U.S. DISTRICT COURT, SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS—Destry Marcotte, 48, of Belleville, Illinois, pled guilty to Failure to Appear for Sentencing the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today.
Marcotte faces up to five years in prison which would be in addition to the sentence he receives on the underlying offenses of conviction for submitting false claims for federal refunds.
Marcotte had been convicted in 2013, following a jury trial, of making false claims against the United States by submitting false claims for tax refunds. Marcotte filed tax returns, as part of the sovereign citizen movement, claiming that the I.R.S. owed him more than $600,000. He faces up to forty years in prison on those charges. He was on bond with electronic monitoring, but fled prior to sentencing. Sentencing on both cases is scheduled for November 21, 2014.
The investigation was conducted by the United States Marshals Service and the Criminal Investigations Division of the Internal Revenue Service. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Norman Smith.