Steven M. Etkind, Tax Fraud, New York 2023

Steven M. Etkind, a 57-year-old New York-licensed attorney and partner at a New York law firm, has been charged with tax fraud and other crimes in a shocking case of embezzlement.

According to authorities, Etkind was the head of a New York law firm's tax, trusts, and estates group and a Certified Public Accountant. In 2008, he was named co-executor of a $35 million estate belonging to a successful entrepreneur who had passed away.

The client's will directed the creation of charitable trusts, funded with assets from the client's estate, for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations, including those aimed at assisting Jewish sponsored organizations. Etkind was named co-trustee of these trusts.

An indictment alleges that Etkind and his co-conspirator set up a phony charitable organization and used it to steal more than $3.5 million from these charitable trusts. The funds were first directed to legitimate Jewish charitable organizations, then redirected to the phony charity accounts controlled by Etkind and his co-conspirator.

Etkind used part of the money he stole to purchase a 6,300-square-foot home with a swimming pool in Southampton, New York, titling it in a nominee name. To conceal his theft, Etkind filed, and caused to be filed, fraudulent personal, corporate, and charitable trust returns with the IRS and made several false and misleading statements to the IRS during the course of an audit and examination of the phony charity.

If convicted, Etkind faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison on the conspiracy charge, five years on each of the tax evasion charges, and three years for obstructing the internal revenue laws. The charges contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The case is being handled by the Office's Complex Frauds Unit. Special Assistant United States Attorneys Jorge Almonte and Jack A. Morgan are in charge of the prosecution.

Etkind's crimes were uncovered through the outstanding efforts of special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation. The U.S. Department of Justice's Tax Division provided significant assistance in the investigation.

Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division's website.

Steven M. Etkind, Real Name of Defendant. The charges against him include conspiring to defraud the United States, corruptly endeavoring to impede the internal revenue laws, and tax evasion. The case was unsealed in Manhattan federal court on [no specific date mentioned].

The total amount of money stolen from the charitable trusts is approximately $3.5 million. Etkind used some of the money to purchase a 6,300-square-foot home in Southampton, New York.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/new-york-attorney-charged-tax-fraud