Arthur Leyon Penn Sentenced for Witness Tampering in Tax Fraud Case

Arthur Leyon Penn, 39, of Monroeville, Alabama, was sentenced to 10 months in federal prison for witness tampering in connection with his ongoing tax fraud case. U.S. Attorney Kenyen R. Brown confirmed the sentencing, handed down by Senior U.S. District Judge Callie V. S. Granade in the Southern District of Alabama. Six months will run concurrently with his 48-month tax fraud sentence; the remaining four will be served consecutively. A $100 mandatory special assessment was also imposed.

Judge Granade did not mince words, emphasizing the gravity of attempting to obstruct justice. Penn’s attempt to silence a witness came after he orchestrated a multi-year tax fraud scheme through The Penn Agency LLC, his Monroeville-based business that offered insurance and fraudulent tax preparation services. He admitted to using stolen identities to file false federal tax returns, enriching himself at the expense of the U.S. Treasury.

Penn wasn’t operating alone. His wife, Oleavia Mitchell Penn, co-owned The Penn Agency and ran a separate fraudulent tax business, Quick Tax, in Camden, Alabama. In January 2016, a federal grand jury indicted Arthur Penn and five others on charges tied to the tax fraud conspiracy that spanned from 2011 to 2015. On August 22, 2016, Arthur Penn pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated identity theft for using others’ Social Security numbers to file phony returns.

But the betrayal didn’t stop there. Later that same month, Penn was hit with two additional federal counts: witness tampering. He admitted to attempting to bribe a former employee of The Penn Agency to prevent her from testifying in his tax fraud trial. On December 14, 2016, he pleaded guilty to one count of witness tampering before Senior Judge Granade. That admission came after the court had already accepted his guilty plea in the identity theft case.

The sentencing for the witness tampering charge followed his 48-month prison term in the tax fraud case. Oleavia Penn, who also pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft, awaits sentencing in the tax fraud case on March 15, 2017. Authorities made clear that cooperation won’t be rewarded when it’s bought with cash or coercion.

The investigation was a joint effort by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, and the 35th Judicial Circuit Task Force in Monroeville. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sinan Kalayoglu and Greg Bordenkircher handled prosecution. The case stands as a stark reminder: when you defraud the government, and then try to silence those who know the truth, federal time multiplies fast.

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