Ronald Pacheco appeals his convictions, following a jury trial, for aiding the preparation of false income tax returns, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7206(2), making and subscribing a false income tax return, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001, and making false statements to the IRS, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7206(1).
We must decide whether the tax investment scheme devised and executed by the appellant was illegal and if so, criminal. We hold it was both. We are also called upon to decide a host of evidentiary and proсedural issues. Because none of them require us to reverse the appellant’s conviction for tax offenses, we affirm.
Background
Ronald H. Pacheco has an extensive background in tax. He was an Internal Revenue Agent for twelve years and has a master’s degree in business administration, specializing in taxation, from Golden Gate University where he also taught tax. The charges against him arose from a limited partnership (“Lapeer Associates” or “La-peer”) he devised in 1979 tо allow investors a three-to-one tax write-off for each dollar they invested. Not only was Pacheco the general partner, but he prepared the returns for the partnership as well as submitting returns to the IRS on behalf of the investors. The deductions were the basis of several charges in the indictment for causing the filing of false returns. In addition, on his own return, Pacheco only reported taxable income of $24,207 for 1980. He did not report two “withdrawals” totaling $33,560 taken from the Lapeer Associates partnership accounts, and this conduct resulted in additional charges.
On October 30, 1986, Pacheco was found guilty of twelve counts of a 14-count superseding indictment after a previous trial ended in mistrial. Eight of the twelve counts related to his aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of the La-peer investors’ false and fraudulent individual income tax returns in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7206(2). Three counts dealt with Pacheco’s making false and fraudulent statemеnts in concealing material facts relating to a matter within the jurisdiction of the Department of Treasury, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001. These counts related to a number of Form 1025-Schedule K’s which were submitted on behalf of Pacheco’s clients in connection with the investments they had made in Lapeer Associates. The remaining conviction was for violating 26 U.S.C. § 7206(1), by making and subscribing his own individual tax return which he did not believe to be true and correct as to every material matter.
Willful Filing of False Statemеnts: The Valuation for the Consulting Fee Deduction
Pacheco has two principal contentions in challenging his convictions of preparing false and fraudulent returns under section 7206 and making false and fraudulent statements in violation of section 1001. All those convictions were based upon the La-peer partnership’s deduction for a profits interest in the partnership granted to Pacheco.
*300 Pacheco contends, first, that the deduction claimed for the partnership and reflected on the individual partners’ returns did not violate the law. In the alternative, he contends that even if the deduction was improper, he did not act with the requisite willfulness because the evidence at most demonstrated that he was negligent.
To evaluate the merit of these contentions it is necessary to have some background understanding of Pacheco’s conduct and the legal context in which it was set. In 1979, Pacheco set up the real estate limited partnership called “Lapeer” to develop real estate property in Lapeer, Michigan. For his consulting services, the La-peer partnership agreement compensated him with a 20% interest in partnership profits. During 1979, Pacheco promoted La-peer and had received as investments $229,-000 in cash contributions and $150,000 of subscriptions receivable.
Pacheco advertised Lapeer as a tax shelter whereby investors would get a threе-to-one tax write-off for investment in the limited partnership. In the fall of 1979 Pacheco valued the partnership at $18 million which, according to Pacheco’s calculations, would coincidentally allow the investors in Lapeer their three-to-one deduction. The deduction derived through the 20% fee paid to Pacheco, which he was to deduct as an expense on Lapeer’s partnership return (20% of $18 million is $3.6 million, which is three times the $1.2 million in contributions Pachecо expected). In 1979, when Pacheco received less than his expected contributions, he retained his three-to-one deduction formula (which was based upon the original $18 million valuation) and determined his fee by multiplying the contributions he received by three. Beginning in approximately March, 1980, Pacheco began preparing and filing returns for Lapeer investors which claimed a total of $987,950 in losses largely attributable to the consulting deduction. Subsequently, Pacheco рrepared the partnership’s income tax return for 1979 and deducted the $925,000 consulting fee as an expense of the partnership.
