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When I first hired Summit Research to complete my taxes, they guaranteed me in writing that their tax preparation practices of using Blackbriar investments, LLC, Tahoe North Investments, LLC, and Sierra Pacific, LLC are completely permitted by the tax laws. In this guarantee, the CEO of the company Ron V Strawn, assured me that he would assist me for free if I happen to get audited for any reason.
Since many of their clients are likely being audited, the company is attempting to release itself of any liabilities and has changed its name, now called Columbia Financial and Tax Services, Inc. and South Coast Financial and Tax Services, Inc. Also many employees have been replaced, But Ron Strawn still remains. Now that I am being audited, the new company does not want to honor its obligations, instead wants to offer their services for $1, 500- $4, 000 for audit assistance. It seems like they caused a problem, and are now wanting to benefit from it. They are now even claiming they never offered any such guarantee in writing.
I know there are many past Summit Research clients (I know of two others myself) in the same current situation. If you are experiencing this, please post any relevant information on this complaint form so others can view; or directly send me a private message: [protected]@hotmail.com
Together we need to find a company that can assist us. A tax attorney or advisor that you were able to find, that could help the rest of us. Or the methods of going after this company for damages. Please feel free to share your thoughts here.
Company information:
Summit Tax Research Inc
5940 South Rainbow Blvd, Ste 100
Las Vegas, NV
151 KALMUS DR # 250
COSTA MESA, CA 92626
[protected] (disconnected)
Columbia Financial and Tax Services, Inc.
South Coast Financial and Tax Services, Inc.
9901 NE 7th Ave, Suite C120
Vancouver, WA 98685
4500 Campus Drive, Suite 608
Newport Beach, CA 92660
[protected]
[protected]
Since posting my original complaint 5 days ago, i have received 4 emails from other Summit Research Tax clients. I am now aware of a total of 11 people that have used this company, that are now being audited. They all have the same exact story.
Lets not be silent. Share your story, findings, and progress here or send me a direct message shouldbetold@hotmail.com
seekingjustice- I can easily believe your story. Feel free to send me a message and let me know what your current plans are with this audit.
Additional company phone numbers:
[protected]
[protected]
I started this discussion on complaintsboard.com because I new there were others out there in the same situation as myself, and unfortunately I was right. On a positive note, this allows all of us to work together in finding solutions and updates to our current FTB/IRS issues and additional information on the scams orchestrated by Ron Strawn.
After meeting with a handful of reputable tax attorneys and CPAs, and communicating with now a dozen Ron Strawn victims; everyone is in agreement that the best course of action for now is to choose option 1 and amend the affected tax years.
I agree with "ActionvsRonVStrawn", and it would be best to use either a tax attorney or CPA that has other Ron Strawn victims cases that they are working on. This allows additional leverage for the group, and if the CPA is successful with one client, that same case can be made for the rest of the group.
I have decided to work with a CPA who is fully experienced when it comes to FTB and IRS audits. He is also prepared to negotiate with the FTB/IRS for the penalty fees. Currently he has a handful of Ron's clients he is working with, which could again help our case.
He has agreed to offer a reduces price for his services, for clients that are in this situation. His rate is $350-400, for each tax year amended. This cost will be discounted further depending on the number of years needing to be amended. He will not only amend, but look for missed deductions, to minimize the taxes owed. Price also includes both FTB & IRS amendments together. He recommends only sending the amendment to the agency that is currently contacting you; however keeping the paperwork ready if the other agency comes knocking later.
Contact info:
mostofi@mostofi.com
http://www.Mostofi.com
(mention you were referred by Paul, for the pricing above)
I would still recommend you do your research if you have not done so. I just wanted to provide an option to the people that are looking for guidance.
After we resolve our tax issues and get the FTB and IRS off of our backs, then we should all discuss strategies on how we can recover our damages from Ron and his bogus companies. As of right now, i think this is very premature to do, since we technically do not know how much damage he has caused each of us. I would recommend that we keep all documents, emails, etc that Ron, Summit, Columbia, So Coast have provided us, as this could be valuable later in the civil or possibly criminal case against them. Another recommendation, lets not threaten Ron and his new employees too much, as this may backfire and cause them to flee and open up shop somewhere else. We already know that they are professional scammers and are not willing to help any of us, instead are still trying to continue defrauding with the same technique from the past. Lets let them think that no one is on to them. Lets be smart with our posts and the specific actions we take, as Ron has proven to all of us how he can take advantage of anyones weakness.
