A St. Louis attorney is involved in a federal lawsuit after being investigated by Federal Agents after questions arose regarding some tax shelters managed by the lawyer. Tax shelters are a very common, legal way to prevent the government from taxing a sum of money. They are frequently associated with charitable giving and grant-making organizations. They are, unfortunately, common methods for large-scale tax evasion, a practice which the federal government has been actively attempting to curtail in recent years.
The attorney was sued by several former clients for malpractice claims a source. In the suit, which was filed last year and decided in August, they claimed that they had no knowledge of the ongoing investigation against the attorney in St. Louis, that they had been misinformed about the potential ramifications of their investments, and that they had not knowingly invested in an illegal tax shelter. The judge in the case (which is now in the appeals process) ruled that the plaintiffs were eligible to be reimbursed by the lawyer for penalties and interest, as well as damages stemming from their alleged association with a criminal tax shelter- a total amount of $165,000. This would most likely be called a white collar crime.
In spite of this past litigation, the lawyer has remained in good standing with the Missouri Bar Association, and has maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings. One prominent expert stated that while it was not unusual for a defendant facing pending litigation to refrain from admitting guilt, the Missouri Bar’s response did raise important questions.
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