ATLANTA – Hakim Amal Archible has been sentenced for filing false liens against federal government officials, including former IRS Commissioner John Koskinen and former U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew.
“Harassing federal officials through the filing of false liens is serious criminal conduct,” said U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine. “Congress enacted the retaliatory lien statute to address the problem of frivolous retaliatory liens, too often used by tax defiers and sovereign citizens to obstruct the tax laws and harass government employees.”
“TIGTA’s statutory mission includes investigating individuals who interfere with the lawful collection of taxes by filing frivolous liens against public officials,” said J. Russell George, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. “Attempts to interfere with IRS employees engaged in the performance of their official duties will be aggressively pursued. We appreciate the efforts of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in working with TIGTA to protect the integrity of Federal tax administration.”
According to U.S. Attorney Erskine, the charges and other information presented in court: In 2014 and 2015, while imprisoned in Henry County, Georgia, for unrelated crimes, Archible filed or attempted to file false liens against the real and personal property of government officials. Specifically, the testimony showed that on October 22, 2014, the IRS issued a letter to Archible informing him that he would be subject to a $5,000 penalty for taking a frivolous position in his 2013 tax return. Archible, aided and abetted by others, filed false UCC lien documents in the Fayette County Clerk’s Office that named IRS Commissioner John Koskinen as debtor and listed himself as the secured party creditor. In the documents, Archible indicated that Koskinen was responsible for the $5,000 tax penalty. He also had the UCC filing, and other IRS forms, mailed directly to the IRS.
On December 9, 2014, Archible, aided and abetted by others, filed UCC lien documents naming former U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew as the debtor and himself as the secured party creditor. While the collateral identified for the lien is nonsensical, the description of the subject real estate included, among other things, a $100 billion chargeback order. On August 5, 2015, Archible, aided and abetted by others, filed another false UCC lien against Jacob Lew, which named Secretary Lew as the debtor and Archible as the secured party. The collateral for the lien included, among other things, a $10 billion registered security.
In addition to the false liens filed against the federal governmental officials, Archible also filed false liens against local officials in Georgia, including the Chief Judge of Henry County Superior Court, and the former Clerk of Henry County Superior Court.
Witnesses testified that the lien filings are publicly available and can be accessed through an internet search. A court order is required to remove the liens from the public portal. The victims testified that they were concerned that these liens could affect their credit or their property and that they felt threatened and harassed by the conduct.
On July 2, 2021, a jury found Archible guilty of three counts of filing and attempting to file false and retaliatory liens against the real and personal property of certain employees of the federal government, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1521, and one count of obstructing the due administration of the IRS, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7212.
Hakim Amal Archible, 38, of Hampton, Georgia, was sentenced November 16, 2021, by U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr., to eight years, nine months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Angela Adams and Erin N. Spritzer prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
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