Tax crime doesn’t pay — coverage of tax fraud, evasion, and financial crime prosecutions, and what they mean for the rest of us.
Raoul Weil, the UBS bank chair and CEO of global wealth management, has been indicted on charges relating to tax evasion. He is accused of helping US taxpayers hide nearly $20 billion (yes, with a b) in assets from the IRS. After the indictment was made public, Weil, not surprisingly, agreed to step down from…
Remember when YOU saved Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? Well, apparently your generosity knows no bounds. In response to taxpayer demands, the Justice Department is currently investigating whether there was any wrong doing leading up to the collapse of the mortgage industry. And naturally, executives at companies like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are scrambling…
Svetlana Bakhmina is a pretty famous lawyer in Russia – but for all of the wrong reasons. The 39 year old former junior lawyer for the oil company, Yukos, was arrested on 8 December 2004 on charges of tax evasion and embezzlement. Despite Bakhmina’s protests that she was merely following orders from the powerful oil…
Senior US District Court Judge Lloyd George has decided that enough is enough. George issued a permanent injunction which prevents convicted tax evader Irwin Schiff from marketing products, including books, that improperly advise Americans that they are not required to file or pay federal income taxes. Schiff is currently serving what amounts to a life…
I can’t wait for Hollywood to see the potential in this KPMG tax shelter mess. I predict movie gold! Nothing is waiting in the wings yet (so far as I know), but the live coverage is just as good. After declaring the KPMG lead tax evasion scandal as the “largest tax fraud ever,” overzealous prosecutors…
Richard Hatch has lost his final challenge: the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear his appeal on tax evasion charges. Hatch, the first ever winner of “Survivor”, where he garnered the (unflattering) moniker “Fat Naked Guy” was convicted in 2006 on tax evasion charges. He is currently serving a four year sentence in federal…
After a federal judge initially barred Helio Castroneves from leaving the country as part of the race car driver’s bail conditions, it seems he has changed his mind. Despite arguments by the prosecutors that Castroneves had both motive and assets to flee the country, U.S. Magistrate Judge William Turnoff said that he believed “the dumbest…
What’s the difference between a lawyer and a prostitute? A prostitute will stop screwing you when you’re dead. How often is it that I can post about hookers and lawyers in the same post? Last week, Cristina Schultz, a 2001 graduate of Stanford Law, was indicted in federal court for allegedly failing to pay income…
You have to wonder what Helio Castroneves did to garner the wrath of the IRS. You know, except for the tax evasion part – perhaps they were Melanie B/Scary Spice fans? The two-time Indianapolis 500 winner and 2007 “Dancing With The Stars” champion pleaded not guilty today to tax evasion charges. He is accused of…
Brace yourselves. And Mom, leave the room… Race car driver, former “Dancing With the Stars” champion and all around hottie (yes, I can say that on a tax blog) Helio Castroneves is facing federal tax charges in Miami. The 33 year old racing and dancing phenom was indicted today by a grand jury on charges…