Pacheco claims that his valuation and the subsequent deduction were lawful under I.R.C. § 707(c), which permits deductions for payments to partners in limited circumstances. 1
The statute is clear that in order for a partnership to claim a deduction under the terms of section 707(c), the payments to the partner must meet the requirements of section 162(а).
Diamond v. Commissioner,
Section 162(a)(1), in turn, requires that salaries and other compensation be reasonable. I.R.C. § 162(a)(1).
2
Pacheco’s profits interest totaled 20% of his valuation of the partnership. Even assuming 20% was a reasonable commission for the services Pacheco rendered in 1979,
3
the legality of the
*301
partnership deduction would depend upon whether the $4,625,000 (20% of $4,625,-000 = $925,000) valuation was reasonable.
See id.)
Treas. Reg. § 162—7(b)(3) (“in any event [a deduction for] compensation paid may not exceed what is reasonаble under all the circumstances”);
Barton-Gillet Co. v. C.I.R.,
It is also well-established that in order for an accrual method partnership to deduct the profits interest it transfers to a partner, the amount must have an ascertainable value. Treas. Reg. § 1.446—l(e)(l)(ii) (1957) (accrual method taxpayer may only deduct amounts that “can be determined with reasonable accuracy”).
Here, with only $379,000 invested in the partnership, Pacheco valued it at $4,625,000. The evidence provided no basis for this figure other than his own “forecast” of what the partnership would be worth. Expert testimony at trial showed the partnership was actually worth no more than $408,000. Accordingly, Pacheco’s $925,000 service fee, derived as a percentage of the $4,625,000 valuation, was similarly without justification. Under these circumstances the jury was justified in finding this figure false. Because Pacheco’s arbitrary valuation and inflated fee clearly violated section 707(c) and Treas. Reg. § 1.446—1(c)(1)(H), it was unlawful. Pacheco’s claim that he did not have fair notice that such conduct was prohibited is also without merit.
See United States v. Austin,
Pacheco also claims that if his conduct was illegal, there was insufficient evidence of the requisite willfulness. We review this claim to determine if
“any
rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Jackson v. Virginia,
Pacheco is correct that both statutes require a false statement,
see United States v. Yermian,
There was sufficient evidence for the jury to conclude that Pacheco did indeed willfully inflate the value of the partnership. While Pacheco claims that he “be *302 lieved that he cоuld make a reasonable estimate of the size of the liability at the time the limited partners made their cash contributions,” the government offered evidence that Pacheco’s valuation was arbitrary. For example, the government introduced evidence that before making his valuation Pacheco promised investors a three to one write-off on their tax returns for each dollar invested, and that Pacheco had stated that his income projectiоn could be “anything we want it to be.” The jury certainly could have inferred from the offer and Pacheco’s statement that the valuation was not a reasonable one, but was designed simply to allow investors a leveraged deduction. Moreover, the government introduced evidence that the Lapeer project had little income and no profits in 1979 and 1980, thereby undercutting Pacheco’s original estimate. Also, the government introduced evidence that in 1980 Pacheco discovered that the cheapest financing he could obtain was 22%, while his original estimate was based upon obtaining financing at 8 to 8.5 percent, yet he maintained his original valuation for the 1980 returns of the investors.
Given this evidence that Pacheco willfully inflated the partnership’s valuation to allow investors an artificial deduction,
United States v. Barshov,
The thrust of the government’s proof was the criminal design to inflate the purchase price of the films and the income therefrom in order to maximize the depreciation costs and the investment credit. Although the appellants offer several innocent “explanations” to rebut the evidence, none of them are so persuasive that they could not have reasonably been rejected by the jury. Simply stated, the jury was confronted with evidence which clearly established a pattern of guilt, and there was additional evidence from which they could reasonably conclude that the incriminating evidence arose not coincidentally or accidentally, but intentionally and purposefully. Taking the evidence as a whole, it was more than enough to sustain the verdicts of guilt.
Id. at 846. In sum, the evidence in this case as well was more than sufficient for the jury to find a willful violation of the tax laws.
Pacheco nevertheless claims that his conduct was permissible under
Diamond v. Commissioner,
However,
Diamond
by its terms precludes the conduct in which Pacheco engaged.
