Kent Hovind

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Kent Hovind
Born	January 15, 1953
Occupation	Evangelist
Spouse	Jo Hovind
Children	Kent Andrew Hovind, Eric Hovind, Marlissa Jewell

Kent E. Hovind (born January 15, 1953) is an American evangelist and prominent Young Earth creationist who is serving a ten-year term in U.S. federal prison for 58 tax offenses, obstructing federal agents and related charges. He goes by the nickname Dr. Dino and established the Creation Science Evangelism Ministry in 1989 and, prior to his incarceration, spoke frequently in private schools, churches, university debates and on radio and television broadcasts arguing for young earth creationism. Hovind is currently incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution, South Carolina.

Biography

On February 9, 1969, Hovind converted to Christianity. He holds three degrees in Christian education from unaccredited institutions of higher learning, and is married with three adult children and four grandchildren. His son, Eric Hovind, travels doing creationist presentations and debates with the elder's arguments.

Starting in 1975 Hovind became an assistant pastor and teacher at three private Baptist schools. Then in the 1980s he opened a Baptist school and church at which he taught and pastored. Hovind has no teaching credentials or academic degrees from accredited universities in the subjects he taught. In 1989, Hovind started his Creation Science Evangelism with no academic background in science.

When the internet came into the mainstream Hovind created his "Dr. Dino" web site and began producing articles and information as well as selling his own products — video tapes, books, fossil replicas, etc. — to a mass market. On a portion of his website, it states, "None of the materials produced by Creation Science Evangelism are copyrighted," but on the same webpage, at the bottom, it states "ALL MATERIAL (UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED) IS COPYRIGHT © 2007 CSE MINISTRY" (caps in original). Moreover as for his products, each webpage at his online store reads "ALL MATERIAL (UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED) IS COPYRIGHT © 2005 CSE MINISTRY" (caps in original). Hovind formerly spoke at hundreds of churches, schools, and other venues each year and he has been a featured speaker at many of the Steeling the Mind Bible Conferences. He also hosted a daily radio talk show and has established Dinosaur Adventure Land on Old Palafox Street in Pensacola. Hovind derives "substantial revenue" from these activities that appears to be "income to [him] personally." According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Hovind "has made deposits to bank accounts well in excess of $1 million per year."

Education

In 1971 he graduated from East Peoria High School in East Peoria, Illinois. From 1972 until 1974, Hovind attended Midwestern Baptist College and received a Bachelor of Religious Education (B.R.E.). In 1988 and 1991 respectively, Hovind was awarded a master's degree and doctorate in Christian Education through correspondence from Patriot University (now Patriot Bible University) in Colorado.

Creation Science Evangelism Ministry

Main article: Creation Science Evangelism Ministry

After receiving his first correspondence education degree, Hovind started Creation Science Evangelism Ministry in 1989. The ministry aims to evangelize people by teaching them a creationist perspective. Hovind reportedly earns $50,000 a year with speaking engagements and, in 2002 alone, the ministry sold more than $1.8 million in Christian merchandise. This ministry does not have the proper licensing nor is it registered as a nonprofit, which resulted in legal troubles mentioned below.

Dinosaur Adventure Land

Main article: Dinosaur Adventure Land

In 2001 Hovind started Dinosaur Adventure Land, a young earth creationist theme park on Old Palafox Street near Pensacola Christian Academy, behind Hovind's home. The park depicts humans and dinosaurs co-existing in the last 4,000-6,000 years and also contains a depiction of the Loch Ness monster. The park does not explore "the Jurassic and Cretaceous eras," but rather "depicts dinosaurs as coexisting with human beings." In 2004 the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry visited Hovind's dinosaur theme park and claimed the "park" is deceptive and purposely misleads visitors. The Southern Poverty Law Center noted the park also "claims that a few small dinosaurs still roam the planet." The venture has encountered legal issues, as the owners failed to acquire a building permit for the park (see below).

According to the IRS, Hovind's theme park and merchandise sales earned more than $5 million from 1999 to March 2004. About half that income went to employees who were salaried or were paid hourly wages that worked set hours and signed up for vacations and sick leave. The government believes that grew to the point of earning $2 million a year.

