(WWJ) A Macomb County man is facing felony charges after he tried to pay his income taxes with bogus checks, then claimed that he didn't have to pay them anyway.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel on Thursday announced the case against 54-year-old Damon Montgomery, in connection with his alleged crimes last year.
According to the AG's office, in January of 2021 Montgomery sent three checks to Michigan Department of Treasury in an attempt to pay his taxes. Each check contained TCF Bank routing numbers and was made payable to the State of Michigan for $1 million.
The checks bounced because Montgomery did not have an account at TCF Bank, investigators said.
Nessel said Montgomery tried to defend his actions, asserting that he is a "sovereign citizen" and therefore exempt from certain laws — including paying taxes.
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He now faces three counts of no-account check, which are felonies punishable by up to two years in prison or a $500 fine.
The charges were filed in Ingham County’s 54-A District Court.
“As residents of Michigan, we share the legal obligation to pay income tax,” Nessel said, in a statement. “These taxes pay for our schools, our roads, our government services. Cheating on taxes hurts everyone and is fundamentally unfair to everyone else who abides by the law. We will continue to work with our partners at Treasury to ensure fairness."
An arraignment in the case is scheduled for Feb. 22.
According to the FBI, so-called sovereign citizens are anti-government extremists who believe that even though they physically reside in this country, they are separate or “sovereign” from the U.S. As a result, they believe they don’t have to answer to any government authority, including courts, taxing entities, motor vehicle departments or law enforcement.
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