Diamond
stands for the limited proposition that if a profits interest has “a determinable market value at the moment of creation,”
Rather than sell his profits interest on the open market, as in Diamond, Pacheco valued it himself. Such self-serving valuation is insufficient to bring his ease within the rationale of Diamond.
Pacheco’s alternative argument is that if he erroneously relied upon Diamond, he did so in good faith. He presented the Diamond argument to the jury, however, and it was rejected. As summarized above, the jury had sufficient evidence before it to find that Pacheco did not rely upon Diamond in good faith but instead willfully *303 violated the tax laws. 4
Prior Bad Act Testimony
Pacheco also argues that the district court improperly allowed testimony from Lillie Lambert, a partner with Pacheco in another of Pacheco's ventures, the "Lambert Partnerships." At trial, Pacheco's counsel оbjected to Ms. Lambert's testimo-fly "basically under relevancy, under Rule 403, this whole line of questioning." The district court judge overruled the objection with this remark:
As I understand it, this is offered under [Federal] Evidence Rule 404(b). There has been an objection on the ground of relevance, competency, and, furthermore, that it would be excluded by a proper exercise of discretion provided in Evidence Rule 403. There was argument off the record this morning at 8 o'clock, and at that time the court overruled each of the objections. And having made the determination that, as I understand the purported testimony, it really does not involve the subject matter of section 404(b) but, rather, has direct relevance to matters in evidence in this trial and, furthermore, that that being the case, there is no proper scope for the exercise of Rule 403.
Pacheco claims that Lambert's testimony regarded unrelated acts of alleged dishonesty by Pacheco and thаt it was improperly admitted under Rule 404(b). Additionally, Pacheco claims that the district court erred by failing explicitly to balance to probative value of the evidence against its prejudicial effect.
As the district court's statement indicates, Pacheco's argument that the evidence was irrelevant was rejected because the evidence was not admitted to prove Pacheco's character. It was instead admitted as substantive evidence in the gоvernment's case. This was an accurate characterization. Count X of the indictment (on which Pacheco was acquitted) charged that Pacheco had received funds and failed to include them on his return as income. Lambert told the jury that during 1979 Pacheco had misappropriated a total of around $66,000 in Lambert Partnership funds and that sometime later had refinanced his house to pay back $23,000. Lambert further testified that Pacheco had sold an interest in the pаrtnership's motels for his own benefit and only subsequently reversed the transaction and repaid the amount. This testimony went directly to the substance of the charges against Pacheco, and was not evidence of other bad acts. Contrary to Pacheco's suggestion, there is no requirement that trial judges must always explicitly balance the probative value of evidence against the possibility of prejudice. United States v. Johnson,
Pacheco also criticizes the district court for announcing in the presence of the jury that the testimony "has direct relevance to matters in evidence in this trial." There was no prejudice. The district court's statement concerning the relevancy of the testimony was no more than an evidentiary ruling and cannot reasonably be read otherwise.
The Claimed Improper Amendment to the Indictment
Pacheco argues that while Count XI of the indictment charged him with violating 28 U.S.C. § 7206(1), by falsely stating "his taxable income for calendar year 1980," he was actually convicted of falsely stating his "gross income." He argues that the court erroneously denied him the opportunity to prove a number of deductions which he *304 failed to claim on his tax return, but which he would have been entitled to claim. A conviction for falsely stating “gross income,” Pacheco’s argument continues, is a constructive amendment of the indictment and requires reversal.
Pacheco is correct that convicting the defendant of an offense that was not charged in the indictment constitutes per se reversible error.
United States v. Stewart Clinical Laboratory, Inc.,
We look first to Pacheco’s premise that he had lawful deductions he did not claim. The premise fails. The deductions that Pacheco now says he could have claimed were not lawful deductions. After the court denied Pacheco the opportunity to prove to the jury that there existed unclaimed deductions which he was entitled to take, he proffered the testimony of Charles A. Deen. Deen sаid that certain loans made by Pacheco to the United California Bank and other financial institutions would create a worthless debt deduction under 26 U.S.C. § 166 for the year in question.
