Tax Law

Indicted Lawyer Had Nearly 21M in American Express Reward Points

Indicted South Florida lawyer Scott Rothstein had racked up nearly 21 million in reward points on his American Express card. Prosecutors hope to use the more than 20,900,000 in reward points amassed by Rothstein to help pay back his victims, the Miami Herald reports. American Express typically rewards one point…

Jan 13, 2010 5:02 PM CST

Ex-Pro Bono Chief for Kaye Scholer Suspended for Failing to Pay Taxes

The former head of pro bono at Kaye Scholer has been suspended from practice for a year for failing to pay millions of dollars in state and federal taxes for at least nine years. A disciplinary committee had originally recommended a six-month suspension for former Kaye Scholer partner John J.P.…

Dec 22, 2009 1:05 PM CST

Silver Lining for DUI Driver: Tax Court Allows $33K Writeoff for Totaled Truck

Expecting to drink at a party several years ago, Justin Rohrs arranged a ride home in advance with another driver. But after he got home, he decided to drive over to his parents’ home in the Ford F-350 pickup he’d paid about $40,000 for only months earlier. En route, he…

Dec 16, 2009 2:10 AM CST

Slain L.A. Lawyer Got Restraining Order Against Another Attorney in 2005

A California lawyer who was apparently murdered last week outside his upscale Los Angeles home had gotten a restraining order in 2005 against a litigant who made comments that he reportedly considered threatening. The litigant, Christopher Gruys, who was then a Los Angeles tax lawyer, was being sued by a…

Dec 14, 2009 8:26 PM CST

L.A. Lawyer Pleads in Quellos Case, Admits He Didn’t Pay Tax on $35M Offshore Account

A Los Angeles lawyer has pleaded guilty and agreed to accept up to a five-year prison term in a tax shelter scheme that involved a $35 million offshore account. Matthew Krane, 55, pleaded guilty in federal court in Seattle yesterday to tax evasion and passport fraud concerning an alleged Quellos…

Dec 12, 2009 12:10 AM CST

IRS Audits Single Mom Making $20K, Says She Can’t Claim Kids as Dependents

A single mom who makes about $20,000 a year working at a hair salon, Rachel Porcaro doesn’t own a car and lives with her parents in order to make ends meet. But apparently not believing that she could pay her bills on her actual, reported income, the Internal Revenue Service…

Dec 8, 2009 9:53 PM CST

7th Circuit Rules for Tax Lawyer in ‘Yo-Yo’ Case That Spanned 23 Years

A unanimous opinion by the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lays to rest IRS claims that a prominent tax lawyer fraudulently avoided paying taxes. The late Burton Kanter, a tax attorney for some of Chicago’s wealthiest families, had been accused of fraud by the Internal Revenue Service, the…

Dec 2, 2009 7:52 PM CST

Ex-Lawyer Took Fifth, Couldn’t Defend $2.4M Civil Case, Now Gets New Trial

A California judge abused his discretion by effectively denying a tax attorney who took the Fifth during discovery in a civil case brought by a former client the opportunity to present any defense at trial. Hence, the state Court of Appeals threw out a jury verdict against the former attorney,…

Nov 18, 2009 8:25 PM CST

Another 7,500 Confess Secret Accounts to IRS, as Swiss Unveil Plan to Say More

A one-month extension of a partial amnesty program intended to encourage well-to-do Americans to confess their offshore bank accounts to the Internal Revenue Service has nearly doubled the amount of previous disclosures. The tally of self-revealed secret foreign accounts now tops 14,700, up from 7,500 or so a month ago,…

Nov 17, 2009 7:44 PM CST

Former Miller Canfield Partner Gets 5 Years in Tax-Shelter Case

A former partner of Miller Canfield Paddock and Stone was sentenced to five years in federal prison today after pleading guilty in April 2008 to one count of conspiring to defraud the United States. According to court statements and public documents in the Western District of Michigan case, attorney John…

Nov 2, 2009 10:49 PM CST

The Bad-Debt Blues

It’s crucial to take federal taxes into account when restructuring debt

Nov 2, 2009 4:10 AM CST

As 7,500 Reveal Secret Bank Accounts in 70 Countries, IRS Hunts for More

As 7,500 Americans came forward to reveal, before a partial amnesty deadline today, undeclared accounts in 70 countries, the Internal Revenue Service is gearing up for an enhanced effort to find more. It has opened offices in Beijing, Sydney and Panama City and plans to hire 800 more employees, reports…

Oct 15, 2009 4:50 PM CDT

Anxious Clients Seek Lawyer Therapy as IRS Deadline Looms re Foreign Accounts

Faced with a tough choice between confessing their sins to the Internal Revenue Service or waiting for the federal enforcement agency potentially to pounce, a number of individuals are looking to lawyers for more than traditional legal advice concerning offshore bank accounts. As the Oct. 15 deadline looms for American…

Oct 13, 2009 5:17 PM CDT

FBI Raids Offices of Well-Known Lawyer

The FBI reportedly has raided the offices of a well-known attorney and accountant who often as served as a court-appointed trustee or receiver in cases in South Florida. Relying on unidentified “legal community sources,” the Daily Business Review reports that the Miami and Plantation offices of Lewis B. Freeman &…

Oct 9, 2009 6:44 PM CDT

Lawyer Who Quit UBS to Co-chair Linklaters’ US Practice Changes His Mind

Lawyer Lewis Steinberg apparently had second thoughts about his decision this spring to leave UBS for Linklaters to co-chair the firm’s U.S. practice. Steinberg, who also chaired Linklaters’ U.S. tax practice, is returning to UBS, Forbes reports. The magazine says Steinberg is one of a few banking executives “trickling back…

Oct 7, 2009 11:35 AM CDT