Humanize your case and facts

What was reasonable under the circumstances ?
due process does not permit shifting the burden of proof to us by the use of conclusive or burden-shifting presumptions.
- did we make a deliberate or willful or intentional or conscious attempt not to achieve the required level of knowledge ?
- did we deliberately close our eyes to what would otherwise have been obvious to us ? 
- our actions were not objectively reasonable and we intentionally intended to be willfully blind to the facts ?
- did we have the required level of intent ?
- did we consciously took steps to avoid learning about our inaccuracy ?

=> a genuine, good faith belief that one is not violating the Federal tax law based on a misunderstanding caused by the complexity of the tax law is a valid defense to a charge of “willfulness,” even though the defendant’s belief is objectively irrational or unreasonable.
Defense strategy will be along the lines of ignorance, negligence, incompetence, or lack of sophistication .
In the criminal setting, the government carries the heavy burden of proving – beyond a reasonable doubt – that the taxpayer acted willfully.  The definition of willfulness can be bifurcated into two parts.  As explained in the IRM: “Willfulness is demonstrated by the [taxpayer’s] knowledge of the reporting requirements and the [taxpayer’s] conscious choice not to comply with the requirements.”
In the FBAR context, the only thing that a person need know is that he has a reporting requirement.  If a person has that requisite knowledge, the only intent needed to constitute a willful violation of the requirement is a conscious choice not to file the FBAR.
Under the theory of “willful blindness,” willfulness may be attributed to a person who has made a conscious effort to avoid learning about the FBAR reporting and recordkeeping requirements.  At the outset, it is important to recognize that the theory of willful blindness is not widely embraced by all of the federal circuits.  Indeed, many circuits have unanimously rejected it because it dilutes the “mens rea” requirement by replacing willfulness with “deliberate ignorance,” thus lessening the government’s burden on such a critical element of a criminal offense.

What is willfulness?  Willfulness is a state of mind.  Seldomly can it be proven by direct evidence.  Instead, it is usually established through circumstantial evidence – i.e., by conduct or acts from which a person’s state of mind can be inferred.  For FBAR purposes, this could include concealing signature authority, interests in various transactions, and interests in entities transferring cash to foreign banks.