Hampden Man Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion

PORTLAND, Maine: A Hampden man pleaded guilty on August 31, 2026, in U.S. District Court in Portland to one count of tax evasion.

According to court records, Brandon Wilson, 55, owed substantial back taxes based on his tax returns for 2010 through 2017. After the IRS levied Wilson's bank accounts as part of its collection efforts, Wilson began conducting his debt collection business without holding bank accounts in his own name. He did this by having accounts opened under the names of individuals running businesses in Massachusetts and Virginia. While these entities were ostensibly conducting debt collection services for Wilson, they were also holding money and conducting personal and business transactions on his behalf. Wilson directed specific payments out of the accounts, and received a series of smaller payments through Cash App, PayPal, and other means. This arrangement allowed Wilson to continue to control his money while frustrating the IRS's ability to collect the taxes owed.

Wilson faces up to a year and a day in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and three years of supervised release. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigative report by the U.S. Probation Office. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) investigated the case.

IRS-CI is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. It is the only federal law enforcement agency with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code. IRS-CI has 16 field offices located across the U.S. and maintains an international presence through attaché posts abroad.

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