Chris Brown is firing back against the idea that paparazzi had nothing to do with his car accident yesterday ... a rep for the singer tells TMZ he plans to sue the photogs involved. 

As TMZ first reported, the paparazzi who were on the scene when Brown crashed his Porsche claim they were not involved with the accident and only arrived on scene after the fact.

But Brown is sticking with his side of things ... and his rep tells TMZ, "We plan on seeking criminal charges and holding them civilly liable."

Stay tuned ...