by 150 companies. Meanwhile, he convinced Congress to allow him take over all of the railroad companies within the United States. Sanborn was trying to collect taxes that BIR employees were also pursuing, causing great disturbance among the employees. Also the commissioners had lodged a formal complaint with the Treasury, which was ignored by the same. On January 10, 1874, Sanborn and two others were indicted for revenue fraud. Sanborn's defense was that he was under contract from the government due to a rider in an 1872 appropriations bill created by congressman William H. Kelsey. This bill allowed the Secretary of the Treasury to hire three persons to "discover and collect" unknown taxes to the United States government. If they collected they would receive 50% commission. Previously, acting Treasury Secretary William Adams Richardson, hired Sanborn as an independent tax collector on a 50 percent commission basis, known as a moiety. What Sanborn did instead was to take already existing tax cases, and put them on his contract, so when they came in, he would collect 50%. When the charges came, and congress investigated the documents. In the following testimony, Richardson said he didn't read the contracts, he resigned few months later. Sanborn was acquitted of the charges because he was under contract to collect those taxes, but the scandal still rocked the country from January to May 1874. In June 1874, Grant signed the Anti-Moiety Acts, abolishing that system. See also Grantism Bibliography of Ulysses S. Grant References Sources External links Biography of William A. Richardson at the Department of the Treasury Readings from the Tax History Project 1874 Ways and Means Report Urges Repeal of Private Tax Debt Collection Law Historical Perspective: The Unhappy History of Private Tax Collection by Joseph J. Thorndike. Political scandals in the United States 1874 in the United States Grant administration controversies