For now, lets focus our attention and minimize our losses with the FTB/IRS. I hope we will all soon put this behind us.
Anyone can feel free to send me a private message: shouldbetold@hotmail.com; or post additional information on this forum for all to see.
I am shocked on how the government will allow for this to continue. As of today Columbia/So Coast is performing the same "blackbriar" hocus pocus scams to their new and existing 2009 & 2010 clients. I can only imagine on how long the tax agencies have known about this scam and have let it continue, especially since people started receiving letters in 2008. By not shutting Ron down, and only going after the victimized clients (usually waiting till the last minute, after 3 years from the tax date) with the 20-40% penalties, interest and fees, it seems that the agencies are attempting to allow the victims list to grow while bringing in additional funds for the state and fed.
Its almost to the point of empowering Ron and his employees to keep thinking they are protected since they are generating additional income for the state/fed. This does not seem right at all. With all of the evidence they are using against all of us, they can easily shut down Ron at the very least. We should not be required to pay a penalty if the scam could have easily been stopped by the same agency that is now coming after us. How can the government demand us to pay penalties for a scam that they are allowing to continue?
Has anyone brought this point up with their negotiating CPA or Lawyer? I feel this should help our case in negotiating with the state and irs.
as always, you can send me private messages at: shouldbetold@hotmail.com
I have a great CPA I can refer, if you need help
Another helpful tip :
If you haven't done your 2009 returns, you can always file for an extension. This way you can have more time to sort through this mess.
Hope this helps some of you out there.
shouldbetold@hotmail.com
Two major developments:
-This thread has skyrocketed to the top 5 complaints for this site. This only helps get the message out further, great work in sharing thoughts and suggestions.
-Received a tip that Ron is currently planning to travel to Mexico.
If this is true, he is in violation of his probation. We have very little time before he leaves the jurisdiction of the US. Any chance of us receiving retribution, vanishes when he leaves the country. We need to stop him asap. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, now is the time to take action.
shouldbetold@hotmail.com
Its funny how Columbia financial is adamant that Ron has never been a part of their company and he is simply hired on as an advisor. How can anyone believe this garbage when he is the only person listed in the WA Corporation information:
http://www.sos.wa.gov/corps/search_results.aspx?search_type=simple&criteria=all&name_type=starts_with&name=COLUMBIA+FINANCIAL+AND+TAX+SERVICES&ubi=
This guy didn't even try to hide his identity or lies. He most have known these things would eventually catchup to him. Seems as if he doesn't care if he gets caught.
With all of the pending legal actions against Ron for "financial fraud", how can this man openly create and operate multiple financial business in 3 different states? He is repeatedly doing this in the face of everyone, even after he gets caught. And what does the government do? Tracks down his victims for their 20% cut (in penalty fees). I feel like i'm in the twilight zone.
If you have had Ron or his company complete your taxes for you in the past, and have not yet received a letter from the FTB or IRS (which you will more than likely receive, since Ron has been red flagged), I have discovered some information that can help you. Contact me at shouldbetold@hotmail.com
People continue to ask on this forum and private emails to me, if a class action has any potential? if we should pursue one?
Here is an example of an OC tax fraud that occurred earlier this year: http://ocbiz.freedomblogging.com/tag/western-tax-services/
The victims were awarded 500K in damages in a class action and the owners went to federal prison. Funny coincidence, Ron used "Western Tax Services" as one of his companies name: http://www.sos.wa.gov/corps/search_results.aspx?search_type=simple&criteria=all&name_type=starts_with&name=Western+Tax+Services&ubi=
My answer, i think a class action can diffidently serve its purpose.
We need to find out if Ron has any large assets (other than his new car and tailor). Does anyone have any insight on this? Real estate would be key. Can anyone do a search on this? Let me know asap..
shouldbetold@hotmail.com
I agree with both lane1981 & dreadanddoom, Cyrus is diffidently taking care of the situation. He was able to get an extension for me until June 30th. I'm no longer feeling rushed or stressed about my FTB audit. I already have enough things on my mind.
If you have not yet found a CPA to help, give him a call and see if he is a good fit for you.
shouldbetold@hotmail.com
well said dreadanddoom. I hate paying taxes too, as much as most people. I dont thing anyone enjoys paying taxes. However you cant simply stop paying them, otherwise everyone would do this. Brok, are you saying that you are not paying taxes and no one is coming after you? Show me a case where the IRS will allow this theory to work.
