Timothy Thomas, Tax Defiance, Georgia 2023

Husband and Wife Sentenced for Tax Defiance Scheme in Georgia

ATLANTA – In a shocking turn of events, Timothy Thomas, 51, and Mary Beth Thomas, 47, of Jackson County, Ga., were sentenced for their roles in a decade-long tax defiance scheme. The couple, who jointly owned and operated a deck and patio construction business in Maysville, Ga., stopped filing federal income tax returns in the 1990s and hired American Rights Litigators (ARL) to send obstructive and harassing materials to the IRS on their behalf.

According to United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates, the couple’s actions were a blatant disregard for the tax laws. ‘For over a decade, these two failed to file their federal tax returns and sent in a blizzard of obstructive correspondence to the IRS,’ Yates said. ‘Individuals who seek to obstruct the tax system and cheat hardworking taxpayers will be exposed and prosecuted.’

The Thomas’s scheme continued even after the IRS shut down ARL due to its fraudulent anti-tax activities. They sent a variety of obstructive, frivolous and harassing documents to IRS and Treasury officials, including statements claiming they were not United States citizens, were not subject to federal income tax laws, and that paying income tax was voluntary.

At one point, Timothy Thomas sent a letter to the personal residence of an IRS revenue agent stating he was ‘a non-tax payer’ and then mailed the IRS a letter stating that a commercial lien had been filed against two IRS employees. The couple eventually submitted four false tax returns claiming over $1,000,000 in fraudulent refunds from the IRS.

Timothy Thomas was sentenced to serve two years in federal prison, while Mary Beth Thomas was sentenced to ten months in federal prison. The couple was also ordered to pay $506,350.57 in back taxes, interest, and penalties to the IRS.

This case highlights the importance of voluntary compliance with tax laws. ‘The term voluntary compliance means that each of us is responsible for filing a tax return when required and for paying the correct amount of tax,’ stated Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Veronica Hyman-Pillot. ‘That responsibility should not be taken lightly.’

The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation. This is not the first time the Thomas’s have been involved in a tax defiance scheme. Timothy Thomas’s brother, Stephen Paul Thomas, and Patricia Denese Anderson were convicted of a similar scheme in 2013 and sentenced to five and four years and three months in prison, respectively.

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