The next time you're in Fairmount, North Carolina, stop and have lunch at the L & M Convenience Mart. Congratulate the owner, Lyndon McClellan, who yesterday won a small victory over the overreaching IRS.

Nearly a year ago, the IRS seized $107,702.66 from his business account.

McClellan did nothing wrong. The IRS has never alleged he committed a crime, nor did they charge him with one. His only infraction was to make a series of deposits, each less than $10,000.

This, believe it or not, is illegal under a federal law intended to target drug dealers, racketeers, and terrorists.

The Institute for Justice, which calls itself "the national law firm for liberty," came to McClellan's defense.

On Wednesday, the federal prosecutor dismissed the case.

"We’re a not-for-profit, public interest law firm devoted to constitutional principles of liberty, free enterprise, and private property," said Robert Johnson, an IJ attorney who handled the case.

Read the press release from the Institute for Justice. 

Background and More Coverage

Prosecutors drop IRS seizure case against Fairmont convenience store owner - News & Observer

Small-town NC Case Shows Federal Overreach - Civitas Institute 

IRS Caught Violating Its Own Civil Forfeiture Policy - Institute for Justice