David Hinkson – A Wealthy Idaho Businessman Convicted of Soliciting the Murders of Three Federal Officials

David Roland Hinkson is a wealthy businessman who was recently found guilty of soliciting the murders of three federal officials. Additionally, he faced tax and currency structuring charges.

As a result of his convictions, Hinkson was sentenced to 516 months in prison and fined $100,000; he is currently serving that punishment.

Early Life and Education

After a two-week trial in Boise, Idaho, Hinkson was found guilty of soliciting the murders of three federal officials. Elven Joe Swisher – an Army veteran with extensive combat experience – testified that Hinkson was impressed by Swisher’s military prowess and asked him to kill Cook, Hines, and Lodge for $10,000 each.

The trial revealed that Hinkson had a paranoid personality, disdained federal employees, and sought to avoid his tax obligations. Furthermore, he engaged in multiple questionable business deals to hide assets and make himself judgment proof against both IRS agents and private judgment creditors.

Professional Career

After graduating law school, Hinkson began working for the British Columbia Prosecution Service and also practiced as a criminal defence lawyer.

His tenure as a lawyer saw him defend many cases where clients had been injured or killed due to accidents. Additionally, he litigated cases where clients were sued for negligence or other related claims; and defended motor vehicle accidents as well as general insurance disputes.

In May 2004, Hinkson was found guilty of 26 counts of tax fraud and Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act violations. He received a combined sentence of 516 months imprisonment as well as a fine of $100,000.

Achievement and Honors

Hinkson owned and operated a Grangeville, Idaho water-bottling company. He hired Elven Joe Swisher to test their water on an ongoing basis.

Hinkson reported that Swisher had informed him he was a Korean War combat veteran and an expert firearms operator – something which greatly impressed the veteran.

However, the government now alleges that Hinkson failed to conduct a thorough investigation of Swisher’s military record. They assert that Hinkson could have subpoenaed witnesses at trial about Swisher’s service record.

However, this argument is unsupported and unsupported. It cannot explain why the government would release Swisher’s grand jury testimony only one week before trial, nor why it took ninety days to respond to Hinkson’s October 11 deposition request for information regarding Swisher’s military record.

Personal Life

Last summer, wealthy businessman Paul Hinkson from rural Idaho County was convicted of owning WaterOz, an ionic water solution sold worldwide through multilevel marketing. He had previously been found guilty of selling adulterated and misbranded drugs as well as engaging in income tax evasion.

Counts 1 through 6 allege that Hinkson solicited Harding to murder Cook, Hines and Lodge twice: once in January 2003 (Counts 1-3) and again in March 2003 (Counts 4-6). Furthermore, Counts 7 through 9 allege Hinkson encouraged Swisher to murder the same individuals between December 2002 and February 2003.

Counts 10 and 11 allege that Hinkson threatened to kill the children of Cook and Hines. These charges were not included in the original indictment, but were added as counts 10 and 11 in the superseding indictment.

Net Worth

Hinkson earned over $3 million from his WaterOz business in Grangeville, Idaho. He promoted its water products as a cure-all for various illnesses.

He sold ozone generators and body suits that he claimed had health benefits. Unfortunately, he mislabeled some of these items as drugs, violating both the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the Federal Trade Commission.

In May 2004, a Boise jury found him guilty of 26 criminal tax violations related to his business activities. He was found guilty of failing to file income tax returns, paying employment taxes, and structuring transactions to circumvent bank currency reporting requirements.

Assistant United States Attorney Nancy Cook and Internal Revenue Service Special Agent Steven Hines brought this case after conducting an investigation into Hinkson’s business practices and tax evasion.