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Conspiracy to Defraud the United States Lands Texas Attorney in Hot Water
A high-profile case of tax evasion has come to a close, with a Texas attorney and his client receiving significant sentences for their roles in the scheme. John O. Green, a licensed attorney in Texas and former Idaho state legislator, and his client Thomas Selgas, a Texas inventor, were convicted by a jury in Federal District Court in Dallas on January 15, 2020, of conspiracy to defraud the United States and tax evasion.
Selgas, who owed approximately $1.1 million in taxes, refused to pay the IRS. In an effort to conceal his income, Selgas used Green’s Interest on Lawyers Trust Account (IOLTA) to hide his funds. From 2007 to 2017, Selgas deposited proceeds from the sale of gold coins and other income into Green’s IOLTA, which was then used to pay Selgas’s personal expenses, including credit card bills.
Green, who assisted Selgas in concealing his income, also filed a false tax return on behalf of MyMail Ltd., an intellectual property development and licensing partnership co-founded by Selgas. The false return omitted a substantial portion of the partnership’s actual income.
Selgas was sentenced to 18 months in prison, with three years of supervised release and ordered to pay approximately $1,323,776.92 in restitution to the United States. Green received a six-month prison sentence, with three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay approximately $679,501.50 in restitution to the United States.
U.S. District Judge Karen Gren Scholer presided over the sentencing hearing, which was announced by Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg and Acting U.S. Attorney Prerak Shah of the Northern District of Texas.
Prosecutors Robert Kemins and Mitchell Galloway of the Justice Department’s Tax Division handled the case, which highlights the importance of complying with tax laws and the consequences of those who choose to evade them.
Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes|White Collar Crime|Public Corruption
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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