Tax Evader, Claiming Religious Justifications, Sentenced to Over 8 Years In Prison

In Oregon yesterday, a federal judge sentenced a software entrepreneur to 8 years and 1 month in prison (followed by 3 years of supervised release) for tax evasion involving $7.1 million in taxes and penalties owed to the federal government. The Oregonian reports that defendant Chester Evan Davis invoked religious justifications for his refusal to pay taxes, saying:

My hands, my feet, my words, my ideas, my labor, my actions are all and have been given to the Lord for his glory. [Submitting a tax return would] put the God of this state above my God.

Davis hid assets from the government, attempted to file harassing liens against federal officials and tried to obtain arrest warrants against IRS employees. Much of the earnings of Davis' company came from contracts with the federal government.