Head of Minutemen named in scam lawsuit

PHOENIX, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- Arizona prosecutors, in a lawsuit, say the president of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps is part of a property tax scam.

Carmen Mercer of Tombstone is named as a defendant in the suit, The Arizona Republic reported Thursday. In court papers, state Attorney General Terry Goddard said Mercer rented a post office box used by the "Property Tax Review Board."

Investigators say the "board" actually is a scam operated by two brothers, Michael and Sean McConville, who face both a state lawsuit and criminal charges in California. The company, through advertising and direct mail, offers to save homeowners thousands of dollars in taxes in return for a $189 payment.

Mercer told the Republic she opened the mailbox as a friendly favor and was not involved in the business. She said she was working with the attorney general to be removed from the lawsuit.

"Ms. Mercer must have a very vivid imagination," Steve Wilson, a spokesman for Goddard, said.

Mercer became president of the Minutemen, a group that stages patrols for illegal immigrants, this year.