Ronald J. Gardner Jr. told the jury that paying taxes is voluntary, and more than that, that the federal government has no authority over him to force him to pay them.

But he wasn't persuasive enough.

Mr. Gardner, who was on the run for nearly two years after his April 2005 indictment, was found guilty in U.S. District Court on Tuesday of willfully failing to file his tax returns and for trying to obstruct or impede the administration of internal revenue laws.

A sentencing date has not yet been set by U.S. District Judge Joy Flowers Conti.

Mr. Gardner, a former professional wrestler, fled after his indictment and wasn't arrested until February 2007, when he was picked up outside of Cleveland by the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service.

His charges were based on what are called "abusive trusts," a way for business owners to try to disguise assets by transferring them into a series of trusts.

Mr. Gardner attempted to do that by incorporating his business under the Gardner Detective Agency Trust.

According to prosecutors, he gave his employers false taxpayer identification numbers and paid his employees in cash.

He also transferred the deed for his house and the title for his car into a separate trust.

Mr. Gardner testified on his own behalf in the case, espousing a variety of viewpoints trying to defend his failure to pay his taxes.

Among them, he told the jury that he was a sovereign citizen who was subject only to the king.

In a written statement following the jury's decision, Timothy Marsh, special agent in charge of the IRS criminal division in Pittsburgh, said: "This verdict is a crystal clear message that law-abiding citizens expect the government to hold accountable those who intentionally evade their duty to comply with the tax laws."

Mr. Gardner remains free on bond pending sentencing.

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