Hans C. Sherrer - Page 30




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               4.  if admitted to prove intent, the other acts must be                
          similar to the offense charged.  See United States v. Ayers,                
          supra at 1472-1473; United States v. Spillone, 879 F.2d 514, 518-           
          520 (9th Cir. 1989).                                                        
               The first two parts of this test are obviously satisfied,              
          because the parties have stipulated that the "other acts"                   
          occurred, and petitioner's fraudulent intent is clearly material            
          to this case.  In our judgment, the other two parts are satisfied           
          as well.                                                                    
               In United States v. Ayers, supra, the taxpayer made                    
          incorrect or false declarations to U.S. Customs in Nassau,                  
          Bahamas, concerning the amount of cash he was transporting.                 
          These declarations were made in 1987.  The trial court admitted             
          the declarations as relevant evidence in the prosecution of the             
          taxpayer for conspiracy to defraud the United States and evade              
          taxes, even though the conspiracy had ended in 1985.  The Court             
          of Appeals upheld the conviction, reasoning that it was not error           
          to admit the Bahamian declarations under rule 404(b) of the                 
          Federal Rules of Evidence.  According to the Court of Appeals,              
          the taxpayer's subsequent acts of concealing large amounts of               
          cash were probative of the taxpayer's earlier intent to defraud             
          the United States in the collection of taxes, by concealing his             
          income or net worth.  See United States v. Ayers, supra at 1473-            
          1474.                                                                       
          In this case, there is no evidence that petitioner made any                 
          false or incorrect statements concerning the Bahamian bank                  



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