Jacksonville Minister and Proclaimed Prophet Admits to Scheme to Obstruct IRS in Million-Dollar Tax Case

Jacksonville, FL (BuzzReport) — A Jacksonville minister who once reported earning more than $1.4 million in a single year pleaded guilty today to obstructing the Internal Revenue Service’s efforts to collect his unpaid federal tax debt, according to court documents and statements made in court.

Brian Carn Jr., who operated religious organizations under multiple names — including Healing House Ministries, Inc., Brian Carn Ministries, Inc., and Kingdom Culture City Churches — admitted to engaging in a calculated scheme designed to deceive the IRS after failing to pay more than $600,000 in taxes he owed.

Court records show that in 2016, Carn filed his tax return for the 2015 tax year and accurately reported earning more than $1.4 million in income. Despite acknowledging the substantial tax liability associated with that income, Carn did not remit payment to the IRS. Instead, prosecutors say, he set out to evade collection efforts.

When the IRS began taking steps to recover the unpaid taxes — including placing liens on Carn’s properties and attempting to levy his bank accounts — Carn amended his 2015 tax return. The amended filing falsely eliminated nearly $1.3 million in previously reported income.

To carry out the deception, Carn hired a new accountant and provided a fictitious, backdated employment agreement. The document claimed Carn earned an annual salary of $120,000 along with a $24,000 parsonage allowance. Carn represented to the accountant that this modest salary constituted his entire income for the year, despite knowing that his actual earnings were far higher.

Prosecutors say Carn continued to rely on the false agreement in dealings with third parties, including on credit applications, financial account openings, and lease agreements. In the years that followed, he filed additional tax returns that dramatically underreported his income based on the fabricated employment arrangement.

By 2020, Carn stopped filing tax returns altogether, authorities allege, even as he continued to generate income and used ministry funds to pay for personal expenses. When the IRS renewed efforts to collect the outstanding tax debt, Carn made further false statements and omitted key information to conceal his assets and income.

The Justice Department estimates that Carn’s obstruction caused a loss to the United States of between $550,000 and $1.5 million. He now faces a maximum sentence of up to three years in federal prison.

The guilty plea was announced by Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. The case is being investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant Deputy Chief David Zisserson and Trial Attorney Max Wilner-Giwerc of the Criminal Division’s Tax Section, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.

Sentencing is expected at a later date.