Brentwood Attorney Pleads Guilty to Tax Fraud

A Brentwood, Tennessee, attorney pleaded guilty May 8, 2026, in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee to one count of tax fraud.

The defendant admitted to the conduct detailed in the Department of Justice charging documents. The plea resolves the criminal case against the individual attorney. Per the DOJ press release, the guilty plea carries a statutory maximum sentence of three years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

The scope of the admitted fraud centers on the attorney's personal and professional tax filings over multiple years. The exact dollar amount of tax loss was not specified in the release, but the case forms part of the department's broader enforcement initiative targeting tax practitioners who prepare or file false returns for clients or themselves.

The plea changes the defendant's legal status from charged to convicted. Sentencing is now scheduled; the court must apply federal sentencing guidelines that account for the tax loss amount, acceptance of responsibility, and any prior criminal history. The change takes effect immediately upon entry of the plea, with final judgment to be issued at sentencing.

Downstream, the conviction requires the defendant to surrender any law license pending disciplinary review by the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility. The IRS can now pursue civil tax collection on any unpaid liabilities without awaiting trial.

The case also supplies the Justice Department one additional resolved matter in its annual tally of tax-fraud prosecutions, which federal prosecutors use to allocate resources for future audits and investigations of other attorneys and accountants in the region.

This marks the latest tax-fraud guilty plea secured by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Tennessee in 2026. The department has pursued similar cases against tax preparers in the Nashville metropolitan area for the past three years under its National Tax Fraud Enforcement Initiative.