Legal News

White-Collar Week Goes On: Former Partner Pleads to Tax Crimes

By Ashby Jones

It’s been a while — over two years, in fact — since we’ve heard anything about Jay Gordon. Gordon, the former head of Greenberg Traurig’s tax practice, resigned from the New York bar back in November of 2006 for taking over $1.2 million in kickbacks on tax shelters he recommended to his clients.

Earlier today, Gordon pleaded guilty to two charges — obstructing the IRS and conspiracy to commit tax fraud. Here’s a copy of the criminal information, which was filed today; click here for U.S. attorney’s press release.

Gordon’s lawyer, Gerald Shargel — also Marc Dreier’s laywer — did not immediately return a call requesting comment. Sentencing is reportedly scheduled for June 19.

In an affidavit signed by Gordon back in June of 2006, Gordon admitted to a host of wrongdoing. Namely, between 1999 and 2002, Gordon steered clients to tax shelter sponsors who in turn directly paid Gordon more than $675,000 in “referral fees.” His clients reportedly didn’t know about the fees. He had a tax-shelter sponsor deposit a $600,000 referral fee in a firm account and then converted that money into firm revenue by billing 1,120 fictitious hours.

Here are 2006 stories from the New York Law Journal and New York Times.

At the time, in a statement, Cesar Alvarez, Greenberg Traurig’s president and chief executive, called the Gordon episode “a regrettable and isolated situation,” adding that “we had zero tolerance for this lawyer’s ethical lapse.”

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on December 12, 2008 (boomark / email).