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A Washington accountant with ties to the antigovernment 鈥渟overeign citizens鈥� movement has pleaded guilty to preparing false income tax returns that cheated the U.S. government out of an estimated $2.5 million.

Federal prosecutors will recommend that Timothy George Garrison, 59, of Mount Vernon, Wash., spend four years in prison when he is sentenced on Feb. 2 in U.S. district court in Seattle. He pleaded guilty last week to two counts of assisting in the filing of false federal tax returns.

As part of the plea bargain, a federal firearms charge will be dismissed against Garrison. He couldn鈥檛 legally possess firearms because he was convicted of mail fraud in 1984.

Garrison, who holds an accounting degree from the University of Washington, was part of an antigovernment group variously called the 鈥淪overeign Assemblies鈥� or 鈥淎ssemblies of the Counties at Large.鈥� He served as treasurer of the 鈥渁ssemblies鈥� last December, the SeattlePI.com on Monday.

Garrison, his wife and two other members of the Washington state 鈥渁ssemblies鈥� were 鈥渏urors鈥� on a pseudo-legal common law court that found Alaska Peacemakers Militia leader Francis Schaeffer Cox 鈥渘ot guilty鈥� after his arrest earlier this year on charges related to a plot to kidnap and kill state troopers and a judge in Alaska.

Sovereign citizens generally believe that they aren鈥檛 subject to federal or state laws and that they can issue their own license plates and driver鈥檚 licenses. The FBI this fall identified the sovereign citizens movement as a potential source of domestic terrorism.

Some members of the Washington group even deputized themselves as 鈥渃ounty rangers,鈥� apparently believing they had arrest powers. When federal agents searched Garrison鈥檚 home in June, they found a 9 mm Glock pistol, a 鈥渃ounty ranger鈥� badge, fraudulent license plates and other documents related to the sovereign citizens movement.

According to an 11-page plea agreement signed by Garrison, he has operated a tax preparation business, the 89^th Street Management Company, since 1988 from his home in Mount Vernon. He prepared 200 to 400 tax returns annually.

Between 2004 and 2009, the court document says, 17 of Garrison鈥檚 approximately 200 to 300 clients were audited by the IRS 鈥渁nd determined to owe average back taxes in excess of $20,000 per return.鈥�

Garrison鈥檚 scheme involved the filing of two sets of tax returns for his clients 鈥� a corporate tax return and a personal tax return. The accountant advised his clients to create corporations through which all income was funneled. Some of those individuals apparently were unaware their accountant had filed fraudulent returns on their behalf, according to court documents.

鈥淭he individual鈥檚 tax return was fraudulent because it declared only, typically, $1,000 per month of income from the corporation when, in fact, the individuals were typically paid much more,鈥� the plea agreement says.

鈥淭he corporation tax return was fraudulent because it declared false expenses,鈥� it added. 鈥淭he net result of the individual and corporate tax returns was to facilitate the avoidance of taxes on the individual tax returns.鈥�

Garrison鈥檚 scheme resulted in a tax loss of between $2.4 and $2.5 million, the plea agreement says.