Assist Richard Isaac with Legal and Debt Relief

Hello, my name is Richard Isaac. I am a 79-year-old male. I am currently married and retired from the School District of Philadelphia after 33 years, starting as a part-time bus driver and retiring in 2005 as a transportation analyst. In 2003, I was involved with a group of teachers desiring to start a charter school in the Philadelphia area.

The group was granted a five-year charter for the 2004-05 school year and successfully operated the Khepera Charter School for fourteen years.

The renewal for the next five years started at the end of the fourth year, and we weren't granted another charter because of academic and financial issues.

It was discovered during the renewal process that there were unpaid vendors and payroll taxes. The Chief Financial Officer at the time of renewal disappeared and wasn't heard from again. The new school year began, and it was discovered that vendors hadn't been paid and money wasn't deposited for employees' contributions to the pension fund.

The investigation revealed that the CFO had embezzled over four hundred thousand dollars of school money and was indicted by the state Attorney General for the embezzlement.

The founder of the school was removed for misconduct at the school opening, and I was asked to step into the role of president, which was a volunteer position with no compensation.

During the last year of operation, the new CFO and a tax consultant engaged with the IRS to pay taxes but didn't keep the agreement as the revenue coming in wasn't enough to cover all aspects of the operations. Once the IRS determined that outstanding Trust Fund Taxes weren't paid, I received notification that I owed those taxes. The pandemic had started, and a telephone interview was conducted with various members of the administration, including myself. The tax consultant indicated that she would reach out to someone with experience working for the IRS and had a business representing businesses with IRS issues. She was ineffective and took the last of the money that was available as the school was closing.

I was contacted by the IRS and was held accountable for the unpaid taxes without explanation. I engaged a tax firm to represent me, but they could only attempt to work on my behalf to reduce the obligation. Because of the pandemic, the issue continued for three years, and the IRS assessed me to pay $1,500 monthly for ten years. I petitioned the tax court for relief with the help of a tax court attorney. I've paid six thousand dollars for the firm who negotiated the above-mentioned assessment. The tax court attorney representation is fifteen thousand, and I've made a loan to pay, but that loan couldn't completely cover the cost of representation and the repayment of the loan. I need the money to finish paying the attorney and cover the monthly repayments of the loan and other debt I've incurred fighting this improper assessment, as I wasn't involved in making payments or decisions apart from the Board of Directors. I still don't have a determination from the IRS, but I am not going to have funds available to meet my personal obligations and pay the attorney as well. My wife is also retired with health issues, and we are both on Medicare. All help will be very appreciated.