On March 8, 2022, in the Middle District of Georgia, Derrick Douglas pled guilty to threatening to injure an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employee and their family. Douglas was indicted December 14, 2021.
According to the court documents, on December 1, 2020, Douglas called the IRS to inquire about his 2019 tax refund that he had not received. The IRS contact representative who assisted Douglas learned he was under an audit for tax year 2019. During the telephone call, Douglas’ demeanor changed from calm to angry as he spewed profanities. Douglas frequently indicated he would take action, show up, and do something although he never gave specifics about how he would execute those threats. Douglas said he would get rid of his Social Security Number and, “I’d like to see if someone from the IRS shows up at my house. Something will happen to them and it’s not going to be pretty.”
Special agents with the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) and local county sheriff deputies interviewed Douglas at his residence on December 8, 2020. Douglas admitted he made threatening statements and explained he was upset with the IRS for delaying his tax refund. He apologized and said he had no intentions of harming an IRS employee. TIGTA special agents informed Douglas that threatening statements to an IRS employee is a violation of Federal law.
The following year, on November 15, 2021, Douglas left a threatening message for an IRS paralegal. Douglas immediately began screaming and using profanity. He stated, “If we lose everything else today, I will see you in your office sir. I will see you, I promise. This is Derrick Douglas. Because this does not make any sense cause the IRS still continue to hold my refund after I went through the appeals, I went through the examination, and I went through the tax court. Send me my [expletive] refund.” Later that day, TIGTA special agents interviewed Douglas, notified him it is a Federal crime to threaten IRS employees, and warned another threatening incident may result in Federal charges against him. During the interview, Douglas acknowledged his previous 2020 threats and advisement from TIGTA.
Subsequently, on November 26, 2021, Douglas sent an email to the same IRS paralegal stating “I will die trying to put your family in an identical hardship as my family. Pass it on, send officers back to my home, and threatened [sic] my wife and kids again.”
At sentencing, Douglas faces a maximum term of five years’ imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and could possibly receive an order to pay a fine not to exceed $250,000.
Source: The facts in this case narrative come from the following publicly available documents: M.D. Ga., Plea Agr., filed March 8, 2022; and M.D. Ga., Indict., filed December 14, 2021.