BANGOR – Jason Stevens, 45, formerly of Canaan, pleaded guilty Jan. 18 in U.S. District Court to making a false claim to the Internal Revenue Service, U.S. attorney Jay P. McCloskey said.

Stevens claimed a $5,211 refund on his personal 1997 federal income tax return based on a fictitious Form W-2 that stated he had received $10,920 income from Maine Merchant Brokers, a business purportedly run by Stevens, knowing that the claim was false. Court records reveal that Maine Merchant Brokers had never filed corporate or partnership income tax returns, sole proprietorship schedules, or made any payments to the IRS. Stevens faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison.