A Hampden man who allegedly used bank accounts in other people’s names to avoid paying the IRS pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to one count of tax evasion.
Brandon Wilson, 55, owed “substantial” back taxes for 2010 through 2017, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Maine. When the IRS levied his bank accounts as part of its effort to collect payment, Wilson allegedly continued his debt collection business using bank accounts in other people’s names.
“While these entities were ostensibly conducting debt collection services for Wilson, they were also holding money and conducting personal and business transactions on his behalf,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said, adding that Wilson directed payments from the accounts and received smaller payments through Cash App, PayPal, and other means, “frustrating the IRS’s ability to collect the taxes owed.”
Wilson faces up to a year in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and three years of supervised release.
