Tennessee Man Pleads Guilty To Filing False Retaliatory Lien And Making A False Claim For Tax Refund

A Rogersville, Tennessee resident pleaded guilty today to filing a fraudulent multi-million dollar lien against a government employee and filing a false claim for a tax refund, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. 

According to court documents, Brian Leo Snow failed to pay his federal tax liabilities for the years 2000 – 2008 and then became the subject of collection activity by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  After being held in contempt of court for failing to provide documents and records to the IRS, Snow filed false retaliatory liens claiming that various government officials, including an IRS revenue officer, an Assistant United States Attorney, and a United States District Court Judge for the Eastern District of Tennessee owed him millions of dollars.  Each of these government officials had been involved in attempts to collect Snow’s back taxes.  Snow also filed three false claims with the IRS claiming over $144 million in tax refunds to which he was not entitled.  Snow owes the IRS over $150,000 in taxes. 

Sentencing is scheduled for November 28, 2018.  Snow faces a statutory maximum sentence of fifteen years in prison.  He also faces a term of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman commended special agents of the offices of Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and IRS Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Tax Division Senior Litigation Counsel Jen E. Ihlo and Trial Attorney Jason M. Scheff, who are prosecuting the case.