One note to keep in mind, Cyrus is doing both my FTB and IRS audit for the flat fee of $350 total. Although i have not yet received anything from the IRS, i and many others agree it is inevitable. Rather than going through the process a second time, i will have the documents ready when the IRS makes contact. I am even considering submitting my IRS amendments before they make contact, to possibly have a better case in avoiding the penalties, due to my voluntary revisions.
Quoting from a famous Spanish proverb, "Cheap things turn out to be expensive". I have learned this turns out to be the truth in many aspects of life.
The people that are just doing their FTB filings may want to consider getting all of it out of the way. You may want to ask the CPA that is doing your FTB amendments how much they charge for IRS amendments. Because keep in mind, that the IRS is the bigger ticket item, not the FTB.
I dont think $350 is too much for both FTB and IRS.
One last note to consider is that the statute of limitation will not really protect us. On the cases of when the IRS considers something as tax evasion, they are permitted to go back 10 years. In which the FTB already considers this case with us. And if they consider it as tax fraud, there is absolutely no statute of limitations. My point is that if the IRS/FTB want to come after us at anytime, they always can, based on what they consider the case. Of course you always have the option of fighting them, but we all know that is an uphill battle within itself.
Has anyone gotten out of paying the penalties or interest charges after amending for either FTB or TTB? Lets not let this forum die, lets continue to share our stories... Knowledge is power for the entire group.
@troymoto25, yes i know the feeling. No one has even started to go after Ron. Ron can do this again and again, why wouldnt he? He's already not supposed to, but its like a slap on the wrist each time. In a way, he would be stupid to stop.
In the meanwhile he's making himself and FTB/IRS a lot of money.
On another note, does anyone know of a good bk attorney that can discharge tax liabilities? After everything is said and done, i am going to be under a lot of water and have no way of getting out.
Ive contacted the IRS, and they simply don't care. They told me since Ron is not certified with them (a CPA), they do not police this. They told me that I can only file a complaint with someone that is fully licensed. They didnt even care to find out who it was, or anything about the situation. Give me a break! Does that even make sense?
What if Ron was doing cosmetic surgeries without a license? Would the medical board or agency in charge simply turn the victims away, and tell them to contact someone who cares? IRS really cares about one thing right now, collecting as much money as possible, and from their viewpoint, Ron is doing a great job in helping them.
There is got to be something that can be done. We need to take this to a bigger forum, or possibly the news. How the IRS is handling this case is a complete joke.
I created this thread in this forum so that the information about our situation would spread, which it has. I pray it doesnt end here. I will try to do more since this is a big amount of money to me. WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF YOU? Are you simply going to pay for Ron's scam and let him get away with what he did? And worst off, let the government penalize the crap out of you? Im not going to quite, and i hope you dont either. From what i know, there is hundreds of us. We need to all make a strong effort on getting the message out and letting the world know whats going on. We need to make a stand!
or the alternative is to sit back and give the government your hard earned money that you no longer have, for someone else's gain (Ron).
shouldbetold@hotmail.com
@Ifitstoogoodtobetrue - You mentioned you have someone that would be interested in this case, any luck with that?
Also what are the rest of you doing? Have you guys all just given up? Lets not let this story die. What is happening to us is wrong. Lets make things happen instead of keeping silent.
shouldbetold@hotmail.com
@Troymoto25, becareful what you wish for. Ron has been in Washington prison for the past couple of months, however i have recently learned that he is scheduled to be released on December 24th. Now you'll get your chance of running into him.
In my opinion, this was not justice. The guy is a convicted repeat offender of financial/forgery/tax crimes. He has been in and out of court and jail, and still goes back to his old ways. Each time, slightly improving his scam craft so that he can last longer and scam more people out of more money. I wouldn't be surprised if he did this again next year, would you? But the good news (sarcasm), the TTB and IRS get a piece of their share by charging us (the victims) penalties and interest, each round. Its as if they've hired the guy to keep scamming the public.
All of us on this forum that have been scammed out of thousands, need to come up with a solution to go after Ron for compensation (class action lawsuit) and work out a deal with the government so that the penalties and interest are waived (or greatly reduced). There are so many of us, but we all need to be motivated again and start thinking and being active on this forum. The forum has greatly dried up over the last couple of months, which is not good. We need to catapult this thread to the top again, and maybe get attention from other mediums.
