State says Dasen owes $786,000 in back taxes
A warrant threatening seizure of property has been filed against convicted sex
offender Dick Dasen Sr., formerly of Kalispell, for $786,000 allegedly due in unpaid state
income taxes, penalties, and interest from 2004.
A warrant threatening seizure of property has been filed against convicted sex offender Dick Dasen Sr., formerly of Kalispell, for $786,000 allegedly due in unpaid state income taxes, penalties, and interest from 2004.
The document was filed in Flathead District Court on Nov. 18 by the Montana Department of Revenue. Such a "warrant of distraint" can be filed if the state gives notice to someone about their tax debt and it remains unpaid 30 days after the notice.
The amount makes Dasen's alleged debt the single largest in the state, according to a list from the Department of Revenue. The next largest tax debt in Montana is about $450,000, allegedly owed by a Red Bluff, Calif., man.
The department alleges that Dasen owes about $658,000 in unpaid taxes, about $82,000 in penalties and about $46,000 in interest.
The warrant is an order commanding a sheriff or a designated agent of the state to "seize, levy upon, collect and sell, if necessary," the real and personal property of a delinquent taxpayer.
Once the warrant is filed, there is a lien against all real and personal property of the taxpayer within the state.
Dasen, a businessman who was reportedly a self-made millionaire in Kalispell, is currently in prison after being convicted by a jury on May 20 of sexual abuse of children, promotion of prostitution, and four counts of prostitution.
Kalispell Police said he spent as much as $3 million for sex in five years.
At his trial, Dasen said he is now financially ruined. However, prosecutors at a bond hearing after Dasen's conviction said he reshuffled nearly $7 million in assets, including selling a home in Arizona to his wife, Susan, for $10.
Dasen has several lawsuits pending against him, including two by teenagers with whom he allegedly had sex.
Susan Dasen testified that the couple sold their West Valley Drive house to their daughter and son-in-law. She still holds a half-interest, she said.
Prosecuting Deputy County Attorney Guzynski said the house and its 15 acres are valued at $600,000.
Dasen also transferred his interest in the couple's Arizona house to his wife after his arrest. They bought the home for $200,000, and it is worth perhaps $300,000, Susan Dasen testified. She said she didn't know why he did that.
"It's just in my name," she said.
Other transfers mentioned in court included about $3.8 million of Winter Sports stock. Winter Sports Inc. is the company that owns the Big Mountain resort. Dasen also sold Citizens Title & Escrow Co. for about $3 million, Guzynski said.
Dasen's accountant said his client had never personally received the proceeds from those sales. The money instead went to an investment business Dasen was involved in to repay debts he had incurred there.
Dasen is appealing his conviction. He hired a Great Falls attorney to file his appeal with the Montana Supreme Court.
In addition to the alleged state tax debt, a federal tax lien was filed against Dasen for the amount of $42,673 in January.
Reporter Chery Sabol may be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at csabol@dailyinterlake.com