- 22 -
otherwise prevent the collection of taxes. Rowlee v.
Commissioner, 80 T.C. 1111, 1123 (1983). When fraud is
determined for more than 1 taxable year, the Commissioner must
show that an underpayment exists and that some part of the
underpayment was due to fraud for each year. Otsuki v.
Commissioner, 53 T.C. 96, 105 (1969).
The existence of fraud is a factual question to be
determined upon a consideration of the entire record.
Grosshandler v. Commissioner, supra at 19. Fraud cannot be
presumed or imputed but must be established by clear and
convincing evidence. Id. at 19. Fraud cannot be found if the
circumstances only create a suspicion of its existence. Petzoldt
v. Commissioner, 92 T.C. 661, 700 (1989). Because direct proof
of a taxpayer's intent is rarely available, fraud may be proved
by circumstantial evidence. Spies v. United States, 317 U.S. 492
(1943). Fraud may be properly inferred where a taxpayer's entire
course of conduct establishes the requisite fraudulent intent.
Kotmair v. Commissioner, 86 T.C. 1253, 1260 (1986). The intent
to conceal or mislead may be inferred from a pattern of conduct.
See Spies v. United States, supra at 499; Guinan v. Commissioner,
T.C. Memo. 1991-190.
Courts rely on a number of indicia of fraud when they decide
civil tax fraud cases. Edwards v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1995-
77. Although no single factor is necessarily sufficient to
establish fraud, the existence of several indicia is persuasive
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