A few months back there was talk on the forum about a class action lawsuit. Whats the status on this? Can someone look into this? If the original firm wont do it, then lets get another law firm, but we need to act quickly, as I would imagine Ron is hiding and spending money like crazy right now.
Good news, i have recently learned that we may qualify for the newly passed Voluntary Compliance Initiative SB86. This was signed in March and will take effect on August 1, 2011. The initiative is designed for tax payers that have participated in tax shelters schemes and would like to voluntarily come forward and benefit by removing all penalties. Taxpayers will have between August 1, 2011 and October 31, 2011 to make elections to participate in the new program using forms and under procedures to be adopted by the Franchise Tax Board. The FTB can place your account on hold until August if you ask them, so that you can take advantage of this program.
I hope this helps some of you.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
![Internal Revenue Service [IRS] Reviews](/images/business/48-48/119357/irs.jpg)
![Santa Barbara Tax Products Group [SBTPG] Reviews](/images/business/48-48/122854/santa-barbara-tax-products-group-sbtpg.png)
I am sure I am the "Juelyie" he is talking about. Yet another former employee from 2 years ago that only worked for him for a few months until I realized: a) He is not an attorney (as he claimed), b) he was not certified to do taxes in the state of CA, c) he had absolutely NO idea what he was talking about when it came to politics, taxes, or the law.
I personally submitted complaints to the FBI and IRS trying to get him investigated. I can't believe he has not been shut down yet. In the summer of 2008, almost a year after I worked for him, I heard from another employee that still worked for him that he had been arrested in the office in Newport Beach. I had talked with the agent in Arizona that was trying to track him down. I know he was charged but I am not sure what the outcome was. I will try to get into contact with that agent again and suggest he look at this page.
I will keep in touch on here to see if there is anything I can do to help. I kept information and communications I had with Ron through email years ago because I knew I would probably need them in the future.
Ron is a con-artist and a scammer and has screwed up so many peoples' lives and finances by falsely doing their taxes. I really feel bad for the families that believed him.
I am sure that all those employees, and Todd, Danielle, and Juelyie all left because they found out how crooked he was.
I am also an ex-employee of columbia and was only there for a very short time. I am sorry to hear of all the distress that Ron has caused.
In response to ifitstoogoodtobetrue:
Ron instructed all employees to tell clients and anyone else calling that he is retired and has sold the company but is still advising. The companies are still under his name and he still owns them. He still holds all the strings, makes all the decisions, commands everything his way. The employees are just his puppets so he can make money. He is brainwashing them to feel sorry for him with his sob story of being screwed over by all past employees, his wife, etc. I hear that it is a sob story he tells everyone. At first you feel sorry for him, until you start questioning all the faulty things he does or if he doesn't feel you take his word as absolute truth. Thank God. I am glad I did not stay long enough. He was always complaining about how he was screwed over by past employees, Todd, Danielle, Juelyie. That they all stole money from the company and did all these horrible things. I think it's all false lies he tells to put the blame on others. That they all tried to exploit him and he is innocent. He's so delusional and takes no responsibility for any of his wrongs.
I have talked to another Tax Attorney..His Thoughts
-Ron Strawn can continue operating..it takes alot to catch up with him
-He speaks only in reference to other tax schemes and frauds, but its typical for the person perfroming the fraud to ask for more money to help you out of it...Ron Strawn and Columbia/South Coast cant really help..they already are red flagged.
-You have to go through the audit process. having so many people involved in this bad situation does help..it may develop a lieniency toward 'ex clients'
All of this posting and the blog is a great bark, but what we need is to bite also.
We are dealing with unethical people ...if you are an current employee with these companies and choose to stay you are considered an accomplice because of the heightened awareness of the whole scheme. The Employees should really consider their involvement in the day to day operations presently.
Google hits are getting larger when you type in any of the associated firms, and Ron Strawn himself..this seems to be also how people are finding this site.
No defamation inteded at all...its just the nature of whats occuring when people have been scammed and want justice.
all of the individuals that sought or had been referred to Ron Strawn - Columbia, South Coast, Summit came in with the best intentions of wanting a professional to do thier taxes. They paid for this service. With information handed to them and given the impression this is all legal.
1000 people can provide alot when they all work together.
