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and that it sought the summoned documents in order to identify
taxpayers participating in petitioner's investment plans.
The District Court enforced the John Doe summons over the
objections of petitioner and third-party intervenors. The
District Court's enforcement order was affirmed by the Court of
Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, but the appellate court remanded
the case to the District Court to determine whether petitioner
had already complied with the summons and thus rendered the
appeal moot. See United States v. Kersting, 891 F.2d 1407, 1411-
1413 (9th Cir. 1989).
Following service of the John Doe summons, the IRS
determined that petitioner was engaged in promoting abusive tax
shelters from 1982 through 1988. Based on his determination that
the 33 corporations involved in the investment plans were alter
egos of petitioner, the Commissioner attributed income from the
corporations to petitioner as follows: $916,997, $1,720,483,
$1,932,671, $2,101,968, $1,585,676, $266,681, and $83,045 for the
years 1982 through 1988, respectively. The Commissioner also
assessed penalties in excess of $3.8 million against petitioner
pursuant to sections 6700 and 6701. Petitioner paid $22,398, a
portion of the sections 6700 and 6701 penalties, and brought suit
in the District Court for refund of the amounts paid (Kersting I,
Civ. No. 90-00304 HMF). The United States filed a counterclaim
in the amount of $2,329,700 to reduce the section 6701 penalties
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