A Taxing Situation

Thirty-six year old Donald Barrett of Plymouth was flirting with the American dream. But that dream is on hold, now. He was doing well espousing the various alleged health benefits of coral calcium and Supreme Greens on informercials. But then the tax man came calling – and apparently Barrett was slow to answer.

That usually doesn't work out well for the taxpayer, the under-taxpayer, or the non-taxpayer, as the case may be.

Last week Barrett pleaded guilty to tax fraud, and consumer fraud. Federal prosecutors report that Barrett's guilty plea was in response to charges that he failed to report more than half a million dollars in income from one of the products he sold on television. That covers the tax fraud angle. On the consumer fraud side of things, another of those products was being represented as a cancer and arthritis preventative – although the Food and Drug Administration had not approved the product for those purposes.

Sentencing is scheduled for July, when Barrett could face up to three years in prison. However, there is at least a suggestion that the Massachusetts man may only receive a year of incarceration, thanks to the terms of a plea deal.

So what's the moral of the story? Pay your taxes. No matter what Steve Martin's comedy albums might imply, “I forgot,” is simply not among the accepted reasons for being in arrears to the government when it comes to tax payments. And you might want to hold off on claiming that grandma's chicken soup has magical healing powers, unless the FDA happens to issue a document that says they agree with you.