Former IRS Lawyer Craig Orrock Convicted of Tax Evasion

Craig P. Orrock, a former attorney and Internal Revenue Service employee, was convicted Tuesday in Las Vegas on multiple federal charges for a decades-long scheme to dodge more than $500,000 in income taxes. The 68-year-old, now of Sandy, Utah, used nominee entities, trusts, and hidden bank accounts to obstruct IRS collection efforts, federal prosecutors confirmed.

A federal jury found Orrock guilty of tax evasion and obstructing the internal revenue laws after a trial that laid bare his calculated efforts to conceal assets. From 1993 through 2015, Orrock filed tax returns but consistently refused to pay what he owed, ignoring IRS demands and exploiting his insider knowledge of tax enforcement loopholes.

Court evidence showed Orrock funneled real estate holdings through Arville Properties LLC, a nominee entity, to hide ownership and profits. When the property sold, he concealed the proceeds, further shielding his wealth. His actions specifically thwarted tax assessments for 2007, part of a 22-year evasion pattern that prosecutors called deliberate and sophisticated.

Over the years, Orrock’s unpaid tax liability ballooned to more than $500,000. Authorities say his use of trusts and shell accounts wasn’t financial planning—it was fraud. IRS-Criminal Investigation agents spent years untangling his network of financial deception, which relied heavily on his legal training and former role within the agency.

Orrock now faces up to five years in prison on each of the first two counts and up to three years on the third, along with supervised release, restitution, and steep financial penalties. Sentencing is scheduled for August 26 in U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Nicholas A. Trutanich praised the IRS-CI investigation, calling it a win against those who abuse public trust. Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Burns and Tax Division Trial Attorney Erin S. Mellen are prosecuting the case, underscoring the federal government’s push to hold tax evaders—especially insiders—accountable.