Woman Made Death Threat, IRS Agents Say
A Santa Ana business owner was charged Wednesday with threatening to kill Internal Revenue Service agents after they attempted to seize her car and property for allegedly failing to pay income taxes.
Mary Ann Ratliff allegedly told one of the IRS agents who had attempted to seize her Chevrolet Corvette from her business on June 19, “You’re not taking my . . . car,” court documents said.
The agent then suggested that an appointment be set up to discuss the delinquent tax matter, to which Ratliff allegedly replied, “I’m going to bring my .45,” apparently referring to a firearm.
Last Thursday, a second agent contacted Ratliff’s husband, Orville McGee, apparently a co-owner of her business, for permission to enter the premises and begin seizing assets to pay for delinquent taxes, the documents said.
Ratliff was there when the agent approached her husband and she allegedly said: “If you touch mine, I’ll kill you. . . . I have nothing to lose.”
Ratliff is charged with threatening to assault an IRS agent and with intent to impede, intimidate and interfere with an agent.
If convicted, she faces maximum penalties of a $5,000 fine and a three-year prison term, Assistant U.S. Atty. Sean Berry said.
Berry said he did not know what type of business Ratliff and McGee run, or how much the couple owed in delinquent taxes.
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