Legal problems

Recent photo of Kent Hovind when he was booked into Escambia County Jail on November 2nd, 2006

Kent Hovind has had several contacts with law enforcement, including charges of assault and battery, falsely declaring bankruptcy, making threats against federal officials, filing false complaints, failing to get necessary building permits, and various tax-related charges. He has been convicted of federal tax and related charges and is currently serving a 10-year sentence for these.

Assault and battery

In 2002, he was charged with one count of felony assault, one count of misdemeanor battery, and one count of burglary with assault/battery. In December 2002, the charges were dropped by the alleged victim, Hovind's secretary.

Property taxes and zoning ordinance

Hovind was charged on September 13, 2002, for failure to observe county zoning regulations with respect to Dinosaur Adventure Land. Despite arguments that the owners did not need a permit due to the nature of the building, the park has been found in violation of local regulations. On June 5, 2006, Hovind pled nolo contendere as charged to three counts: constructing a building without a permit, refusing to sign a citation (Case # 2001 MM 023489 A) and violating the county building code (Case # 2002 MM 026670 A). Hovind was ordered to pay $225.00 per count. The plea brought to an end the 5-year criminal (misdemeanor) court battle over a $50.00 building permit. In June 2006 Hovind complied with the county law (Case # 2001 MM 023489 A). Hovind estimates he spent $40,000 in legal expenses on this case. On June 19, 2006, the delinquent 2003-2005 property taxes/penalties for Dinosaur Adventure Land were paid in the amount of $10,402.64.

Federal civil tax matters, bankruptcy, and renouncing citizenship

Hovind's Creation Science Evangelism ministry is not listed as a tax-exempt Code Section 501(c)(3) charitable, educational or religious organization by the Internal Revenue Service nor is it considered a church by people who work there. Instead, Hovind's various educational and religious activities are run through an organizational structure which, according to the United States Tax Court, appears to be "based on various questionable trust documents purchased from Glen Stoll, a known promoter of tax avoidance schemes." The Tax Court has concluded that Hovind used these trust documents as well as other fraudulent means to conceal the ownership and control of his activities and properties.

Hovind was originally reported to the IRS by Pensacola Christian College senior vice president Rebekah Horton in the mid 1990s, after she learned of Hovind's anti-tax stand. "'We know the Scriptures do not promote (tax evasion),'" Horton said in testimony against Hovind during his 2006 trial, "'It's against Scripture teaching'.... Horton believed it was the college's duty to report the misleading doctrine. 'I didn't want to see innocent people get led astray,' she said. Pensacola Christian College then decided its students no longer were permitted to work with Creation Science Evangelism".

In 1996 Hovind unsuccessfully filed for bankruptcy to avoid paying federal income taxes. Hovind was found to have lied about his possessions and income. He claimed that as a minister of God everything he owns belonged to God and he is not subject to paying taxes to the United States on the money he received for doing God's work. The court ordered him to pay the money and upheld the IRS's determination that Hovind's claim "was filed in bad faith for the sole purpose of avoiding payment of federal income taxes." In the ruling, the judge called Hovind's arguments "patently absurd." The judge also noted that "the IRS has no record of the debtor ever having filed a federal income tax return," although this was not the court's reason for denying the bankruptcy claim.

On May 13, 1998, Hovind and his wife attempted to evade responsibility for any promises, debts, or legal agreements made prior to April 15, 1998, by filing a document called "Power of Attorney and Revocation of Signature" with the [Escambia County Clerk of Courts]]. The document reads, in part: "I/we do hereby revoke and make void... all signatures on any instruments...". The Hovinds claimed they had signed government documents "due to the use of various elements of fraud and misrepresentations, duress, coercion, under perjury, mistake, 'bankruptcy'."

In the document, the Hovinds argue that Social Security is essentially a "Ponzi scheme." The Hovinds referred to the United States Government as "the 'bankrupt' corporate government" and said they were renouncing their United States citizenship and Social Security numbers to become "a natural citizen of 'America' and a natural sojourner." In 2002 Hovind was again delinquent in paying his taxes, and unsuccessfully sued the IRS for harassment. The Hovinds referred to their home state of Florida as "the State of Florida Body-Politic Corporation." Judges and the IRS did not appear to honor this as a legally relevant document in future decisions.

