Prior Post:
It's been a bad first-half of the year for non-tax paying attorneys. In February, old school Nevada attorneys Edmund C. Botha and Mark A. Lobello were found to have failed to pay their taxes. (NV Lawyer).So, the Nevada Supreme Court made one of its usual Nevada ethics judgment calls: suspension for Botha and Lobello, but only temporary suspension. I mean, cah'maaaaan . . . they're only the fiduciaries and trustees of their clients' funds. So what if they aren't trustworthy enough to satisfy their annual requirement as U.S. citizens to pay taxes? Yup, the Nevada Supreme Court continued its tradition of letting almost anyone continue to practice in this state, no matter what they've done.
But wait, apparently, the Feds apparently weren't satisfied with the Nevada Supreme Court's brand of frontier justice (LV Sun):
A Las Vegas personal injury attorney, [Edmund C. Botha], who was convicted last year of tax evasion and owes almost $4 million to the IRS was sentenced today to five years in federal prison [by U.S. District Judge Dawson] . . .
Botha was convicted by a federal grand jury on Sept. 25, 2008, for willful evasion of payment of income tax for the tax years 1998 through 2001.
How'd Botha do it? Well:
Botha avoided paying taxes by purchasing luxury vehicles in his ex-girlfriend's name, doing all of his business in cash and cashier's checks and entering into a sham child support agreement requiring him to pay about $20,000 per month for two children, court records and evidence presented at his trial indicated . . . Evidence further showed that Botha purchased more than 10 vehicles worth more than $400,000 over a six-year period in his ex-girlfriend's name, while at the same time owning only a 15-year-old car with more than 100,000 miles on it in his name.
How dare Judge Dawson go to such extremes? Cah'maaaaan, Judge, this is Nevada. Follow the Nevada Supremes lead: pretend to care about ethics, but make sure everyone gets to keep practicing law. I mean, you could have just given Botha community service. It's the Nevada way.
[on a side note, I'm single right now Mr. Botha, if you want to put some $400k cars in my name]
Awand is old and has lived a pretty opulent life. Seems like at this point dealing with a little IRS crap is worth it for the years he spent flying private jets, eating in the finest restaurants, living in luxurious homes, and traveling to exclusive resorts and destinations. Crime pays; just look at Awand, Bob E., and Bob V. These folks live better than you do.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, 11:08 - you are the type of lawyer who gives the profession a bad name (if you even are a lawyer). Does it even matter to you that through Awand's actions hundreds, maybe thousands, of people have had their lives ruined. You should go have your own central nervous system brutalized by one of Awand's quack surgeons and then tell us if Awand was right to do what he did in the name of the almighty dollar. Human beings were harmed through Awand's doctors and lawyers. Have you no morals?
ReplyDeleteMaybe the Feds will get Awand's whole team of docs and lawyers this way.
ReplyDeleteits funny that everyone just sits back and lets the IRS do whatever they want.there is nothing to say the child support order was a sham!Its only the court that thinks that.You tell the kids that are left behind that there parent is going to jail because they paid there child support.Not the IRS. What a sham this country is coming to when a child rapist can get a year,but if you pay some of your taxes you still go to jail for five years.tell the truth if it possiable.
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