by Brian Mahany Lawyers that profited from the halcyon days of the housing industry are now finding themselves on the other side of the law. Several lawyers have been sued for their role in the mortgage crisis and many more are likely to find themselves in jail or in court. We have long suspected that […]
Battle of the Titans
by Brian Mahany We hear of many people making claims against their tax preparers for not properly advising them of their foreign account reporting requirements. Lately some taxpayers are suing Swiss banks for allegedly providing them bad advise – like, “don’t worry you won’t get caught.” Now in what may be the ultimate lawsuit, billionaire […]
Lawyer Guilty of Fraud
Buried in today’s newspaper was a small headline, “Brookfield Lawyer Pleads Guilty to Fraud.” Whether local or out-of-town, I hate reading those headlines. When public officials, lawyers or cops steal, everyone suffers – not just their victims. In today’s case Thomas Bielinski pleaded guilty to felony theft by fraud. According to press reports, Bielinski combed […]
Another Convicted Lawyer Suspended… But Only After 4th Conviction
by Brian Mahany Yesterday the Wisconsin Supreme Court suspended a St. Croix Falls lawyer Warren Brandt’s license to practice law. He is ineligible to practice for the next four months. Afterwards, he must undergo any necessary monitoring and treatment for alcohol dependency. Everyone in society can suffer from alcoholism – we have seen lawyers, doctors, […]
NFL QB Sues Law Firm Over Bad Tax Advice
Phony Tax Credits Wind Up with Jail, Legal Malpractice Lawsuit [Post Updated] Taxes are complicated. During a recent trial we asked all of the IRS agents in attendance if any of them had ever read the entire tax code. Not one had. With thousands of forms and tens of thousands of pages of statutes, rules […]
Feds Target CPA’s, Lawyers – IRS Whistleblower Post
[Post updated March 2021] When this post was written ten years earlier, the Justice Department had just convicted the former chairman of prominent CPA firm BDO Seidman as well as two attorneys from Jenkens and Gilchrist. The three were convicted for for their role in a massive scheme to promote abusive tax shelters. The government […]
Partner in Major Law Firm Pleads to $19 Million Fraud
Two months ago I wrote about the sentencing of Ken Starr, money manager to many top celebrities. Starr is currently cooling his heals in the federal pen after being convicted of defrauding clients of $30 million – clients such as Wesley Snipes, Sly Stallone and Al Pacino. This week, Starr’s lawyer, Jonathan Bristol, pled guilty […]
Celebrity Money Manager Heads to Prison
Kenneth Starr, former money manager for Wesley Snipes, Al Pacino and Sylvester Stallone, was sentenced to 7 ½ years in prison. Last year Starr pled guilty to stealing over $30 million from his celebrity clients. The sentence is a bittersweet victory for me; we tried to alert authorities in January of 2008 that Starr was […]
SEC and Justice Department Charge Top Lawyer With Fraud
[Post updated January 2020] Jonathan Bristol, a former partner at two of the largest and best U.S. law firms, was arraigned in a Manhattan federal court and charged with laundering over $20 million in connection with Kenneth Starr, the now convicted financial advisor to Hollywood celebrities. In 2008, Bristol became a partner at Winston & […]
When Lawyers Become Criminals (Legal Malpractice Post)
As a lawyer concentrating in asset recovery and professional negligence (malpractice), I have encountered many stories of Ponzi schemes, frauds, theft and hundreds of tales of Wall Street greed. Sometimes the perpetrators of these frauds and scams are judges and lawyers. Thankfully those stories are rare but they do happen. Unless we are the victim, […]