In 2004, IRS agents raided Hovind's home and business to confiscate financial records. IRS agent Scott Schneider said Hovind's businesses had neither business licenses nor tax-exempt status. The Associated Press quoted Schneider as saying "Since 1997, Hovind has engaged in financial transactions indicating sources of income and has made deposits to bank accounts well in excess of $1 million per year during some of these years, which would require the filing of federal income taxes." On June 3, 2004, the IRS filed notices of Federal tax liens of $504,957.24 against Hovind and his son and their businesses due to previous legal maneuverings to evade taxation by moving property between himself, his son, and other legal entities.

On July 7, 2006, the United States Tax Court (Docket number 011894-05L) found that Hovind was deficient in paying his federal income taxes in tax years 1995-97 in the amount of $504,957.24. The Tax Court ruled that the IRS had a valid, perfected lien on Hovind's property in that amount. The IRS is currently levying against Hovind's property to satisfy his unpaid tax liabilities. In the Memorandum Opinion the judge noted that Hovind's defense was based on "bizarre arguments" and "some of which constitute tax protester arguments involving excise taxes and the alleged '100% voluntary' nature of the income tax."

Federal criminal tax-related convictions in 2006

On July 11, 2006, Hovind was charged in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida in Pensacola with twelve counts of willful failure to collect, account for, and pay over Federal income taxes and FICA taxes under 26 U.S.C. § 7202, forty-five counts of knowingly structuring transactions in Federally-insured financial institutions to evade the reporting requirements of 31 U.S.C. § 5313(a), in violation of 31 U.S.C. § 5324, 18 U.S.C. § 2 and 31 C.F.R. sec. 103.11, and one count of corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede the administration of the internal revenue laws under 26 U.S.C. § 7212. Twelve of the charges were for failing to pay employee-related taxes, totaling $473,818, and 45 of the charges were for evading reporting requirements by making multiple cash withdrawals just under the $10,000 reporting requirement (a technique known as "smurfing"). The withdrawals, totaling $430,500, were made in 2001 and 2002.

The government charged that Hovind falsely listed the IRS as his only creditor in his bankruptcy, filed a false and frivolous lawsuit against the IRS in which he demanded damages for criminal trespass, made threats of harm to those investigating him and to those who might consider cooperating with the investigation, filed a false complaint against IRS agents investigating him, filed a false criminal complaint against IRS special agents (criminal investigators), and destroyed records.

After the indictment, Hovind maintained his innocence. "I still don't understand what I'm being charged for and who is charging me," he said. Magistrate Miles Davis asked Hovind if he wrote and spoke English, to which Hovind responded "To some degree". Davis replied that the government adequately explained the allegations and the defendant understands the charges "whether you want to admit it or not." An October 17 trial date (originally September 5) was set for Kent Hovind and his co-defendant wife, Jo, who faced 44 charges. Hovind stated that he did not recognize the government's right to try him on tax-fraud charges. At first he attempted to enter a plea of "subornation of false muster," but then entered a not guilty plea "under duress" when the judge offered to enter a plea for him.

At the time of the arrest, Magistrate Davis, "over Kent Hovind's protests[,] ... took away his passport and [the] guns Hovind claimed belonged to his church...." Hovind argued that he needed his passport to continue his evangelism work. He said "thousands and thousands" were waiting to hear him preach in South Africa the following month. But Davis sided with Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Heldmyer, who argued that "like-minded people" might secret Hovind away if he left the country. In relation to the guns, Davis said "ownership was not the issue.". Because of reports of weapons on the Hovind property, the indictment was originally sealed for fear that "the arrest of the defendants in this case could pose some danger to agents." More than a half-dozen guns were seized at the Hovind's home, including an SKS semiautomatic rifle. Also "During an IRS raid at the home, agents found cash stashed 'all over the place.' About $42,000 was seized."

