United States v. TILLEY

CourtDistrict Court, M.D. North Carolina
DecidedJanuary 4, 2022
Docket1:19-cv-00626
StatusUnknown

This text of United States v. TILLEY (United States v. TILLEY) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. TILLEY, (M.D.N.C. 2022).

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) 1:19CV626 ) THOMAS EARL TILLEY, et al., ) ) Defendants. )

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER OSTEEN, JR., District Judge This matter comes before the court on three motions: Plaintiff United States’ (“the Government”) Motion for Default Judgment, (Doc. 153), the Government’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, (Doc. 155), and Defendant City of Durham’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, (Doc. 150). For the reasons set forth herein, the Government’s Motion for Default will be granted, the Government’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment will be granted, and Defendant City of Durham’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment will be granted. I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Defendant Thomas Earl Tilley (“Defendant Tilley” or “Tilley”) defrauded the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) “[t]hrough an elaborate scheme of sham trusts, fake corporations, and other nominee entities[.]” (Second Amended Complaint (“Second Am. Compl.”) (Doc. 102) ¶ 56.) On November 21, 2014, Tilley pled guilty in Criminal Case No. 1:14CR130-1 to Forcible Interference with Administration of Internal Revenue Laws in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7212(a). He was sentenced on October 20, 2015, (Doc. 156-5 at 1), and the sentence imposed required Tilley to pay $7,676,757.00 in restitution. (Id. at 5.) According to the Government, as of April 16, 2021, Tilley still owes more than $6,000,000 on this

debt: [T]he amount of restitution debt due and owing is $6,655,024.54. The amount includes principal restitution in the amount of $5,249,290.29, a delinquent penalty in the amount of $562,293.70, and a default penalty in the amount of $843,440.55. No interest is accruing on the debt. Payments totaling $2,427,566.71 have been credited toward the debt. This includes $18,000 in voluntary payments Thomas Tilley made to the Clerk in 2019 and 2020, as well as $150.00 in payments from the Inmate Financial Responsibility Program. All other payments were involuntary collection actions by the United States.

(Pl.’s Br. in Supp. of Mot. for Partial Summ. J. (“Pl.’s Summ. J. Br.”) (Doc. 156) at 3 (internal citations omitted).) The Government now seeks to foreclose on Tilley’s real property to satisfy this restitution debt. The properties involved are listed here in summary fashion; a full property description as to each property is included as Exhibit 1 to this order. The properties are as follows: (1) Property 1, 6526 Big Spring Road, Snow Camp, North Carolina; Alamance County. (2) Property 2, 405 Ashburn Drive, Graham, North Carolina; Alamance County. (3) Property 3, as described, (Doc. 102-1 at 5), Fleetwood, North Carolina; Ashe County. (4) Property 4 is omitted, as it is the same as Property 3. (Doc. 187 at 1.) (5) Property 5, as described, (Doc. 102-1 at 9),

Fleetwood, North Carolina; Ashe County. (6) Property 6, as described, (Doc. 102-1 at 10-11), Fleetwood, North Carolina; Ashe County. (7) Property 7, 3259 Chatham Church Road, Moncure, North Carolina; Chatham County. (8) Property 8, 0 Chatham Church Road, Moncure, North Carolina; Chatham County. (9) Property 9, 1224 Center Grove Church Road, Moncure, North Carolina; Chatham County. (10) Property 10, 3484 Chatham Church Road, Moncure, North Carolina; Chatham County.

(11) Property 11, 991 Johnny Shaw Road, Moncure, North Carolina; Chatham County. (12) Property 12, 0 Johnny Shaw Road, Moncure, North Carolina; Chatham County. (13) Property 13, 680 Pea Ridge Road, Moncure, North Carolina; Chatham County. (14) Property 14, 0 Pea Ridge Road, Moncure, North Carolina; Chatham County. (15) Property 15, 1918 Athens Avenue, Durham, North Carolina; Durham County. (16) Property 16, 1312 North Hyde Park Avenue, Durham,

North Carolina; Durham County. (17) Property 17, 5012 Mimosa Drive, Durham, North Carolina; Durham County. (18) Property 18, 5016 Mimosa Drive, Durham, North Carolina; Durham County. (19) Property 19, 601 Barton Street, Durham, North Carolina; Durham County. (20) Property 20, 603 Barton Street, Durham, North Carolina; Durham County. (21) Property 21, 1111 South Street, Durham, North Carolina; Durham County.

