IRS PUTS BROWN'S PROPERTY UP FOR BID

Published: February 07, 2008 06:06 am

IRS puts N.H. tax evaders' belongings up for bid

By Jill Harmacinski
Staff Writer

LAWRENCE — The highest bidders are driving around in Ed and Elaine Brown's old pickup truck, dump truck and sport utility vehicle today. Others are waiting for a nice day to use the tax-evading couple's lawn tractor or take a spin on their former Gold Wing motorcycle.

Dozens jammed into Coady's Towing and Repairs on Marston Street yesterday morning as the Internal Revenue Service started auctioning off property seized last year from the Browns of Plainfield, N.H.

The IRS auction continues today in Nashua, N.H. A gold bar, coins, a diamond stickpin and a hyperbaric chamber are among the items up for the highest bid today.

The Browns, who believe federal tax laws are fiction, made national headlines after exiling themselves in their home for six months last year. They surrendered to U.S. marshals in October and husband and wife are now serving jail time, in separate prisons, for concealing $1.9 million in income to avoid paying taxes.

Items auctioned yesterday included a red 2000 Ford F-150 pickup truck, 1999 Chevy Silverado 2500 pickup truck, a 2002 onyx Oldsmobile Bravada SUV, a 1985 Chevy dump truck, a 1985 Honda Gold Wing motorcycle, Sears Craftsman lawn mower and a Southworth Milton CAT power system.

During their exile, officials cut power and telephone service to the Browns' home in an effort to ratchet up pressure on the couple. But the Browns said they didn't notice and told investigators they had generators to rely on and 103 wooded acres to keep warm during winter.

The Browns' home is on an isolated dirt road and includes a room in a turret that offers a 360-degree view of the property. The driveway was often barricaded with SUVs.

Starting at 10 yesterday morning, the prospective buyers started rolling into Coady's for the auction. They parked in Coady's lot, along Marston Street, and even as far away as Commonwealth Avenue.

"They were all over the place," said owner Frank Coady.

How much the IRS recouped at the auction yesterday remained unclear. But Coady said those he spoke with "were thrilled."

"The auction brought in top dollar," he said. "They did very well."

Coady's occasionally serves as the backdrop for IRS auctions. Approximately 40 items, seized by the IRS in other cases, are now stored at the tow yard and awaiting auction, he said.

Edward Brown is incarcerated at a federal prison in Fairton, N.J. His wife is in a federal prison in Danbury, Conn. They are each serving five years and three months in prison.

Source: http://www.eagletribune.com/punews/local_story_038060647.html