It was revealed during the trial that Jo Hovind had requested financial assistance from Baptist Healthcare claiming that the Hovinds had no income. "'Dr. and Mrs. Kent Hovind do not earn salaries,' wrote Martha Harris, the trust secretary of Creation Science Evangelism to Baptist Healthcare. 'As health insurance is not provided for this couple, we would appreciate (financial assistance).'" However, continues the article "Kent Hovind, a tax protester, makes a substantial amount of money" see above. "On the day the IRS searched the Hovind home, Kent Hovind withdrew $70,000 from the Creation Science Evangelism account. Half in a check; the other in cash.

At the time of the indictment, Hovind's defense appeared to be that although there were 30 people working for him, all of whom received remuneration in cash, none of them were employees. According to Hovind, "Nobody's an employee, and they all know that when they come. They come, they work ... The laborer is worthy of his hire -- we try to take the purely scriptural approach. We do the best we can with helping people with their family needs. There are no employees here." Hovind had also claimed that he was not liable for taxes that and his ministry did not have to "render unto Caesar" because his workers are "missionaries" not "employees".

On October 21, 2006, the trial began in which he hoped to convince a jury that his amusement park admission and merchandise sales belonged to God and cannot be taxed. After the first week of testimony the trial was postponed due to a defense lawyer's illness. Former and current workers, IRS agents, a bank employee, and a lawyer of a non-profit Christian organization testified in the trial. Workers testified that they had to punch time cards, had vacation and sick days; while others testified Hovind claimed he had "beat" the tax system. During the trial, the judge "admonished" Hovind's attorney for wasting time and asking irrelevant questions.

The trial concluded on November 1 with the defense deciding not to present a case. After closing arguments were presented on November 2, the jury deliberated three hours before finding the Hovinds guilty on all counts, 58 for Hovind and 44 for his wife. The Pensacola News Journal noted, "The saddest thing: Had they cooperated with the agents, they probably wouldn't be worrying about prison sentences now."

Hovind was sentenced on January 19, 2007 to ten years in prison and ordered to pay the federal government restitution of over $600,000. After his prison term finishes, he will have to serve another three years of probation. A tearful Hovind had hoped to avoid prison, telling the court, "If it's just money the IRS wants, there are thousands of people out there who will help pay the money they want so I can go back out there and preach."

Hovind's teary-eyed court room behavior was in stark contrast to phone calls he made while in jail. One conversation with Eric Hovind, Kent Hovind's son, showed the two plotted to hide a motor vehicle title and property deeds to prevent the government from collecting the property to pay for owed debt.

A February 28, 2007 hearing was held so that the court could consider, among other things, certain contentions by Hovind regarding his convictions for structuring transactions (cash withdrawals from a bank) to evade currency reporting requirements. Hovind is contending that under the rule in a case called United States v. Davenport, the crime is not the individual withdrawals, but is instead the total transaction, also known as the "unit of the crime." Hovind is contending that in his case there was no "unit of the crime" "separate and distinct from the alleged act of withdrawing, and without such a separate amount to be structured [. . .] there could be no crime alleged, and no conviction on any charge in Counts 13 through 57." If the convictions on Counts 13 through 57 were to be thrown out (or, more specifically, if the conviction on count 57 alone were to be thrown out), and considering the remaining convictions on the other counts, the effect could be to reduce Hovind's prison sentence from ten years to five years. The parties are awaiting a court decision on this matter. On June 29, 2007, Hovind's wife Jo was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison.

Controversial remarks

Hovind has made controversial remarks regarding conspiracies, science, creation, equal rights, religion and government over the years. Hovind considers the King James Version of the Bible to be the inerrant word of God that must be taken literally. Because of this, he believes all findings of science will eventually be found to agree with Scripture — which he claims is a priori known to be true. He claims that evolutionists also have a priori assumptions, namely that God does not exist (or at least not one that performed special Creation), thereby distorting their own application of science. Hovind maintains that biology textbooks are lying and advocates simply taking evolution out of the textbooks because he considers evolution to be a religion. He has said, "I'm not trying to get evolution out of the textbooks, nor am I trying to get creationism into the textbooks. What I'm trying to do is get the lies out of the textbooks."

