It’s one thing if someone makes an honest mistake in preparing his tax returns. It’s another thing if an attorney makes an honest mistake. It’s quite a different thing if the attorney makes dishonest mistakes and obstructs justice. I expect one Ohio attorney to have plenty of time to think over his actions.
From Columbus comes the story of Rick Matsa. Mr. Matsa is not only an attorney but also an architect, real estate broker, and a minister. As the Department of Justice press release notes:
Rick Matsa individually was convicted of one count of a corrupt endeavor to obstruct and impede the IRS, 15 counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false and fraudulent tax returns, that related to five different trusts; one count of willfully failing to file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR); one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice, commit perjury, and make false statements; two counts of witness tampering; one count of submitting a false statement; and one count of obstruction of justice.
Mr. Matsa created a phony trust, several nominee entities, phony foreign benificiaries, ignored reporting his foreign bank account that had more than $300,000 in it, but did manage to use the untaxed proceeds of his scheme to buy a 150-acrfe farm and a house.
Adding to his woes, he, “…conspired to obstruct the investigation by misleading and concealing evidence from the grand jury, making false statements to the grand jury, creating false documents, tampering with witnesses, and lying to federal investigators.”
Mr. Matsa faces up to 108 years at ClubFed, and I expect his sentence to be quite lengthy given the numerous severe charges he was convicted of.