The last four defendants in the KPMG tax-shelter case face the start of their trial this week as jury selection begins tomorrow (Tuesday).
The trial of the remaining defendants – three ex-KPMG executives and a former partner at law firm Sidley Austin – will begin with the selection of a jury and is expected to last between three and five months.
The 2005 indictment alleged that between 1996 and 2005 the defendants put together tax shelters that were designed to generate fake tax losses. It also said the defendants prepared false documents to deceive the government.
In July this year, US District Judge Lewis Kaplan dismissed charges against another 13 former KPMG partners, ruling that the government interfered with their right to counsel.
KPMG itself avoided an indictment by settling the federal investigation in 2005 for $456 million.
The case involves some 24 million pages of documents and some legal experts say the government could face an uphill task in proving its case.