Hovind has several conspiracy theories about the U.S. government. For example, he believes that the once-widely touted (but since discredited) cancer cure Laetrile actually works and teaches that the US government is conspiring to suppress a cure for cancer. On his radio program that he claims the U.S. government was behind the 9/11 attacks and that a "lot of folks were told not to come to work." He attributes this belief to the films 911 In Plane Site and Loose Change. He also believes the Oklahoma City bombing was carried out by the government. "Did you know the Federal Government blew up their own building to blame it on the militias and to get rid of some people that weren't cooperating with the system?" He also alleges that "UFOs are apparitions of Satan" and that the US government possesses UFOs. Additionally, Hovind believes that the Federal Reserve, the Council on Foreign Relations, the United Nations, and various other groups are actively planning to create a one-world government and that the 1993 World Trade Center attack was staged by the US Government in order to pass "anti-terrorism" legislation that restricts civil liberties. He says, "I love my country, but fear my government. And you should too."

Hovind disregards all fossil evidence, claiming "no fossils can count as evidence for evolution," because "all we know about that animal is that it died," and we do not know that it "had any kids, much less different kids." During a debate with Farrell Till, Hovind made the following claim about Donald Johanson: "[He] found the leg bones of Lucy a mile and a half away from the head bones. The leg bones were 200 feet deeper in a deeper layer of strata. I would like to know how fast the train was going that hit that chimpanzee." According to Donald Johanson, this is false, and although Hovind has been informed of this, he continues to make the claim. He also claims the Grand Canyon was not created through gradual geologic processes but rather by the Great Flood as narrated in the Old Testament.

Trivia

• In 2004, Hovind was interviewed on Da Ali G Show, in an episode titled "Science" from the first season of the show's U.S. run on HBO. "Ali G", played by comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, told Hovind that the fact that Hovind ate bananas proved that he was descended from monkeys and accused him of failing to flush a backstage toilet.[3]
• Hovind's ideas on evolution, and science in general, have been published in Chick Tracts, comic strips intended to convert people to Fundamentalist Christianity.

References

Official Hovind and Pro-Hovind

• Dr Dino - Hovind's official website
• CSE Blogs - Hovind's official blog
• Dinosaur Adventure Land - Hovind's YEC-theme park website
• Truth Radio - Hovind's radio program (The Creation Science Hour), hosted by Truth Radio

Creationist but critical of Hovind

• Rebuttals to the works of Kent Hovind by Answers In Creation
• Point-by-Point Rebuttal of Dr. Dino's Critique of the "Gap Theory" of Genesis Creationism at Christian Geology website
• Maintaining Creationist Integrity: A response to Kent Hovind, by Answers in Genesis archived at web.archive.org.
• Ross–Hovind Debate, John Ankerberg Show, October 2000; Analysis by Jonathan Sarfati of[Answers in Genesis.

Critical of creationism and Hovind

• Analysis of Kent Hovind Includes a section on Hovind's relationship with Chick Publishing and responses to the $250,000 Challenge.
• Unmasking the False Prophet of Creationism by Barbara Forrest. September 1999.
• A Miracle Occurs by Michael Shermer
• Kent Hovind FAQs from TalkOrigins
• How Good Are Those Young-Earth Arguments? a detailed critique by Dave E. Matson
• The Kent Hovind Page by John Stear
• Kisby, Adam, "Doubting Dr. Dino: Kent Hovind's $250,000 Challenge Met", Skeptic, Vol. 12, No. 1. Retrieved on 2006-10-19.
• When Giants Roamed by the Southern Poverty Law Center (2004)
• An Academic Review of Hovind's Dissertation by Karen Bartelt, Ph.D
• Martinez, Greg, "A Journey to Hovind's Dinosaur Adventure Land", Skeptical Inquirer, November 2004.
• Martinez, Greg, "'Stupid Dino Tricks': A Reply to Hovind's Web Response", Skeptical Inquirer, March 2005.
• Other views: Kent Hovind
• Jared Hoag vs. Kent Hovind mp3s hosted by Dartmouth

