JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Department of Justice announced Thursday that a Jacksonville minister has pleaded guilty to obstructing the IRS’s efforts to collect his tax debts that were worth more than $600,000.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Brian Carn Jr., who operated a ministry under several names, including Healing House Ministries, Inc., Brian Carn Ministries, Inc., and Kingdom Culture City Churches, reported more than $1.4 million in income on his 2015 tax return.
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Carn was expected to pay over $600,000 to the IRS; however, he instead attempted to come up with a scheme to deceive the entity.
When the IRS attempted to collect the unpaid taxes by placing liens on Carn’s properties and levying his bank accounts, the minister tried to amend his tax return by falsely removing nearly $1.3 million in income that was previously reported.
To support this false amendment, Carn hired a new accountant and provided a fake, backdated employment agreement showing an annual salary of $120,000 and a parsonage allowance of $24,000. Carn told the accountant this was his entire income for the year, despite knowing his actual income was much higher.
Additionally, Carn represented third parties on credit applications, financial account openings, and lease applications, fully aware that his true income exceeded the amount in the fake employment agreement.
In subsequent years, Carn filed tax returns under the false premise of the fictitious agreement, drastically underreporting his income. He also stopped filing tax returns in 2020 but continued to earn income and used ministry funds for personal expenses.
Finally, when the IRS tried to collect the outstanding taxes, Carn continued to lie for the sole purpose of concealing his assets and income.
The DOJ said that Carn’s obstruction caused a loss to the United States estimated between $550,000 and $1.5 million.
He faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison.