Kentucky Suspended lawyer charged with financial crime State high court suspended attorney after he was convicted of tax evasion

By Brett Barrouquere Associated Press LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- A Kentucky attorney with a recent history of suspensions for allegedly running afoul of state tax laws now faces a federal charge of structuring financial transactions to avoid federal reporting requirements. Federal prosecutors want to seize $293,000, the amount left in two bank accounts held by William Otto Ayers of Louisville. A federal grand jury on Tuesday charged Ayers with trying to avoid reporting the movement of $294,400 by making repeated deposits of less than $10,000. Any transaction involving more than $10,000 requires a bank to report it to federal officials. The indictment, filed in U.S. District Court in Louisville, alleges that Ayers conducted at least 35 financial transactions, in amounts ranging from $3,000 to $9,300, with five different banks between March 24, 201, and April 27, 2011. The Kentucky Supreme Court suspended Ayers in 2010 after state prosecutors charged and convicted him of tax evasion. The Kentucky Court of Appeals overturned that conviction in March, but Ayers remains suspended. The Kentucky Court of Appeals in March overturned Ayers' conviction in state court for failing to file state tax returns from 2002 through 2006. Even though Ayers works as a lawyer, the appeals court found, a trial judge should have held a hearing before allowing him to represent himself at trial in 2008. At arraignment and through much of the two-year pre-trial proceedings, Ayers handled the case himself, filing motions and hearings without the benefit of another lawyer. On the eve of trial, Ayers filed to delay the proceedings, saying he hadn't gotten all the evidence on time and he wanted to hire an attorney to represent him. Gibson shot down those requests and let the trial go forward. The U.S. and Kentucky Constitutions guarantee anyone charged with a crime a right to an attorney. That right can be waived, the appeals court ruled, but only after a hearing is held to ensure the person wishing to go it alone understands the consequences. State prosecutors have asked the Kentucky Supreme Court to overturn the decision. Published: Fri, Jul 6, 2012