License Fraud help!

Joined
Apr 21, 2015
Messages
978
I own homes/property in 3 different states, none of then are our primary residence....We are considered absentee landowners owners in those states by DNR/F&G and I must buy NR tags...Just be cause he owns property in another state doesn't make him guilty.
I’m thinking it would be hard to prove you reside in Idaho if the only house you own and live in is in Washington.
 

NMJM

FNG
Joined
Aug 2, 2022
Messages
19
Just out of curiosity do you know how the state found out about your unusual living arrangement and choose to charge you?
Depending on the prosecutor and judge you may be able to resolve this with an attorney pretrial.
 

CorbLand

WKR
Joined
Mar 16, 2016
Messages
7,212
Similar thing has happened to a kid I know.

Rented an apartment 15 miles on the wrong side of the Idaho border. Had a business, vehicle registered, everything pretty much in Idaho minus where he slept most of the nights. Got his ticket, went to a lawyer and the lawyer pretty much told him, take the ticket, pay it and move on. Its cheaper and easier in the long run and very few have won against IDFG in these cases.
 

intunegp

WKR
Joined
Sep 28, 2021
Messages
397
453416514c87972f125d03fdce3c8d2c.jpg


OP you should definitely contact a lawyer.
 
Joined
Jul 6, 2017
Messages
578
Location
Boise
OP, the more I read the post, the more I think up should delete it. I counted no less than three residency violations along with some tax evasion, to boot.

As I see it, you gave up your ID residency upon buying the WA house in 2022. It sounds like you are in ID and WA about 50/50. That makes you as much of a WA resident as ID.
 
Joined
Nov 28, 2022
Messages
739
I’m curious how they even felt the need to investigate if you didn’t have resident licenses simultaneously in more than one state.
 

CorbLand

WKR
Joined
Mar 16, 2016
Messages
7,212
I’m curious how they even felt the need to investigate if you didn’t have resident licenses simultaneously in more than one state.
Idaho is pretty notorious for this. This is at least the second but I think third thread on this since I have been here. I know one kid directly that this happened to and have heard of many others.

Must be in their SOPs.
 
Joined
Apr 8, 2019
Messages
1,834
It sure does if he lives at this house as he implies
Where he "lives" is irrelevant...just because I "live" in another state at another home for 3 months of the year it doesn't make me a resident of that state. Luckily my state of residence requires you declare your primary residence with the county for tax purposes, there is higher tax rate for NR home owners, lot of beach homes in SC, so it's a little cleaner.
 
Joined
Jul 6, 2017
Messages
578
Location
Boise
Hi guys, thanks for all the insight. I’m not necessarily looking for a way to win this, as I can’t afford a lawyer and any arguements made in my defense will be by me, and dealing with government entities isn’t my strong suit. Mostly just trying to wrap my head around how this will go down, as I’ve been given very little information on that from fish and game, and curious how others have approached similar situations before. Primarily worried about license revocation, and anything I can do to downtalk that or get out of it.

For what it’s worth, I have never purchased in state licenses in a state other than Idaho, but have purchased non-resident fishing licenses in Oregon and Washington.

We consider our schoolie our domicile, although it sounds like this is a weird thing, and maybe that can’t be done. It is in Idaho, and we return to it frequently. Time spent in each state is close to split, with probably more hours spent in Idaho, but sleeping in Washington more often.

Anyway, thanks for any advice!
It's a lousy situation to be in. You may just have to take your medicine and hope for leniency. Regardless of what you consider your domicile, you own a house in Washington and, by your own admission, sleep in WA more often. In the eyes of the State of Idaho, you are a WA resident.
 

JFK

WKR
Joined
Sep 13, 2016
Messages
747
If you aren’t going the route of getting g a lawyer I’d just show up to court and be 100% honest. Probably don’t need to mention any under the table work as that opens up a whole ‘nother can of worms. Just explain the living/work/school situation. I don’t believe number of days you hunted each tag will have any impact on the decision. Owning a house in another state that you don’t live in shouldn’t be a big deal…lots of people own homes in states they don’t claim residency.
 

Snowwolfe

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jun 28, 2016
Messages
164
Location
Alaska
Where he "lives" is irrelevant...just because I "live" in another state at another home for 3 months of the year it doesn't make me a resident of that state. Luckily my state of residence requires you declare your primary residence with the county for tax purposes, there is higher tax rate for NR home owners, lot of beach homes in SC, so it's a little cleaner.
Are you saying you can live in one state for 11 months a year yet claim residency in another? Try getting a judge to believe that.
 
Joined
Apr 21, 2015
Messages
978
FYI
Washington will hammer you for not changing you vehicle registration over and not paying use tax on your stuff when you move to Washington from out of state.
 

CorbLand

WKR
Joined
Mar 16, 2016
Messages
7,212
I'm confused by how confused the OP is about how he got into this situation.
I would bet that this guy is like the last guy that posted a thread about this same topic. The more he talked the more it became evident that he knew what he was doing but chose the "I am a victim" card when he got caught. Most of these seem to be that way.

If I was OP, I would probably get a lawyer because if he talks the way he posted this, he is going to get himself in more trouble. Dude should go to court, explain the situation, apologize, explain how he understand he is wrong and will do what ever the court determines will make it right. Maybe crack a joke about how he didnt get to hunt much on these tags and how expensive that one day was. Take the punishment and move on.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Apr 8, 2019
Messages
1,834
Are you saying you can live in one state for 11 months a year yet claim residency in another? Try getting a judge to believe that.
Happens all the time...got few welding buddies that have went longer than that when they live onsite of the job. They never changed their state of residence.
 

3forks

WKR
Joined
Oct 4, 2014
Messages
831
To the OP, I know you can’t afford a lawyer, but you could end up in a situation where you resolve your situation with the license issue but end up with an IRS issue if you’re not careful.

I know of a couple of situations in where Montana FWP got the IRS involved in cases such as yours. Essentially, regardless of your intent or interpretation of the respective laws - you’re going to have to settle up with one or both bureaucracies.

How you choose to go forward could cause you more expense and complications downstream. The cost of consulting a lawyer now is most likely a worthwhile investment.
 

MattB

WKR
Joined
Sep 29, 2012
Messages
5,673
It sure does if he lives at this house as he implies
He specifically stated they were living in a converted school bus during the time.

Even if a person does not pursue residency in another state, some state/provincial residency requirements for hunting purposes state that you have to have been in the state/province for 6 or more months during the year. With that, a person could technically not pass a residency requirement for any state/province in a given year.
 
Top