Court records

• Hovind bankruptcy decision (1996)
• Escambia County Florida Clerk of the Circuit Court Affidavit (August 10, 2005) A court affidavit Hovind presented containing his biography.
• Hovind, 197 B.R. 157 (Bankr. N.D. Fla. 1996) - A description of the 1996 seizure of property
• Kent Hovind v Scott Schneider (2002)
• US Tax Court: Hovind v. Commissioner Internal Revenue Memo Opinion (July 6, 2006)
• Various documents provided from Richardsayshome.com, which some believe is run by Hovind.[4]
• United States of America v Kent Hovind and Jo Hovind (July 2006)
• Escambia County (Pensacola, Florida) Clerk of Courts – Court database
• Kent Hovind jail calls excerpts of between 80 and 90 hours of taped phone conversations by Hovind used by prosecutors as evidence.

Media sources

• "Biblical theme park's finances investigated: Dr. Dino owes taxes dating back to 1997", St. Petersburg Times, April 18, 2004. Retrieved on 2006-12-18.
• Rabb, William, "Park could face extinction: Lack of building permits closes dinosaur museum", Pensacola News Journal, 7 April 2006.
• Stewart, Michael, "Evangelist arrested on federal charges", Pensacola News Journal, 14 July 2006.
• Stewart, Michael, "Park owner pleads not guilty to tax fraud: Evangelist says he's owned by God", Pensacola News Journal, 18 July 2006.
• Stewart, Michael, "Creationist's fight with Uncle Sam may evolve into painful defeat", Pensacola News Journal, 19 July 2006.
• Stewart, Michael, "Lift restrictions, evangelist asks", Pensacola News Journal, 21 July 2006.
• Stewart, Michael, "No travel for evangelist, judge says", Pensacola News Journal, 28 July 2006.
• Stewart, Michael, "Evangelist's trial postponed", Pensacola News Journal, 1 September 2006.
• Fail, Angela, "Evangelist's trial begins: Dinosaur Adventure Land owner, wife face 58 counts of tax fraud", Pensacola News Journal, October 18, 2006.
• Sowder, Amy, "Workers testify in 'Dr. Dino' trial", Pensacola News Journal, October 19, 2006.
• Fail, Angela, "Christian College leader says taxes are part of religion: Hovind argues God's workers are exempt", Pensacola News Journal, October 20, 2006.
• Michael Stewart. "Lawyer: Hovind detailed actions: Evangelist said he 'beat the system'", 21 October 2006.
• Staff, , "Hovind trial resumes Monday", Pensacola News Journal, 25 October 2006.
• Lozare, Nicole, "IRS agent testifies in Hovind trial, Case could go to jury Thursday", Pensacola News Journal, October 31, 2006.
• Lozare, Nicole, "Judge admonishes Hovind attorney", Pensacola News Journal, November 1, 2006.
• Lozare, Nicole, "Prosecutors rest case against Hovind", Pensacola News Journal, November 1, 2006.
• Lozare, Nicole, "'Dr. Dino,' wife guilty", Pensacola News Journal, November 2, 2006.
• O'Brien, Mark, "Hard to believe a man with a Ph.D didn't know of a basic tax law", Pensacola News Journal, November 3, 2006.
• "Pensacola Evangelist Who Founded Dinosaur Theme Park Convicted of Tax Fraud", First Coast News, 6 November 2006. Retrieved on 2007-01-20.
• Stewart, Michael, "10 years for 'Dr. Dino'", Pensacola News Journal, 19 January 2007. Retrieved on 2007-01-20.
• Stewart, Michael, "A decade for 'Dr. Dino'", Pensacola News Journal, 20 January 2007. Retrieved on 2007-01-20.
• "Florida evangelist sentenced for tax fraud", WALA-TV, January 20, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-01-21.
• O'Brien, Mark, "Earth to 'Dr. Dino': Please pay your taxes and start facing reality", Pensacola News Journal, January 21, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-01-21.
• "Kent Hovind jail calls", Pensacola News Journal, January 20, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-01-21.
• "Attorneys for Hovinds seeks acquittal on bank structuring", Pensacola News Journal, March, 1, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-03-03.