I don't know what to do? I hate dealing with the IRS. The girl at Columbia wanted to get my info but I told her I wasn't comfortable with that and she immediatly got really snotty and hung up on me! Talk about customer service. She also tried to disconnect herself with South Coast and tell me that they were just a sister company and that Columbia and South Coast are a "new" company that opened in October of 2009. Yeah right!
There has to be something we can all do, especially if three are supposedly 1000's of us, if not 100's. I know a few others that used Ron for taxes and are being audited and others who haven't gotten their letter yet. I hate feeling like I trusted someone and turns out that they screwed me over big time and now not only do I owe the money but tacking on with penalties and interest, when I came to the IRS honestly after I did my own investigation on this guy! But now the IRS gets to profit from our mistake in trusting this guy!
If we get enough people together can we do a class action against this guy?
I tried calling South Coast today and they are only answering on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So I called up Columbia Financial and spoke with a girl in the audit department and she told me that Ron is no longer part of the company and that he sold it. But as I talked to her a little longer she informed that Ron was retired but still advising the company!
I don't know where to go from here? On the phone they stood up for their tax services and their company? I agree with OCEANS 11when you say are just going after the little guy b/c we don't have the money to seek proper representation to fight this. Does the government really know this is still going on? Should I call them and complain? What is that going to do? Its is so frustrating!
@shouldbetold
I agree with you, its just another example of let's go after the little guys because they won't be able to afford the representation & we'll just get our money that way. They don't want to take on the people who have the money to get high priced lawyers because those guys will eat the tax auditors alive for breakfast! So they go after us knowing it's easier & doesn't the fact that they strategically wait to incur enough penalties & interest sound like a scam unto itself? So in a weird way the State & Gov are in a "Non Arms Length" transaction when they allow this entity to exist for this long.
I HIGHLY 2nd distressedvictims post about his referral with the CPA firm below:
Great people, easy to get in touch with (kind of busy now of course) very friendly & very reassuring but they aren't going to candy coat anything. They're going to let you know the extent & the seriousness of the situation. But will work hard to get everything rectified. This does not mean FOR FREE or that you will have -0- liability towards the State or Fed's but it will be highly reduced.
www.info@strategyonecg.com
Phone: [protected]
Wow! This is awesome. Like almost everyone on this board got audit letters but my letters came from FTB first. Which I was advised is worse than having IRS get you first.
I was referred to a great CPA & he & his team have concluded with the State that the BlackBriar Corp never filed their taxes which of course left us as clients & patrons with our pants down. I am now doing this the proper way. I'm having every single return ever done by Ron & his crooked company amended. My liability is outrageously high but this is before any negations & or settlements.
However after talking to my CPA I would HIGHLY take caution on only contacting & dealing with only the entity who audited you first. FTB contacted me first & I have not been contacted by IRS but I'm redoing those ANYWAY!
The fact of the matter is the State appears to have already concluded that this is FRAUD therefore whomever get's nabbed (for a lack of a better word) will most likely have the other government entity knocking on your door as well, eventually. Remember this all started over a year ago with some of the first audits happening in the 2008 tax year so it's just taking them time to get to everyone.
And the info I received is, this is not 10, 20, 50 or 100 people involved but OVER 1000!
I was told that this Columbia Financial is stating they have evidence & documentation that the IRS & State have both recognized that this was a legit business but they won't give the clients the letters until they agree to do their returns THROUGH THEM...AGAIN...WITH BLACKBRIAR! Are they nuts! Or do they really have something to stand on? If they did why would the dangle this supposedly conclusive evidence that would set us all free from these audits? And how are they able to still be in existence even as I type this? You would think the STate & or the IRS would have chained their doors by now, right?!?!?
Well, I wish everyone good luck & one word of advise is don't get cheap on your representation. Hire the best, the one thing I can't buy right now & I'm glad I have is, Piece of Mind! I sleep well at night because I have a competent CPA/firm working for me.
with all the enemies he has, i'm surprised this ### isn't already in a gutter somewhere. every time a client walked in the door you wanted to scream at them to run away. he only hired good looking young ladies to work for him. he thought we were too dumb to know his game but we knew. talk about grown child in an old man's body. no one in the office liked ron, but everyone pretended to because he was so loose with raises if he thought he had you duped into believeing all his ### about how he's innocent and everyone is always screwing him over. you wanted to scream at him, "karma's a ### you're getting what you deserve [censored]!" lol!
