Tenn. man charged in income tax return scheme involving Mitt Romney during 2012 campaign

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A Tennessee man has been charged in a scheme involving former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney's income tax returns.

The U.S. Justice Department said 34-year-old Michael Mancil Brown of Franklin was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury in Nashville and charged with six counts of wire fraud and six counts of extortion.

Brown is accused of having a letter delivered to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP accounting firm in Franklin last August, demanding $1 million to keep the returns from being released. The Justice Department said Brown falsely claimed that he had gained access to the PricewaterhouseCoopers internal computer network and stolen tax documents for Romney for tax years before 2010.

A phone number listed for Brown had a message saying it was not receiving incoming calls. He did not immediately return an email message sent Wednesday evening.