(22) Property 22, 7808 Kennebec Drive, Durham, North Carolina; Durham County. (23) Property 23, 7202 Kepley Road, Durham, North Carolina; Durham County. (24) Property 24, 1596 Highway 56, Butner, North Carolina; Granville County. (25) Property 25, 1588 Highway 56, Butner, North Carolina; Granville County. (26) Property 26, 89 Lakeview Drive, Fuquay Varina, North Carolina; Harnett County. (27) Property 27, 278 Lake Pointe Drive, Fuquay Varina,

North Carolina; Harnett County. (28) Property 28, 90 Lakeview Drive, Fuquay Varina, North Carolina; Harnett County. (29) Property 29, 536 Lake Pointe Drive, Fuquay Varina, North Carolina; Harnett County. (30) Property 30, 537 Lake Pointe Drive, Fuquay Varina, North Carolina; Harnett County. (31) Property 31, as described at, (Doc. 102-1 at 38-39), Quewhiffle Township, North Carolina; Hoke County. (32) Property 32, as described, (Doc. 102-1 at 40), Vance Township, North Carolina; Lenoir County.

(33) Property 33, 426 South Sycamore Street, Aberdeen, North Carolina; Moore County. (34) Property 34, as described, (Doc. 102-1 at 44), Rougemont, North Carolina; Orange County. (35) Property 35, 0 Ransdell Road, Raleigh, North Carolina; Wake County. (See Doc. 102-1.) In its Motion for Summary Judgment, the Government seeks enforcement of its lien against Properties 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 32, and 33. (Pl.’s Summ. J. Br. (Doc. 156) at 2.) The Government does not currently seek enforcement of its lien against

Properties 1, 7, 9, 11, 16, 17, 18, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 34, and 35.1 In 2017, Properties 1-22, 24-30, 34, were fraudulently transferred by Tilley “through his nominee entities . . . for no consideration and without receiving reasonably equivalent value.” (Compl. (Doc. 102) ¶ 51.) Tilley used his nominee entities to hold real property and conceal his ownership of assets, including Defendants Investment Trust, Realty Trust, Siri Camp Trust, Tilley Enterprises, Tilley Six Trust, TT Farms Trust, and Virginia Mortgage Company (together “Entity Defendants”). (Id. ¶ 57.) Similarly, Tilley concealed his ownership of some properties by fraudulently transferring them

to Thomas Bruce Tilley and Carolyn Cleveland. (Id. ¶¶ 7, 19.) On

1 Property 4 is omitted. (See Doc. 187 at 1.) the other hand, Properties 1, 11, and 26 were subsequently sold legitimately to third parties. (Id. ¶ 51.)2 Tilley’s interests in the properties at issue for this Motion for Summary Judgment, “with the exception of Property 32, were held by Realty Trust, TT Farms Trust, Tilley Six Trust, and Investment Trust.” (Pl.’s Summ. J. Br. (Doc. 156) at 18.) Property 32 is “held in a concurrent estate by Thomas Tilley and Iris Tilley, as tenants by the entirety of an undivided half interest, and Bruce Tilley and Marsha Tilly, as tenants by the

entirety of an undivided half interest.”3 (Id. at 10.) The Government’s motion would “foreclose its lien against 19 of the properties involved in this action - Properties 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 32, and 33, . . . and order them sold by the U.S. Marshals Service.” (Id. at 2.) Each Defendant is named “because [it] may claim an interest in one or more of the subject properties.” (Compl. (Doc. 102) ¶¶ 4-49.) Tilley, his family, and the Entity

2 For those three properties, the federal tax lien may be enforced against any “sale proceeds, . . . promissory note and purchase money deed of trust, if any, 0associated with the sale[.]” (Compl. (Doc. 102) ¶ 102.)

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United States v. TILLEY, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-tilley-ncmd-2022.