this guy was a walking [censored]bag. i hope you guys get him.
heard the irs coming after him. ron better run, and try not to run into penny. lol.
there is something wrong with this damn system, it is not letting me finish my post before posting. sorry for my multiple posts, i am trying to quote mnopjkl but it doesn't seem to be working.
i used to work for this ### a few years back. he was a total [censored] to work for. talk about god complex. i've never seen an individual who felt more sorry for himself then him. everyone in the office used to talk trash about him when we wasn't around. this guy was dirty and messy and expected everyone to kiss his ###. he'd get angry at anyone who disagreed and would start going around the office dropping hints. he talks all this big talk about all th things he's done with his life, that's all it was about, what he used to be. a washed up has been.
talk about being a pervert. this guy used to talk about the most inappropriate stuff to us. no one wants to hear about your pathetic love life or lack of love. we used to joke that he paid us to be his friends. you couldn't wait to get away from him or out of the room when he was around. ha ha. i heard penny tried to kill him a few years ago. too bad she missed. she would have done us all a favor. she was a head case herself but at least she finally came to her senses.
everything about the way he ran the company was a sham. he used to threaten us to sign tax returns for him. this guy is the ### of the earth. if he died, no one would miss him that's for sure.
omg this tea is piping hot and delicious
mnopjkl i have looked at the links you posted above. the information is very good.
Strawn believes he is protected behind his corporate veils. If it can be shown that an agent violated his fiduciary duty and attempts to commit fraud or deceit, the corporate veil can be pierced and Strawn held liable.
http://www.expertlaw.com/library/business/corporate_veil.html
All three considerations have been violated by Strawn.
See the conditions. All have been violated.
http://www.residual-rewards.com/piercingthecorporateveil.html
Strawn believes he is safe and sound behind his corporations but he is not. If it can be shown that an officer conducted fraudulent activities and set up the corporations just to protect him, none of his 4 companies can save him.
http://www.expertlaw.com/library/business/corporate_veil.html
Strawn has violated all of these conditions.
http://justiceforvictimsron.blogspot.com/2010/04/links-and-useful-information.html
Check this out! It is very helpful!
I was referred to Ron by an old employer in 2007. My other bosses and several people in the office used him as well. He amended my 2004, 2005 and 2006 taxes. At the time I had no reason to not trust him. He had come highly recommended. And of course Ron himself assured me what he was doing was acceptable practice and if ever a problem he would be there to help. I was so naive. That was three years ago; since then I was laid off from my escrow job; spent nine months unemployed; we lost our house; lost our car; and last year had to file a chapter 7 BK. Currently we are not even making it paycheck to paycheck. Then in February of this year I received the letter from the FTB. Devastation is the only word I can think of. I can really understand how people feel that suicide is a viable option. I spoke to a tax attorney, she wanted to charge me almost $5000 to amend the taxes and arrange payment plans with the FTB and IRS. At times while going through this I have never felt so alone. This was suppose to be a year of rebuilding and moving forward at times I feel like I am failing as a husband and father. I think I am going to have a tax service company similiar to H&R Block amend the amended taxes and then try to work with FTB and IRS on payment plans myself. Right now it is just Faith in God pulling us through.
I to am an ex employee. I worked for Ron this past year. Every one who was in the new office last year was there for less than 3 months then let go because of lack of funds, and by then we knew to much about him and his shady ways. Everything turnd sour the minute everyone in the office realized Ron was a crook and what we were doing was wrong. I am really sorry and I hope everyone here can come together and get Ron.
I don't think he can legally leave the country, so they will find him. Rest assured that I have been in contact with IRS agents and Ron will not be getting away with his. I will contact the agent I am woking with to see if I can post his info. The more people to speak out against him the better!
My husband and I have amended our 2007 and 2008 taxes this year and we owed everything back with penalties and interest. I'm pretty sure that the IRS has a clue about what is going on but I don't think they have enough people to go after him becuase he is constantly moving. It is up to us. I started doing reserch on Ron Strwan a year ago when I connacted a CPA and started asking questions about what was on our tax forms. I knew something wasn't right! There was almost no information about him or his scandulous wife. I tried to google every name from his company and contacted them but the line was disconnected. That was my initial hunch that something wasn't right!
This CPA knew almost everything about Ron without even me telling my story. The more we talk about this ### the better. I have tried contacting Couth Coast or Columbia ( or whatever they are calling themselves) several times and no one has called me back or sometimes don't even answer the phone!
