E&Y partners charged with tax fraud conspiracy
Current and former partners charged with marketed fraudulent tax shelters to wealthy clients
Four current and former tax partners at Ernst
& Young have been charged by a US grand jury with tax fraud conspiracy.
The four are alleged to have marketed fraudulent tax shelters to wealthy
clients who would otherwise have owed the IRS
more than $10m (?5m) apiece.
The four charged are former partners Robert Coplan and Brian Vaughn, and
current partner Martin Nissenbaum and Richard Shapiro, who are on administrative
leave.
They all worked in a group set up by E&Y in 1998 to develop and sell tax
shelters for the rich, known as
Value
Ideas Produce Extraordinary Results, or Viper.
All are expected to plead not guilty
E&Y said in a statement: ‘The individuals who were indicted . . . were
part of a small group within the firm, disbanded years ago . . . Ernst &
Young has voluntarily made many changes and enhancements to our tax practice.’
Further reading:
US Treasury secretary against collecting more tax
US taxman eyes offshore vehicles
US tax agent charged with tax dodging