Legal Newswire Blog

Archive for the ‘Business’ Category

Studio City resident, Steven Krell, a 61 year old ex-accountant and Los Angeles lawyer, who pleaded no contest to state grand theft charges in 2008, was sentenced on Monday to probation and house arrest. Krell was sentenced for filing federal false tax returns after embezzling nearly $1.5 million from two of his clients, including an elderly woman with dementia.

Krell, a former partner in the Los Angeles firm of Green, Hasson and Janks, pleaded guilty in June. He told U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson he used the stolen money for his own use and lied to the government.

Krell admitted in his plea agreement that he embezzled $1,476,900 from the elderly woman, her trust and a physician starting in 1997 and continuing through 2003, says Michael Moriarty of the Internal Revenue Service.

The Daily News Wire reports that to accomplish his scheme, Krell had signature authority over bank accounts belonging to the trust and the woman, facilitating withdrawals, according to court papers. In the second case, Krell falsely told the doctor he was investing his funds.

Anderson sentenced Krell on Monday in downtown Los Angeles to three years of probation, including 30 hours of community service per month and eight months of house arrest, Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Rochmes said.

Krell’s attorney, Michael Proctor, told the court his client had already paid about $500,000 in restitution.

In February 2008, Krell was sentenced in Los Angeles Superior Court to seven years and four months behind bars for the same underlying conduct – grand theft.

The judge stayed the prison term on the condition that Krell comply with the terms of his probation and continue long-term psychiatric treatment after he made “significant” restitution payments, according to the District Attorney’s Office. Krell also served less than a year in county jail and was placed on supervised release for seven years.

In the state case, Krell, who was also once a licensed attorney, admitted helping himself to nearly $1 million from the trust of a 90-year-old woman, who was mentally incapacitated, and looting about $400,000 from the physician’s account he was managing.

As part of his plea, Krell agreed to file amended tax returns, reflecting $514,125 in illegally obtained proceeds, Moriarty said. In addition to the tax due, Krell is liable for the fraud penalty, which amounts to 75 percent of the tax due on the proceeds he embezzled.

The thefts were discovered in 2003 after a business manager became suspicious when he learned Krell was staying in expensive suites in Las Vegas and gambling at high-roller tables.

Rochmes said Monday’s sentence would have no effect on Krell’s stayed sentence for grand theft since those crimes were addressed in 2008, and the current federal case involves a separate issue.

The Daily News Wire contributed to ths story.

Related searches:
Tax Attorneys

HOUSTON, TX – John O’Quinn, a prominent Houston truck accident attorney,  was killed Thurday morning around 8:00 am, Oct 29, 2009 when his Chevy Suburban SUV struck a tree along the Allen Parkway in Houston, TX. There was also a second person in the SUV at the time who was also killed. It is not clear whether O’Quinn was the driver or not.

Houston truck accident attorney, John O'Quinn, killed in SUV crash on Allen Parkway

The SUV  was apparently travelling westbound in the 2000 block of the Allen Parkway when it skidded out of control and crashed. The Chevy  Suburban jumped two curbs before crashing head-on into a tree on the service road to the westbound Allen Parkway.

An Eyewitness  reported , “I was one of the people this suburban cut off… I was going about 50 and the suburban passed me like I was sitting still. He had to have been doing 80 minimum.  Wet roads going 80+ on the curviest part of allen parkway.  I saw him hit the curb because he couldn’t recover from his triple lane change.  I was amazed there was no oncoming traffic.”

Read full story at TruckAccidents360

Katherine Jackson changing probate lawyers

Michael Jackson’s mother wants to hire new lawyers and will ask the court for a continuance today when the hearing convenes so she can hire new lawyers.

TMZ spoke with Londell McMillan, who acknowledges Katherine is moving on and hiring new probate lawyers. McMillan says he was never Katherine’s probate lawyer, even though he was actively negotiating with lawyers for the estate.

McMillan tells TMZ, “I am not completely out.” He says he does not know if he is still Katherine’s general counsel and continues to represent her.

According to the Associated Press, attorneys for the administrators of Michael Jackson’s estate and Jackson’s mother also want a judge to clarify exactly what authority he has given two men over the singer’s estate.

Music executive John McClain and attorney John Branca were granted authority by the judge earlier this month to handle creditor claims and lawsuits against the estate. The dispute is over how the judge’s order should be worded.

L. Londell McMillan, who still represents Katherine Jackson, says his side will raise other issues during Thursday’s hearing. He says they want more accountability and will ask the judge to make the administrators more cooperative with information.

Nicolas Cage Owes IRS $6M

The IRS has filed liens against Nicolas Cage for more than $6 million in back taxes and he is now forced to sell off major assets and investments to try and pay off his back tax liabilities.

Cage has filed a lawsuit in L.A. County Superior Court against his former business manager, Samuel Levin. The lawsuit claims that over a period of seven years, “Levin placed Cage in numerous highly speculative and risky real estate investments, resulting in Cage suffering catastrophic losses.”  View lawsuit docs.

Cage also claims Levin failed to pay taxes when they were due. Cage claims it was only this year, after firing Levin, he learned “the gravity of his financial condition.”

Lawyer, Marty Singer, claims in the lawsuit that Levin never advised him of his financial situation and is guilty of “over-extending [Cage's] line of credit with banks and financial institutions.” The suit claims Levin concealed Cage’s “true financial condition prior to investments and assets being acquired by [Cage].”

Forbes reports that Cage earned $40 milion between June 2008 and June 2009.

Cage is asking for a minimum of $20 million.

TMZ contributed to this story.