A Florida man was arrested at the airport after he bit off more than he could chew during tax season.
Authorities say Marc Saint Juste, 45, of Tamarac attempted to eat fraudulent tax return checks while going through U.S. Customs April 15 at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
Customs officers noticed a bulge in Saint Juste’s pants pocket after he returned from a trip to Haiti, and asked him to remove the item, an envelope, according to the Broward Sheriff’s Office arrest report.
If you have been accused of tax evasion I would not try what this gentleman did. It really will not get you off the hook although it is amusing. You will need a good federal criminal defense lawyer. Sometimes with tax evasion you end up biting off more then you can chew when you get caught. Call my law office for a consultation immediately. Now on to this interesting arrest in Florida. This man had stolen tax checks. Well again we have a federal crime. Tampering with the U.S mail is a federal crime and you will need an aggressive federal criminal defense lawyer. Amusing indeed, I would not try this way of getting rid of the evidence. If you are not a citizen this is a serious offense. The charge in this case was rather light. However the risk of deportation becomes another issue.
“When asked to turn over the envelope, the defendant refused. The defendant then inserted the contents of the envelope into his mouth,” wrote an arresting officer.
Officers recovered 10 checks totaling $62,366.87, made out to residents all over Broward and Miami-Dade, officials said. Saint Just told officers that a person in Haiti gave the checks to him with instructions to turn them over to another person at the airport, at which point he would be compensated with 25 percent of the money.
He was arrested on 10 counts of attempting to use another person’s identification without their consent, four of the counts on amounts more than $5,000.
Saint Juste remains at Broward’s main jail on an immigration hold, a BSO employee confirmed.
If you need a criminal defense lawyer in ft Lauderdale, Miami , Broward or Dade county call the law office of Guy Seligman.