Thursday March 28th, 2024 10:24AM

Winder 'sovereign citizen' gets one year in prison for tax evasion

A Winder woman who practiced medicine in East Point will serve one year and one day in jail for failing to pay taxes on $1.5 million in income.

Dr. Debra Johnson-Jordan, 58, was sentenced Wednesday.

She argued that she was a "private sovereign citizen," and therefore not subject to federal income tax laws, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Atlanta, issued Wednesday afternoon.

“Hard-working taxpayers should not have to shoulder the burden for people, like Dr. Johnson-Jordan, who fail to pay their taxes because of spurious claims that they’re above the law,” said U.S. Attorney John Horn. 

“This case shows that there are serious consequences for those who intentionally avoid their tax obligations.”

Johnson-Jordan failed to file tax returns from 1997 through 2014, and ignored numerous warnings from the IRS, according to Horn.

“The law is clear on the issue of taxable income and who is required to file and pay taxes: there is no gray area on the subject,” said Veronica Hyman-Pillot, special agent in charge with the IRS criminal investigation division.

Johnson-Jordan will also serve three years of supervised release following her federal prison sentence, pay $100 of a special assessment, perform 60 hours of community service and pay $464,432 restitution to the IRS.

Johnson-Jordan was indicted on August 26, 2015 and arraigned in September.

Johnson-Jordan was booked at the U.S. Marshall's Office and was immediately granted bond, according to John Devenney, Judicial Security Inspector for the U.S. Marshals Atlanta Office. Johnson-Jordan was granted bond until surrender at her sentencing and Devenney said they do not know which prison she will be designated to report to. Because of this and restrictions on the release of booking photos from the Marshals Office, her booking photo is unavailable.

  • Associated Categories: Homepage, Business News, Local/State News, Georgia News
  • Associated Tags: Crime, taxes, Barrow County, Winder, u.s. attorney's office, courts, IRS
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