Thread: DOJ Asks Federal Court to Bar Nationwide Frivolous Lawsuits

Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 13, 2010

Justice Department Asks Federal Court to Bar Nationwide Frivolous Lawsuit Scheme

Tennessee Man Allegedly Helped Customers File More Than 200 Lawsuits Against the United States in District of Columbia Federal Court

WASHINGTON - The Justice Department announced today it has sued George K. Pragovich of Clarksville, Tenn., to stop him from promoting an alleged nationwide scheme involving hundreds of frivolous lawsuits filed against the United States. According to the civil injunction lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Nashville, Tenn., Pragovich sells services and materials that help customers, many of whom have substantial federal income tax liabilities, to file frivolous lawsuits against the United States in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Customers from at least 35 different states have allegedly used Pragovich’s scheme to file over 200 of the frivolous lawsuits.

The government complaint alleges that Pragovich falsely tells customers that he can fix their tax problems and, in addition, help them get thousands of dollars from the government in damages, by helping them file the lawsuits. Pragovich also allegedly falsely tells customers that if their lawsuit is successful, they will never have to file a federal income tax return or pay federal income taxes again and that all of the lawsuits will eliminate the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Pragovich, who the complaint says is not a lawyer, allegedly provides customers with ready-to-file lawsuit complaints that falsely claim that the IRS and its employees have unlawfully disclosed customers’ federal tax information or unlawfully collected taxes. Pragovich also allegedly provides customers with detailed instructions regarding how to file the complaints and how to respond to government motions in the lawsuits. According to the government’s complaint, Pragovich charges an average of about $7,500 per customer for these services, and has received a total of more than $1 million from his clients.

The government complaint alleges that the frivolous suits are largely premised on misguided tax protester arguments. The complaint says that almost every Pragovich-promoted case has been dismissed. One judge, in dismissing one of the cases, described the lawsuit as "frivolous" and "groundless," a "boilerplate pleading filed without concern for the law, the facts, or the redundant expenditure of judicial resources."

Despite the repeated dismissals, Pragovich allegedly continues to promote the frivolous scheme, and frivolous suits continue to be filed with the court in the District of Columbia. Pragovich has allegedly stated to customers that he intends to "bury" the Department of Justice and the court system with at least 1,000 lawsuits in ten separate jurisdictions.

In the past decade the Tax Division has obtained injunctions against more than 435 tax preparers and tax fraud promoters. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department Web site.

10-028 Tax Division

http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/Janu ... x-028.html

Too bad, so sad. He is entitled to file as many as he wants. Look at how many frivolous lawsuits are filed by illegal aliens and their enablers, without a thought.

Ban lawsuits by people residing here illegally, BEFORE going after Americans!

Originally Posted by miguelina

Too bad, so sad. He is entitled to file as many as he wants. Look at how many frivolous lawsuits are filed by illegal aliens and their enablers, without a thought.

Ban lawsuits by people residing here illegally, BEFORE going after Americans!

"More than 200 frivolous law suits" are wasting our tax money, just like law suits by illegals.

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

Originally Posted by miguelina

Too bad, so sad. He is entitled to file as many as he wants. Look at how many frivolous lawsuits are filed by illegal aliens and their enablers, without a thought.

Ban lawsuits by people residing here illegally, BEFORE going after Americans!

"More than 200 frivolous law suits" are wasting our tax money, just like law suits by illegals.

That's true enough.

However, illegal aliens and their enablers don't care about the costs and will continue. In the meantime, since we taxpayers are worried about the costs, we will stand down, while the ACLU and illegal aliens will continue to use OUR money to file even more lawsuits.

It's a vicious circle which we end up paying more for by ignoring it. How many frivolous lawsuits are filed by the ACLU? How many by illegal aliens? Bet way more than 200.

Believe me I've seen it happen in my hometown. Town enforced overcrowded housing ordinances, illegals sued because one yahoo cop made a crack about their ethnicity, town lost on that part. DOJ never told town not to enforce the ordinance, just not to make it raced-based issue. Because they didn't want to lose any more money, town stopped enforcing the ordinance alltogether. Town is now overrun with homes overstuffed with illegals. Taxpayers are selling their properties and getting out as fast as they can. Services are way down and there's no money to pay for them. 97% of schoolkids get free lunches. Some people on town council own quite a few rental homes.

A ban must be across the board. Persons residing here illegally should have NO right to file any lawsuits themselves or on their behalfs. I'd be 100% for a ban on frivolous lawsuits, as long as the term "frivolous" is not loaded with loopholes.