Daily Briefs

Personal injury attorney sentenced to 18 months for false tax returns


A Michigan man was sentenced Monday to 18 months in prison for willfully filing five false tax returns for himself and one of his businesses.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Carl L. Collins was a personal injury attorney with offices in Southfield. He also owned a real estate company, First Third LLC, and two medical services companies, MedCity Rehabilitation Services LLC and Alpha Living LLC.
Collins did not report substantial income he received from these businesses on his personal returns for 2012, 2015 and 2018, and on Alpha Living’s corporate 2015 return. Instead, Collins deposited the funds into Interest on Lawyer’s Trust Accounts (IOLTA), bank accounts used by lawyers solely to hold money in trust for their clients, and he did not disclose this to his return preparers or the Michigan State Bar Foundation, as required. In total, Collins concealed over $2.6 million in income from his tax preparers and the IRS.

In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Gershwin A. Drain ordered Collins to serve one year of supervised release and pay a $10,000 fine. A hearing to determine the amount of restitution to be paid is scheduled for Sept. 1.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison for the Eastern District of Michigan made the announcement.

IRS-Criminal Investigation investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Kenneth Vert and Jeffrey McLellan of the Justice Department’s Tax Division prosecuted the case.

 

Lunch & Learn discussion to focus on victim rights
 

The Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan’s Victim Services Training Unit will host an online lunch-time discussion between and among victim advocates. The Victim Advocates Lunch & Learn “Lettuce Talk” will take place online Thursday, September 21, from noon to 1 p.m. via Zoom.

PAAM VSTU plans to offer victim rights related topics to prompt discussion. It also looks to this opportunity as a way to maintain community among victim advocates across Michigan. This meeting is for AG advocates and prosecutor’s-based victim advocates only.

To register for the online discussion, visit https://michiganprosecutor.org and click on “Training Calendar.” After registration is approved, participants will receive a confirmation email with the Zoom access link.

Anyone with questions may contact Alex McGowan at McGowanA1@michi gan.gov, Bill Dailey at  DaileyB2@michi gan.gov, or Jeannie Wernet at WernetJ @michigan.gov.

 

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