On June 25, 2014, Judge William Pauley III in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York sentenced Paul Daugerdas, a former partner at Jenkens & Gilchrist, to 15 years in prison for tax evasion, mail fraud, and tax shelter fraud conspiracy. Daugerdas was also ordered to pay more than $371 million in restitution to the IRS and forfeit almost $65 million in "proceeds" from his criminal offenses. Daugerdas' defense counsel asked for a sentence of no more than 30 months.
Daugerdas was convicted on October 31, 2013 on seven of 16 counts arising out of abusive tax shelters promoted by Jenkens & Gilchrist and other professionals and financial institutions between 1999 to 2004. According to the DOJ, Daugerdas marketed and sold hundreds of tax shelters to high net worth individuals, which generated more than $7 billion in false and fraudulent tax losses. Daugerdas had been convicted in 2011, but was later granted a retrial after it was discovered that a juror had lied about her background during voir dire in the hope of being selected for the jury panel. Daugerdas' former partner, Donna Guerin, pled guilty in September 2012 to conspiracy and tax evasion charges and was sentenced by Judge Pauley to eight years in prison. She was also ordered to pay $190 million in restitution and to forfeit $1.6 million.
In their sentencing report, the DOJ called Daugerdas "the most prolific, pernicious, and utterly unrepentant tax cheat in United States history." Daugerdas has also forfeited his law license in the State of Illinois.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
