Man Charged in Alleged Mitt Romney Tax Scheme

Michael Mancil Brown, 34, of Franklin, Tennessee has been formerly charged after he allegedly claimed that he had former GOP Presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s income tax returns. This alleged activity took place in 2012 during Romney’s presidential campaign, court documents state.

Brown is charged with six counts of wire fraud and six counts of extortion. A federal grand jury indictment was filed in the United States District Court in Nashville, Tennessee on Wednesday June 27, 2013.

According to the allegations Brown sent an anonymous letter to the offices of accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP located in in Franklin, Tennessee. The letter was received in the height of 2012’s presidential campaign. In the letter Brown allegedly demanded $1 million in the digital currency Bitcoin in exchange for the copies of Romney’s taxes that Brown alleged were in his possession.

The letter was delivered just before the Republican and Democratic national conventions. It stated that parties could get the alleged “tax forms released in exchange for $1 million in Google Bitcoins.”

Allegedly Brown claimed to have come into possession of Romney’s tax information after he accessed PwC’s internal systems. The indictment found these claims to be false.

At the time Romney had refused to release his tax returns from before 2010.

The charges that Brown faces in the indictment are merely accusations. He is still innocent until he is proven guilty.

These charges against Brown were investigated by the Nashville Field Office of the U.S. Secret Service with assistance from the Nashville Resident Agency of the FBI.

Brown faces charges of extortion and wire fraud. He continues to maintain his innocence.