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June 24, 2020

Man Indicted for Retaliating Against IRS Employee by Filing False Lien

On May 12, 2020, in the Southern District of West Virginia, Jeffrey M. Reed was indicted for filing a false lien and encumbrance against the real and personal property of an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) revenue officer due to the performance of official duties by the IRS revenue officer.

According to the court documents, an IRS revenue officer was assigned to collect a tax liability owed to the IRS in excess of $279,000. During the course of the collection activities, the IRS revenue officer sought to garnish Reed's wages to satisfy a portion of his tax liability. Reed's employment ended and his former employer mailed a check to the IRS for $598.22, which represented the wage garnishment against him. In May 2015, in Mercer County, West Virginia, Reed filed a false lien against the IRS revenue officer's real and personal property, for more than $4.9 million dollars, due to the IRS revenue officer performing official duties, collecting Reed's outstanding tax liability.

If convicted, Reed could face a fine and/or up to 10 years' imprisonment.

    Source:  The facts in this case narrative come from the following publicly available documents: S.D.W.V. Indict., filed May 12, 2020 and 18 U.S.C. 1521.