However, under the facts of this case these deductions would not be allowable as a matter of law. Section 1.166-l(e) of the Treasury regulations provides:
Worthless debts arising from unpaid wages, salaries, fees, rents, and similar items of taxable income shall not be allowed as a deduction under section 166 unless the income such items represent has been included in the return of income for the year for which the deduction as a bad debt is claimed or for a prior taxable year.
Treas. Reg. § 1.166-l(e) (emphasis added). Pacheco did not at trial nor does he now claim that he ever reported such income. Therefore, the district court certainly did not err in declining to admit this testimony.
Pacheco goes on to argue that he has additional deductions which he failed to present to the district court, but which would serve to offset the additional income the government proved he failed to report. As to these, there was no offer of proof. Federal Rule of Evidence 103(a)(2) is clear: “Error may not be predicated upon a ruling which admits or excludes evidence unless ... the substance of the evidence was made known to the court by offer or was apparent from the context within which questions were asked.” Fed.R.Evid. 103(a)(2). We cannоt review evidence that was not presented to the district court.
See Earle v. Benoit,
Because Pacheco failed to show that he could have proved any valid deductions if given the opportunity to do so, we need not decide whether, in a prosecution under section 7206(1), a defendant may prove at trial the existence of unclaimed deductions.
Statute of Limitations
Pacheco argues that four counts of the superseding indictment upon which he was convicted were filed beyond the six-year statute of limitations for violations of section 7206. See 26 U.S.C. § 6531(3)-(5) (1982). The superseding indictment was filed after an original indictment led to a trial in which the jury was unable to reach a verdict. Pacheco acknowledges that the counts he now contests had previously been included in the original indictment, but argues that the additional counts added in the superseding indictment constitute such a broadening or substantial amendment of the original indictment that they prevented the tolling of the statute of limitations dur *305 ing the pendency of the superseding indictment.
Generally speaking, the return of an indictment tolls the statute of limitations with respect to the charges contained in the indictment.
United States v. Italiano,
Pacheco is correct that if the counts in the superseding indictment “broaden[ed] or substantially amend[ed]” the charges in the original indictment, the statute of limitations would not have been tolled as to those charges.
Sears,
Notice to the defendant is the central policy underlying the statutes of limitation. If the allegations and charges are substantially the same in the old and new indictments, the assumption is that the defendant has been placed on notice of thе charges against him. That is, he knows that he will be called to account for certain activities and should prepare a defense.
Italiano,
Other Contentions
In his supplemental pro se brief, Pacheco argues that this court’s denial of his motion for bail pending appeal and this court’s denial of his motion for reconsideration of this denial violated his rights to due process and equal protection. However, since Pacheco has already served his term of imprisonment and has been released from custody, his complaint regarding the denial of bail pending appeal is moot.
See Murphy v. Hunt,
We reject Pacheco’s additional contentions of error. There was no prosecutorial misconduct, nor was the grand jury improperly utilized in this ease. Pacheco’s constitutional rights were not violated by the introduction of former testimony under Federal Rule of Evidence 804(b)(1).
Ohio v. Roberts,
AFFIRMED.
Notes
. This section provides:
(c) Guaranteed payments.—To the extent determined without regard to the income of the partnership, payments to a partner for services or the use of capital shall be considered as made to one who is not a member of the partnership, but only for the purposes of section 61(a) (relating to gross income) and, subject to section 263, for purposes of section 162(a) (relating to trade or business expenses).
I.R.C. § 707(c).
. This section provides:
(a) In general.—There shall be allowed as a deduction all the ordinary and necessary expеnses paid or incurred during the taxable year in carrying on any trade or business, including—
(1) a reasonable allowance for salaries or other compensation for personal services actually rendered;
I.R.C. § 162(a)(1).
.We note that "[a]ny fee for services to be rendered in the future is not deductible in the year of expenditure.”
Durkin v. Commissioner,
. We also note that section 707(c) requires that the amount deducted by the partnership be included as gross income in the service partner's return. See Cagle v. Commissioner,
