Yes, on we go to the Department of Justice. US Attorneys, here we come. It is not Urban Legend. It is the truth. In the end, when nothing worked, the IRS and the SBA resort to the Department of Justice and its Attorneys to implement collection procedures for collecting debts owed to the US government.

No, it is not time to flee the country. You will not be arrested and prosecuted as Al Capone was; you are not a criminal and will avoid prosecution. There may be a trial, a civil trial but that too is highly doubtful, as these matters do get settled.

Unfortunately, if not settled early, and for sums that are unaffordable, unrealistic, unreasonable, the procedures get rather dicey. They are tough, unyielding, arrogant, and obnoxious at times, unreasonably demanding, sometimes even silly in their conclusion and demands and unfortunately unwilling to bend…at all.

Currently we are representing three borrowers whom have negative net worth, are ‘upside down’, have limited revenues , some income property real estate, all of which yield a negative net worth, and are frankly unable to pay their bills, let alone their debts. They have been subject to a few years of bickering and posturing with the US Attorney, and there is a pre-trial settlement conference being attempted in Denver this Friday, to which I am attending to attempt to negotiate a settlement before a trial date is set.

Following Federal law, the two sides have submitted settlement offers. Our side submitted a collective combined offer of $150,000 all borrowed money from friends and families. Reasonable, respectable and well beyond their collective net worth, the men owe over $1 million.

Here is where it gets strange, silly, actually as it is a preposterous position that is indefensible and frankly, in my eyes, a brake from all reality, not to be taken seriously and a mockery to the justice system. Despite complete disclosure of all financial records, indicating a negative net worth and little or no income the US Attorney insists that each borrower is capable of paying back over 1 million dollars each!

Ye gads, I do not understand this at all. Is the justice system really being served in any meaningful way with a demand of one million dollars to satisfy the offer to settle component required by the court system despite a total and complete inability to repay even one penny without resorting to funds borrowed from friends and family which are unlikely to ever be repaid? Is this serving the purpose intended by the court system to promote resolution?

Is this what our Justice Department believes is appropriate and effective strategies and collection practices? I understand bargaining, and I get the need for the Justice department to collect as much as they can, but I do not understand how in the face of reasonable people presumably acting in good faith and committed to upholding the system, that ridiculous, preposterous, demands are made by The Department of Justice that fly in the face of any reality. What has possibly been achieved here and why would people with sworn oaths to uphold the Constitution of our country resort to bold faced indefensible, unsupportable, bullshit?

I am more than amazed; I am disgusted, revolted and ashamed of the system we must submit ourselves to, controlling our destiny. It feels as though we are in a third world system where justice is bought and sold as a commodity and someone is looking for a payoff as why else would their position be so completely void of any logic or legitimate foundation.

I will be attending this hearing on behalf of my client. I will do my best to resolve this and bring back justice to the Justice Department and my clients. I will report back my success.

Do they shoot the messenger?