On August 8, 2016, a jury convicted the licensee of an AM radio station in Powell, Tenn., of one felony count of fraud and false statements under 26 U.S.C. section 7206(1) for filing a false federal income tax return.
Nearly six years later, new Media Bureau Chief Holly Saurer is taking action by initiating a Hearing Designation Order designed to determine whether Joseph Armstrong remains fit to own the AM.
Armstrong is the sole owner of Arm & Rage LLC, licensee of Knoxville-market WJBE-AM 1040, licensed to Powell, Tenn. It uses an FM translator, W259AV, for some “AM revitalization.”
The AM is what’s the focal point of the Hearing Designation Order (HDO). Arm & Rage’s license for WJBE could be revoked, years after Armstrong’s guilty plea was given.
What did Armstrong do? A jury heard evidence that Armstrong, an elected representative in the Tennessee legislature, purchased cigarette tax stamps in 2007 and sold them at a
profit of approximately $330,000 following the legislature’s increase in the state’s cigarette tax. However, Armstrong did not include the profit on his federal 2008 individual income tax return.
What happened to Armstrong? On January 25, 2017, he was sentenced to three years of probation, which included six months of house arrest. Armstrong was ordered to pay $99,943 in restitution to the federal government and a $40,000 fine, and was required to perform 300 hours of community service.
As a result, A&R was required to report the conviction as an adverse finding by April 1, 2017, i.e., the anniversary of license renewal filings for Tennessee. It did not do so until April 14, 2017.
That tardiness likely overshadows the fact that Armstrong is a convicted felon, and his character may be reason enough for Arm & Rage to be stripped of the WJBE license.
