SAN DIEGO -- As a soldier, he defended American freedoms on the battlefield. As a lawyer, he defended his clients' freedoms in the courtroom. But David Jacquot said his freedom is being targeted by the U.S. government.

"I'm a believer in America; I'm a believer in the constitution, and what is going on here is wrong," said Jacquot.

Jacquot is being charged with tax evasion, and he said he is innocent. He told the 10News I-Team the charges are only being field because the U.S. Attorney's Office wants revenge.

In 2004, Jacquot defended San Diego-based Xelan Inc., a financial planning group. U.S. Attorney Faith Devine alleged Xelan was running a Ponzi scheme. Judge Larry Burns threw the charges out the first time they hit his courtroom.

"Were they angry that they got the case thrown out so quickly?" asked I-Team reporter Mitch Blacher.

"Oh, absolutely," said Jacquot. "They were completely embarrassed in this. They want their pound of flesh."

Jacquot said the U.S. Attorney's Office filed charges four years later, saying he evaded taxes in 2001 and 2002.

Jacquot had to defend himself against the charges and asked to see what evidence the government had to prove he evaded taxes.

What he received was 971,123 files full of tax returns, but only a few files pertained to his case. Jacquot said in order to bury him in paperwork, the U.S. Attorney's Office was willing to break the law.

"It is packed with people's tax returns and other information; people I've never met and do not know," said Jacquot.

Legally, the U.S. Attorney has to prove the information that led to the charges. However, in Jacquot's case, they sent thousands of unrelated documents containing Social Security numbers, home addresses and full names. It is illegal to send documents without redacting personal information, but Jacquot said that was done in his case.

"If I am the criminal the government alleges that I am why did they give me thousands and hundreds of thousands of documents that contain vital information of innocent citizens?" said Jacquot.

The I-Team asked the U.S. Attorney's Office the same questions, but they declined a request for an interview. Instead, they directed the I-Team to two legal documents related to the tax evasion charges against Jacquot.

In one of the documents, Devine told the court, "There is no misconduct," on her part. In the other, she wrote that, "Instead of focusing on the facts … the defendant chooses to attack the prosecutor …"

Jacquot's case continues on, and a court will soon decide if he evaded taxes.

In the meantime, the I-Team's questions about how many Americans had their tax information handed out by the government remain unanswered.

"I'm a nobody; I'm not important, but what is important is what the government is doing," said Jacquot.

The Treasury Inspector General's Office in Washington, D.C., has opened an investigation to see if there has been misconduct by the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Diego.

Federal authorities would not disclose any further details.