Anti-government tax cheat sentenced to federal prison
Feb 2, 2012, 8:03 AM | Updated: 8:18 am
A long time anti-tax activist from Mount Vernon is going to federal prison for preparing false tax returns.
The U.S. Attorney’s office in Seattle says Timothy Garrison, 60, helped a Mount Vernon couple avoid more than $88,000 in taxes. He pleaded guilty last year to two counts of assisting with the filing of false tax returns.
Investigators say Garrison also prepared more than 50 returns that cheated the government out of more than $2.5 million in taxes.
A judge sentenced Garrison to 3-1/2 years in prison. He also ordered Garrison to pay more than $95,000 in restitution.
The U.S. Attorney’s office says Garrison is active in the “County Ranger” and “Sovereign Citizen” movements, whose members believe they are exempt from state and federal laws.
Garrison is the second of six defendants from the “Sovereign Citizen” movement facing federal prosecution in Washington. Last month, a judge sentenced David Myrland to 3-1/2 years in prison for threatening Kirkland’s mayor and city attorney.
