More on 18 USC § 2(b) Liability from the Larson / Pfaff / Ruble Case

In yesterday's blog titled "The Conduct Too Remote Is Not Evasion Argument in the Larson & Pfaff Petition for Certiorari," I discussed the application of 18 USC § 2(b) to make an actor guilty as a principal of a crime committed by another who may be entirely innocent in contrast to 18 USC § 2(a) which requires another criminal actor who the defendant aids and abets. The relevant portion of the § 2(b) is:

(b) Whoever willfully causes an act to be done which if directly performed by him or another would be an offense against the United States, is punishable as a principal.

In the indictment, the Government relied upon both direct liability for their conduct under 7201 and upon 18 USC § 2. The instructions make clear that the Government was relying upon 2(b) (although it also relied on 2(a) as I shall note in a later blog). I provide the instructions below and, after doing that, will provide some further discussion of 2(b) liability from a case differentiating the 2(a) and 2(b) concepts.
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The Conduct Too Remote Is Not Evasion Argument in the Larson & Pfaff Petition for Certiorari

I write to address, perhaps not in linear fashion, the second question presented in the Larson and Pfaff petition for certiorari (see prior blog here). That question is:

2. Whether for ten of the twelve counts of conviction petitioners’ conduct was too remote from the taxpayers’ returns to be charged under 26 U.S.C. §7201.

The charges in this case were (from the superseding indictment with the names of the dismissed and pleading defendants' names omitted):
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Another Sentencing for Taxpayer with UBS Account

There is another sentencing of taxpayer. The DOJ Tax press release is here. The key facts (which may be supplemented as I learn additional key facts) are:

Taxpayer: Arthur Joel Eisenberg
Bank: UBS AG
Entities: Yes
Guilt: By Plea Agreement - one count of tax perjury
Sentence: Incarceration 0; home confinement 0; Probation 3 years
FBAR penalty: $2.1 million (Reportedly 50% of high balance)
Court: WD Washington State
Judge: John Coughenour

I have updated the spreadsheet.

Addendum 3/7/10:  Bill Singer's Street Sweeper Blog (Forbes).