By James McNair
The Cincinnati Enquirer

An Anderson Township man affiliated with a company that calls federal income taxes "part of the BIGGEST, NASTIEST SCAM ever perpetrated against the American people" has gotten a day in court - with the Internal Revenue Service.

In a civil lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati, the government accuses Dana C. Ewell of promoting trusts and products designed to help people free themselves from what the company Web site calls "illegal federal taxes."

The suit asks for a judge to stop Ewell and the company through which he conducts business, !Solutions! Group, from promoting allegedly fraudulent tax schemes and impeding the collection of federal income taxes.

Called at his home Wednesday, Ewell said he is a manager for !Solutions! Group, not its owner. He said he had no knowledge of the suit.

"I've never seen that (lawsuit), and that's nonsense," Ewell said. "I don't know what you're talking about."

The IRS case, filed by the U.S. Justice Department, says Ewell operates five Web sites, including www.no1040s.com and www.besttaxshelter.com. It says Ewell sells a $995 "Liberty Pure Trust" that promises to shelter one's assets and let one stop paying taxes. The agency also cites the offering of a "Liberty Action Pack" and a "Liberty Redemption Pack" for $525 each.

From November 1999 through February, the suit says, the Web sites racked up about 325 sales to people in at least 42 states and Guam. Sales totaled about $164,020, but the IRS says Ewell received "substantial additional funds" from sales.

The suit says the products "incite, encourage and assist people to stop paying their taxes and illegally evade their federal tax obligations. The IRS has determined that some of Ewell's customers stopped filing income tax returns and stopped paying taxes after purchasing Ewell's products."

Among the claims the IRS attributes to Ewell:

• "No law says you have to file a tax return."

• "Wages are not taxable."

• "People born and residing in one of the 50 states are not U.S. citizens and do not have any taxable income."

• "The IRS has no authority to any of your records."

Ewell's troubles with the IRS date to 1996, when the agency filed a tax lien against him in Hamilton County for failure to pay $24,588 in taxes. The IRS filed seven liens totaling $1.1 million against him between 1996 and 2002. He and his wife are also named on two liens against the Hartford Ancestor Foundation of Clark County, Nev.

An IRS spokesman could not comment further on the liens or whether the agency was contemplating criminal charges.

Although one of the Web sites mentioned in the suit lists a Beechmont Avenue address for !Solutions! Group, Ewell said the company is owned by a Utah company called Hi Plains Management Co. He would not say who owns Hi Plains, nor would he provide its address or telephone number.

"I can't give you that information," he said. "I signed a confidentiality clause. I can't tell you who owns it. I can't discuss the business. The person who would talk to you is out of town and unavailable."

The Justice Department is asking the court to stop Ewell from running the !Solution! Group businesses and Web sites. It further wants the court to order Ewell to tell his customers his prior representations are false. Finally, it wants him to divulge names and addresses of customers and dealers.

E-mail jmcnair@enquirer.com.