Last April, a husband and wife from Minnesota were indicted on tax evasion charges. There wasn’t anything unusual about what they allegedly did; besides lying to their tax professional and the IRS they deducted personal expenses as business expenses. The reason Diane Kroupa won the award was her profession: She was a judge on the United States Tax Court. She knew better.
Last week Ms. Kroupa received 34 months at ClubFed; her husband received 24 months. Acting United States Attorney Gregory Brooker said,
Over a nearly ten-year period, the defendants engaged in a deliberate and brazen tax fraud scheme…Considering Ms. Kroupa’s position of public trust as a US Tax Court Judge, her crime is particularly egregious. Ms. Kroupa used her knowledge of the tax laws to further their fraud scheme, conceal their criminal conduct and maintain their acquisitive lifestyle. The sentences handed down today show that no one is above the law.
There’s not much to add to that statement.
Tags: TaxOffenderOfTheYear