he revealed his error. I know Sam Spine, who was prosecuted and convicted for tax crimes in Ohio; he was represented by Chuck McFarland. His appeal was decided in 1991, not 1994. But what Hunter claimed was a quote from the Spine case was nothing but sheer fabrication.

A few years ago, David Myrland wrote a book about his income theory, which essentially was an argument that wages were not income. I do not doubt the bona fides and personal convictions of Myrland, who seems sincere, dedicated and clearly wanted to win his own argument. But if anyone knew the Myrland argument it was Myrland himself, and he did not prevail in his appeal. Hunter claimed long after the Myrland argument had been rejected by the courts that he won on this issue repeatedly. In short, Hunter not only did not know the way to the law library, he was an unmitigated liar.

August 14, 2000 Update: Within the last couple of months, people I do not know have called to tell me that Ken Hunter died in a car wreck in Canada more than a year ago. These callers told me that Hunter's heirs kept his death concealed so that they could administer and close his estate. Personally, I have grave reservations about this alleged death of Ken Hunter, one of the biggest conmen on earth.
It now appears a fellow named William Shepherd has stepped into Hunter's shoes. Shepherd publishes a rag named "The Hornet" and solicits advertisements for his company, K & L Investment, Inc. His phone number is a Nevada number of 775-887-3641, and his e-mail address is "thehornet@earthlink.com". The issue of the Hornet that I read indicates that Shepard is really Hunter. So much for Hunter's alleged death. The Hornet "newsletter" uses defamation as a marketing tool.

Recently, "Shepherd" engaged in an e-mail exchange with a person I know. Here is what "Shepherd" stated, including his foul language:

You're as stupid as stupid can get. I purchased a lot of material from the Hunter estate, and it did include the use of an "aol" account. I have never changed it. I have the permission from the Hunter family representative to use the material from Ken Hunter and his name. You really must be stupid. Your one of those people that go to the tax meeeting and spread rumors, aren't you? If you're spreading rumors about Ken Hunter, give me your name, and I'll give it to the lawyers for the family. Matter of fact I can trace backwards and come up with your name and address. No one asked you to believe in the Hornet, you stupid mother-fucker.

Be careful with Shepherd. In the past, he operated a web site named The Hornet (now off the Net), where he touted his tax program as conferring great tax benefits. His program had a cost:

This service is $5,000.00 and we want it up front. Please do not call us claiming that you can bring in lots of clients if we do yours for free. Same goes for "lots of people watching my account" do me for free, and I'll pass it on. We've heard every story there is. Our story is simple - we are very successful - we want our money up front - cash - check - money order.

He claimed that he could be trusted:

I, William Shepherd, will not do business with anyone that I believe is a con-artist, and I will not print an article that I believe is false/or misleading. .... I WILL PRINT THE FACTS AS I KNOW THEM.

But, his legal argument as seen from his previously posted web site promoted the losing argument that if one is paid with debt (Federal Reserve Notes), such does not constitute income, the premise for this contention being the case of Don Williams Co. v. Commissioner, 429 U.S. 569 (1977). However, the Williams case (which Shepherd does not quote) would appear to not support his argument because the Supreme Court stated in this case as follows: "A check, on the other hand, is a direction to the bank for immediate payment, is a medium of exchange, and has come to be treated for federal tax purposes as a conditional payment of cash."

The argument which Shepherd promoted was just a resurrection of the old Armen Condo argument made back in the late '70s and early '80s and the courts have rejected it. I simply ask Shepherd: what argument do you presently have which addresses cases like United States v. Wangrud, 533 F.2d 495 (9th Cir. 1976); United States v. Whitesel, 543 F.2d 1176 (6th Cir. 1976)(to the contention that FRNs are not legal dollars subject to tax, the court stated "that both the Sixteenth Amendment and the Internal Revenue Code deal not with 'legal tender' but with taxation of 'income'"); United States v. Condo, 741 F.2d 238 (9th Cir. 1984)("Condo's first challenge to the tax laws derives from his alleged understanding of the constitutional reference to weights and measures and other references leading to his conclusion that current Federal Reserve notes are not valid currency, cannot be taxed, and are merely "debts." The Ninth Circuit has repeatedly rejected this theory as frivolous. United States v. Kelley, 539 F.2d 1199 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 963, 97 S.Ct. 393, 50 L.Ed.2d 332 (1976); United States v. Gardiner, 531 F.2d 953 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 853, 97 S.Ct. 145, 50 L.Ed.2d 128 (1976)."); Provenza v. Comptroller of Treasury, 64 Md.App. 563, 497 A.2d 831(Md.App. 1985); Hatfield v. Commissioner, 68 T.C. 895 (1977), and Leitch v. Commisisoner, TC Memo 1979-75, 38 TCM 321 (1979)? Shepherd lives in Nevada, which is in the 9th Circuit where two of the above cases were decided. What "new" argument does Shepherd have which addresses these old cases?

"De ja 'moo'" all over again. Shepherd is just like Ken Hunter. He promoted an old, defeated argument and clearly had not a clue about how to reverse the adverse cases against his position. Hunter did the very same thing. My bet is that Shepherd was Ken Hunter, hiding from those he scammed.

My above contentions about Ken Hunter have been confirmed. Hunter is not dead, but is alive and well and living at the address of 19626 A Jesus Maria, Mokelumne Hill, CA 95245. He also uses the phone number of 775-887-3541, which is the same phone number of the web site operated by "Shepherd". Let me provide the basis for this conclusion. I have a good relationship with the editors of Media Bypass. Within the last few days, Media Bypass received an order for an advertisement from The Hornet which contained the above information. Ken Hunter signed the cover letter and check.