Background
Between 2011 and 2017, the Internal Revenue Service attempted to collect unpaid taxes from Brandon L. Aumiller. In December 2022, Aumiller was indicted on two counts of tax evasion for using undisclosed bank accounts to avoid tax collection. He moved to dismiss the indictments, arguing the government failed to allege an affirmative act within the six-year statute of limitations. At trial, the government presented evidence that Aumiller signed and submitted Forms 433-A and 433-B in early 2017 that failed to disclose his M&T Bank accounts. The jury found him guilty, and the District Court denied his motions to dismiss and for a judgment of acquittal.
The court’s reasoning
The court affirmed that the submission of Forms 433-A and 433-B containing intentional omissions of assets constitutes an affirmative act of evasion. The court rejected the appellant’s reliance on United States v. McGill, distinguishing that case because Aumiller voluntarily admitted to the IRS while McGill involved a taxpayer who did not conceal accounts apart from non-disclosure. The court found the indictments sufficient because they alleged the use of undisclosed bank accounts, and the bill of particulars explicitly identified the filing of false Forms as the specific affirmative act. The court also found sufficient evidence to support the jury’s verdict, noting that multiple witnesses testified to the IRS’s collection efforts and the necessity of full disclosure on the Forms.
Thus, we join our sister courts in holding that the filing of a Form that intentionally omitted assets from it constitutes an affirmative act of evasion.
United States v. Aumiller, No. 24-2742, slip op. at 7 (3d Cir. July 1, 2026)
What it means going forward
This decision clarifies that taxpayers cannot evade the statute of limitations by simply failing to report assets on financial disclosure forms when the IRS is actively collecting debts. It establishes that such omissions are affirmative acts that restart the limitations period, reinforcing the government’s ability to prosecute tax evasion based on false financial disclosures.