Bloomberg Law is reporting that a Northern California tax attorney was sentenced April 1 to three years in federal prison for stealing $1.2 million in refunds fraudulently obtained on behalf of his NFL player client.

Hiram M. Martin was charged with falsifying returns for Antrel Rolle, a former Pro Bowl NFL safety who played for the Arizona Cardinals, New York Giants, and Chicago Bears. Martin reportedly filed tax documents in Rolle’s name without his permission, and forged his client’s signature, writes Bloomberg’s David McAfee.

Prosecutors said Martin also worked to keep the IRS from contacting Rolle and to keep Rolle from contacting the IRS when a news story ran about the athlete’s tax liabilities.

Read the Bloomberg Law article.

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Carlos Ghosn will finally see the inside of a Japanese court room next week, almost two months after his arrest on financial crimes, reports Bloomberg.

Ghosn’s lawyer said his client will attend a hearing of the Tokyo district court on Jan. 8 in an effort to obtain an explanation on why the former Nissan Motor Co. chairman — who was taken into custody Nov. 19, and has had his detention extended repeatedly — remains in jail.

Bloomberg’s Kae Inoue reports: “While Ghosn has been indicted by Japanese prosecutors on allegations of under-reporting his compensation, the length of his detention and the lack of clarity provided on the case has drawn criticism.”

Read the Bloomberg article.

Former Minnesota Tax Court Judge Diane Kroupa is headed to prison for tax fraud, reports Minnesota Lawyer. Her husband, a self-employed lobbyist and political consultant, also received a shorter sentence.

Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright in U.S. District Court in St. Paul sentenced Kroupa to 34 months in prison and Robert Fackler to 24 months. They must pay $457,104 in joint restitution, writes reporter Barbara L. Jones.

Both defendants entered guilty pleas, admitting to conspiring to obstruct the IRS by claiming personal expenses as business expenses. Those expenses included vacations, Pilates classes, upkeep and renovation and utilities for their home, and more.

Read the Minnesota Lawyer article.

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A federal bankruptcy judge in Dallas ruled late Tuesday that Dallas entrepreneurs Sam and Charles Wyly committed tax fraud when they created a series of offshore trusts in the Isle of Man in the 1990s to shield more than $1 billion for the family tax-free, according to a report in The Dallas Morning News.

There is “clear and convincing evidence” that the “heart of the Wyly offshore system had been established through deceptive and fraudulent actions,” wrote U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Barbara Houser.

“The IRS claims that the Wylys, who made billions of dollars growing and then selling Michaels Stores and Bonanza steakhouses, set up the series of offshore trusts in the Isle of Man in order to hide income from being taxed, while still using the money in the trusts to fund a lavish lifestyle,” the report says.

Under the ruling, Sam Wyly, the surviving brother, could be required to pay the IRS as much as $1.4 billion in back taxes and penalties.

Read the article.