I don't know what to do, because I feel as though we trusted this guy and when we went to Ron, we were young and naive as to think that this sort of thing was legal. He assured us that it was absolutly legal. I'm so glad this site is up and I have checked out the other sites posted and they are a great start.
Has anyone completed the 'process' and has settled with the IRS/FTB ?
it seems everyone is still working with a CPA/Tax Attorney, and or appealing
Does anyone want to share any comments about what to expect ?
I have not gone through any 'process' yet, but expect to
Thanks !
also...you can E-mail me at exclientsofronvstrawn@hotmail.com
Hello Distressed Victim. Just as a quick response to your comment, Tom Brandilla CPA is not trying to appeal the taxes with the FTB for me. He is simply trying to appeal the 20% penalty only because of the situation and the number of cases. The taxes will have to be paid.
And for Strawn..I hope he does flee the country if he already hasn't. If he goes to jail here I just have to pay more taxes to pay for him to live in a cell. I'd rather he go to some other country and get the heck out of here. He's already screwed my taxes enough.
I have been working with a CPA firm in Newport who have been working on serveral of Strawn's cases. They have collected evidence on bogus contract, certificate and letters that Strawn's companies have sent out. So far they have uncovered AZ (Sierra) Pacific, Blackbriar, & Tahoe North Investments (2 which are bogus and one that has never filed tax returns). They are going back and forth with the CA State agent and IRS agent who are involved. They amended my taxes and found deductions and errors on my original returns to reduce my tax liabilities. They told me once we can come to a final number w/ the agent then we can begin the negotiation process. They said that there would be no appeal process because there is no argument, due to the fact that the companies were fraudulant. You would not want it to go to appeals court anyways because of the high retainer amount you'd have to pay a lawyer. They charge based on how many years need to be amended and negotiating process to bring total amount (penalties and interest) down by 40% and option for low monthly pmt. I'm uemployed and barely surviving, they told me that they would work with me and allow me to make pmts. They actually care about their clients and are avaible on weekends as well. If it weren't for them I don't know how I would have gotten through this.
If you need a good CPA with one on one experience and care about what you're going through, then you need to contact these guys:
www.info@strategyonecg.com
Phone: [protected]
Hello,
I am at work and havent' had a chance to read through everyone's comments, but this is ridiculous! I am so glad to see taht we were all under the same impression.
I had my audit "examination" 2 weeks ago and the final meeting with the IRS next week. I hope that theree is something we can do.
Hello. I am currently using Tom Brandilla CPA to handle my ron strawn issue. he already has a dozen clients and is in the process of appealing the penalty with the ftb. he has been in this process for months now. you should contact him as well and consider his services.
he has built a file of newsletters, guarantees, letters, etc from strawn to his clients and is providing this supporting evidence to all of the auditors he is dealing with in order to build the case.
his contact info is:
www.dbbmckennon.com
Phone: [protected]
Please visit this site.
http://justiceforvictimsron.blogspot.com/
Newsletters that Ron has sent and information will be provided about his activities.
I have been in contact with this law firm that Ron has boasted of using back up his claims that what he is doing is legal. They have told me that they have never worked with him on this, nor are they condoning his claims. He sent out a newsletter recently listing their name as "in association" with. I went to their website and contacted them. This is a big firm, Chicoine and Hallet and they likely will not take his using their good name and smearing it lightly...please contact them also and let them know if you have received this newsletter from Ron and his companies or if you have been told that Chicoine and Hallet, a law firm in Seattle has backed Ron up on the use of Blackbriar and Tahoe. If there is anyone to shut him down, they have the power to do it. These attorneys were federal tax judges.
You may email them here:
Darrell Hallett
Ph: 206.223.0800
Email: dhallett@c-hlaw.com
Robert Chicoine
Ph: 206.223.0800
Email: rchicoine@c-hlaw.com
Please also email me if you would like to join my mass email correspondence to stay in the loop.
mnopjkl@hotmail.com
I am extremely glad to have found this and to know that Ron's clients are now catching on to his scams. I was a previous employee of Rons in the last year, and I would be interested in speaking with and providing information to any of you on what I know. Please feel free to contact me and let me know. As an employee, I have suffered great duress and financial damages because of Ron Strawn. You may contact me at mnopjkl@hotmail.com if you would like to discuss this further. I do not feel comfortable posting too much information on a public board where he or his current ignorant employees may find it. Please contact me and I will correspond with you via mass email.
