Harold D. & Sherrie Patriot
1776 Patriot Way • Jacksonville, FL 32210
Area Director of the IRS For Florida
400 Bay Street
Jacksonville, FL 32202
Attn: Compliance Technical Support Manager
Re: ADMINISTRATIVE CLAIM FOR UNAUTHORIZED COLLECTION ACTIONS UNDER IRS 7433 & 26 CFR 301.7433-1
Dear: Compliance Technical Support Manager:
This is an administrative claim for civil damages for Unauthorized Collection Actions under IRC 7433 and CFR 301.7433-1, for an illegal tax lien under IRC 6320.
Under said law in section (d) (1) and said regulation in section (d), we are required to exhaust our administrative remedies. This letter is our method of doing so. We will file a civil action in US District Court under IRC 7433 for the wrongful and illegal collections actions against me.
Under CFR 301.7433 (e) (2), we must inform you of the following:
1. Our name and address is above. Our telephone number and identification number are above. The best time to call me is during normal business hours.
2.The grounds of our claim for damages include:
On November 30, 2004, we were supposed to close on the sale of our home so that we could move to another state to take care of Mrs. Patriot’s father who is ill and living by himself. We packed up our four bedroom house, garage and attic. At the closing, we were told by an attorney that we could sell their home, but we would have to turn over the money to the IRS.
We learned that the IRS unlawfully placed five Notices of Liens on our home totaling $52,617.29. We were shocked since we did not previously receive a notice for any liens and did not become aware of them until the closing.
Our family was very upset by this disturbing news and suffered severe and unnecessary hardship. If we had known about the liens, we surely would not have placed our home on the market, packed up all our belongings, went through the process of showing our home, getting an appraisal, and going through an inspection. In addition, Mr. Patriot would not have quit his job in anticipation of moving to another state.
The illegal liens caused the cancellation of a closing on the sale of our home, prevented us from selling our property but still incurred immense costs – such as real property taxes, legal fees, maintenance, etc.
One of the major maintenance issues at our home is a 17 by 43 foot beautiful in-ground pool. At the time of the closing, it was in a perfect condition. Since we could not close on their home, we had to let it go green – which bred tons of frogs. The neighbors complained about the noise. As a result, we had to drain the pool, poke a hole in the bottom, and fill it up with $900 worth of dirt. Now, we have a dirt hole with concrete around it. It breaks our hearts every time we see their backyard in this manner.
Also after the cancellation of closing, Mr. Patriot had to find another job to make house payments (such as electricity, phone, water, and mortgage payments to avoid foreclosure) and the family faced severe financial burden. The process of dealing with the IRS’s illegal actions caused us anxiety, emotional distress, mental anguish, and severe health problems.
The five liens on our home could be described as follows:
Lien A with a serial # 599731923 was issued on March 13, 1997.
Lien B with a serial # 599855578 was issued on September 29, 1998 for the amount of $3,000.
Lien C with a serial # 599857629 was issued on December 9, 1998 for the amount of $3,500.77.
Lien D with a serial # 599961650 was issued on August 23, 1999 for the amount of $5,500.
Lien E with a serial # 141294803 was issued on October 29, 2003 for the amount of $33,925.80.
Every day the invalid liens are attached to our property, we are financially and emotionally being damaged. We are asking for the (1) removal of these illegal liens, (2) costs for IRS failure to remove the unlawful liens, and (3) monetary damages.
Today, the IRS has five illegal tax liens against our property. A prospective purchaser of our home would be misled by these liens which harm us in many ways. These liens should be removed.
The tax liens were invalid simply because the IRS failed to notify us as required by law. According to 26 USC § 6320 (a)(2), the Secretary shall notify us in writing “not more than 5 business days after the day of the filing of the notice of lien.” Such a notification never took place.
In addition, the IRS failed to issue us a notice as required by 26 USC § 6320 (a)(2) caused us to miss an opportunity to request a fair hearing under 26 USC § 6320(b). We do certainly want to be heard.
We request the withdrawals of the notices of liens based on 26 USC 6323(j)(1)(A) which states that the Secretary may withdraw a notice of a lien if the Secretary determines that the filing of such notice was “not in accordance with administrative procedures of the Secretary.” The remaining liens meet the condition for withdrawal. Such a withdrawal would also be in the best interest of Plaintiffs and the United States. 26 USC 6323(j)(1)(D)
We request the release of the notices of liens based on 26 USC 6325 which states that the Secretary shall issue a certificate of release of any liens imposed if the Secretary finds that the liability “has become legally unenforceable.” 26 USC 6325(a)(1) The existing liens are legally unenforceable because they are illegal. Therefore, they must be removed.
3. The injuries for this claim include:
The illegal liens caused the cancellation of a closing on the sale of our home. We were unable to sell the house but still incurred immense costs such as real property taxes, legal fees, maintenance, etc.
We are suffering irreparable harm due to the cancellation of the closing of the sale of the real estate. We have no alternative remedy by law.
The injuries for this claim include severe and unnecessary hardship to our family. The cancellation of the sale of the home prevented us from moving to another state to take care of Mrs. Patriot’s father. We were also unable to pay bills since Mr. Patriot had to quit his job in anticipation of moving to another state.
Due to reasons outlined herein, we have suffered a number of damages due to the reckless, intentional, or negligent actions committed by the IRS or its officer, employee, or agent. The illegal IRS actions caused immense financial hardship to us.
We were forced to hire and retain tax professionals to assist us, to write letters and explain avenues of contesting some IRS illegal measures. We experienced immense costs in attempting to remove illegal liens. We have expended a vast amount of time and resources in contesting these invalid liens.
The illegal liens on our property, the cancellation of the closing, and other illegal collection measures taken against us caused severe and unnecessary financial hardship to our family. We were denied some necessities of life, had to incur debt and not pay bills, and suffered anxiety, emotional distress, mental anguish, and health problems.
4. The dollar amount of the claim includes:
The illegal liens on our home for the amount of $52,617.29;
Costs for the cancellation of the sale and contesting the illegal liens;
Damages permitted under Sections 7432 and 7433 and other relief the Court deems appropriate;
Attorney’s fees and costs.
We seek damages and any other relief authorized by law. We ask that damages permitted under Sections 7432 and 7433 be multiplied by the number of IRS violations committed against us.
In conclusion, this is our claim for damages for wrongful actions of IRS employees. Under federal law, we are entitled to compensation.
Sincerely yours,
________________________ _______________________ Harold Patriot Sherrie Patriot SS#: _____________ SS#: ____________