Wrongful Death Suit Blames IRS for Suicide

A wrongful death suit has been filed against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by an Indiana man who claims that his wife committed suicide after being inappropriately targeted by a raid. 

The suicide lawsuit was filed by James Simon, 57, in U.S. District Court in Fort Wayne in February. On Tuesday the government responded to the lawsuit, saying that it was not responsible for his wife’s death.

According to the complaint, Denise Simon, 50, committed suicide on November 9, 2007. Records from the Allen County Coroner’s Office determined that the suicide was done via intentional carbon monoxide poisoning. Her death came three days after armed and armored IRS agents allegedly raided the Simon home while she was getting their daughter ready for school. James Simon, who maintains a residence in the Ukraine, was out of the country at the time of the raid.

Simon is involved in the telecommunications and satellite industry, and was part of a company known as Rimsat which went bankrupt in the 1990s after a satellite disagreement with the Russian Federal Space Agency. In 2007, his activities came under investigation by the IRS into farm subsidies, leading to a search warrant and raid on his home.

In a suicide note allegedly written by Denise Simon, she wrote that she was innocent of the charges, but had no faith in the legal system. Simon was a former president of the Fort Wayne chapter of the American Red Cross and a former board member of Stop Child Abuse and Neglect.

Simon charges that the IRS misstated facts in order to obtain a search warrant, invaded the family’s privacy, and caused intentional and unnecessary emotional distress resulting in liability for the death of his wife. He is seeking an undisclosed amount of damages.