Yes...I would like to know what Steve Mather has given as consultation on this issue (another post on this site has given him as a reference SRM@taxdisputes.com). Apparently there are many others (over 50 for sure .maybe 100, 200?) that are in the same boat...most people have sought counsel and are being told the deductions are not allowed and you will owe everything back to the IRS including penalties and interest. The appeal process might alleviate the penalties...case closed.
It seems everyone is scattered out there trying to do thier own thing to take care of this incredibly stressful situation. I would think an experienced tax attorney would view dozens of clients in a different light than 1 or 2.
several different people going to several differnt cousultants ALL with the same issue probably receiving different outcomes ( settling for less or paying the full amount +plus ! ) as well as setting a precedent for the IRS
Your team is only as strong as its weakest link.
I am sure Ron Strawn, and his business is preparing(or has) to protect himself to the fullest while all his clients try to figure out what to do.
would like to form a list of clients approach Steve Mather (or another) and discuss the situation and get the ball rolling.
exclientsofronvstrawn@hotmail.com
nobody want to pay a consultant any more than they have to
nobody wants to pay the IRS more than they have to
I too have been screwed my Ron V. Strawn and so have 4 of my friends. We all have the same stories and been told the same lies by this guy. Some of us have thought of getting a tax attorney and going after Ron for what he has done to us. If anyone has done this already please let us know responed with your comment. Lets not let Ron live fat and happy in his Canadian home while the rest of us have to go throught the worest time in our lives.
We and everyone we know are also going through this. Ron Strawn also assured all of us verbally and in writing that his tax prep methods were legal and ethical. Now we have been accessed massive penalties and interest and are having to pay other firms to try and sort through this mess. We probably will never recover from this. We have been told that he made sure he cannot be held responsible personally for any of this, and since we signed the returns we alone are responsible.
Can anyone help all of us make him accountable?
Wow - I worked for this slime ball when I was fresh out of college. He was in AZ at the time, a total dick to work for, and yes, very crooked. I only worked there about six months... we all knew bad things were going on, but he would threaten to stop payment on your last check if you ever quit, and our checks bounced often so we all were trying our best to find new jobs in what we thought at the time was a bad economy (2002). I really hoped he was in prison by now, along with his wife Penny who was charged with forgery in 2001 (page 8: http://www.supreme.state.az.us/cld/pdf/04262004%20minutes.pdf). They are horrible people and I hope somehow they get what is coming to them. I know he hires young females and makes big promises, then fires them (or has the most brainwashed employee fire them) until he rotates through a whole staff. He also plays games with the banks, making phony deposits to cover payroll etc. and he was posing as an attorney in AZ even though he had never passed the BAR. I really can't believe he is still alive. Oh, and if it helps, the business names he used back then were: Sierra Pacific, Sierra Coastal Group, True North America, Sierra Incorporations... I am sure there are more.
see also cease and desist:
Ronald V. Strawn; dba Strawn Consulting Group et al.
Maricopa
12/14/2005
CV2005-012353
http://www.supreme.state.az.us/cld/pdf/2008/121508ApprvRegMinLDP.pdf
http://www.supreme.state.az.us/cld/images/LDP09272004%20minutes.pdf
Sierra Incorporations.com
1005 Terminal Way 242
Reno, NV 89502
[protected]
this also happened to me. both scenarios of being in an audit process.. as well as him holding my taxes hostage the last time i went. he wouldn't release them until i payed an additional fee. that was the last time i went there. many people were scammed by this guy. i have certificates, receipts, and many newsletters that were sent to make me feel as if what he was doing was legal. now all the sudden i am dealing with massive tax ammendment dollars that will wipe me out completely. i don't think the irs will have any mercy regarding this..
Thank you for posting this complaint. I was a first time (and last time) client of Summit Tax and I'm now being audited due to the tax return that Ron Strawn prepared for me. He held my tax documentation and return hostage and made me pay exponentially more than what we discussed before he would release my tax documentation and file my return. Then when I noticed things that didn't make sense on the tax return he prepared, he was unreachable and I was told by his associates that I would be charged extra if I wanted to even ask him a question, or to amend the return that he filed incorrectly in the first place. I hope that our posts will help more of us in this situation find each other and track this criminal down.