Pastors Anthony and Harriet Jinwright may have made honest mistakes on their tax returns, but they never intended to defraud the government, lawyers representing the couple told jurors in opening arguments Wednesday.

Anthony Jinwright's lawyer, Ed Hinson, said prosecutors must prove his client had criminal intent.

"They have to prove that in his heart he intended to defraud," Hinson said. "We don't think they can prove that.”

Hinson said the government's case against Anthony Jinwright is really about lifestyle.

"They want to talk about what kind of cars he drove, what kind of house he lived in and the kind of clothes he wore - like ministers should live impoverished."

A federal prosecutor, however, said the government would present ample evidence of criminal intent.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Randall, in the government’s opening statement, said jurors should focus on two numbers: $5.1 million and $1.9 million. The first number is the amount of income the Jinwrights reported to the IRS between 2002 and 2007, he said. The latter number is the amount the government says the couple did not report.

"The defendants aren't charged with making a lot of money," Randall said. “...They had a duty to report their income, and they didn't do it."

Angela Parrott, one of Harriet Jinwright’s lawyers, said her client relied on accountants to prepare the couple’s tax filings. Harriet Jinwright, she said, never studied much math and may have made honest mistakes.

Parrott said the couple’s church, Greater Salem City of God in west Charlotte, “had a shoddy business model.”

"Harriet Jinwright is only here because she's married to Anthony Jinwright," Parrott said. “She made mistakes, but she didn't intend to defraud the government, and she's not guilty."

Anthony Jinwright is charged with 19 criminal counts including conspiracy, tax evasion, signing false returns, mail fraud and making false statements during an IRS investigation.
Harriet Jinwright, who is charged separately, was indicted on 13 counts.

In earlier pre-trial hearings and in Wednesday’s opening arguments, defense lawyers said the federal government set out to punish the Jinwrights.

Hinson, Anthony Jinwright’s lawyer, said his client was "ambushed" on Nov. 29, 2007, while comforting a grieving family at one of the couple’s funeral homes. IRS investigators entered the Jinwright's businesses, he said, flashing badges and guns.

Hinson said Anthony Jinwright was interrogated for four hours without an attorney present.

"That pretty much sums up the tenor of this case," he said.

The trial, which is expected to last three weeks, may hinge largely on financial documents and spending records. Prosecutors will seek to show that the Jinwrights were given money, mainly from the church and its members, that was never reported on tax returns.

They also will seek to show that the couple's lifestyle – which included expensive homes and more than a dozen cars -- could not have been supported by the level of income they reported to the IRS.

Prosecutors on Wednesday brought into the courtroom more than 20 boxes of evidence and exhibits. The boxes filled a bench and were lined along a wall.

After opening arguments, the government called two IRS agents as its first witnesses.

Prosecutors questioned one of the agents about a 2004 document requesting tax-exempt status for Greater Salem. The agent said the document listed Harriet Jinwright as having "no compensation." That same document, the agent said, listed Anthony Jinwright’s pay at more than $600,000 a year.

That number was amended by the church in a later document claiming that Greater Salem and the Jinwrights' funeral home business shared a bookkeeper. According to the amended statement, the IRS agent said, Anthony Jinwright received most of his compensation from the business.

An IRS agent also testified that between 2001 and 2007 the Jinwrights reported that their funeral homes had $3.5 million in revenue but that the couple reported annual losses from the business that totaled nearly $200,000.

Also presented as evidence: income figures showing that Harriet Jinwright earned more than $100,000 in both 2003 and in 2004 – the same period the church filed for tax-exempt status.

In the years under review, the IRS agent said, the Jinwrights deducted hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses and charitable donations, mostly related to the church. They also reported receiving $1,088,385 in housing allowances, spending $100,798 on robes and $1,934 on laundry.

According to one of the IRS agents, the couple spent $6,505,764 between 2002 and 2007. About 20 percent of that money, the agent said, was spent on car leases ($670,769), three homes ($628,773) and credit cards ($545,715).

Testimony was scheduled to begin today at 8:30 a.m.

An interesting aside:
The jury and pool of alternates is now down to 14 people. A white female was dismissed Wednesday after requesting a hardship waiver. The pool is now made up of eight women and five men; nine whites and five blacks.

An issue to watch:
According to prosecution documents, the Jinwrights more than once claimed nearly $25,000 in tax deductions for "clothes and maintenance."
With the jury out of the room, Judge Frank Whitney pointed out that neither his robe nor his suit is tax deductible. He instructed both sides to look into the legality of the deductions overnight and said he may explain to the jury today that clothing, in most cases, is not a legal deduction.
 

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