Jason Williams claims yoga classes, music streaming as business expenses on tax returns | Courts

Yoga classes, Mardi Gras season expenses and a music streaming service were among the purchases Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams said on the law firm’s federal tax returns, which prosecutors said Friday contributed $765,258.85 to the bloated business expenses. To reduce the tax burden in five consecutive years.

But none of those expenses, defense attorneys argued, showed that Williams did anything other than rely on tax preparer Henry Timothy to select legitimate expenses from a shopping list and file accurate returns.

Williams and co-defendant attorney Nicole Burdett were indicted on a 10-count charge of conspiring over five years to defraud Williams of business expenses at his private law practice to reduce his tax liability by $200,000. Burdett is accused of embezzling $130,000 from her own tax returns.

Both were accused of failing to complete the proper forms for large cash receipts.

Page after page

In the document-heavy fifth day of the defendants’ trial in U.S. District Court, prosecutors showed IRS Agent Timothy Moore page after page of expenses to review the investigation into Williams and Burdett. He was asked to testify as to which business purchases were excessive or unauthorized, such as clothing, dry cleaning or personal life insurance.

During cross-examination of Moore by defense attorney Billy Gibbons, Williams did not argue that most of the costs have no place in recovery. But Williams, who was a city councilman at the time of Gibbons’ indictment, turned over all of his spending documents to Timothy, arguing that the tax preparer would report only the proper purchases.

Gibbons asked if Moore’s investigation found any emails showing Timothy sent tax return drafts to Williams or Burdett before filing them online. As Timothy said Thursday, Moore said Timothy did not provide those communications.

No more interviews.

Gibbons said documents show Timothy filed 1,141 tax returns for clients in 2014, one of the years Williams is accused of spending his own business. Of the returns, 392 businesses included Schedule C to report their expenses.

“Didn’t you try to identify or interview any of those other customers?” asked Gibbons, indicating that their clients may have corroborated or disputed Timothy’s testimony.

Moore replied: “I did not investigate any of those individuals.

Other witnesses

Taking the witness stand Friday were attorney Gregory Souther and Williams’ ex-wife Bridget Barthelemy, daughter of former New Orleans Mayor Sidney Barthelemy.

In the year Sauzer, who worked at Williams’ law firm from 2015 to 2018, testified that he accepted cash payments from clients and that the firm sometimes paid him in cash. He said that he declined the offer to use Timothy as a tax preparer because Timothy’s situation seemed “strange.”

But he later said he told IRS investigators that he refused to use Timothy’s services, not because it seemed unusual, but because he had his own tax preparer at the time.

Cash collection

Throughout their marriage, which ended in 2018, she often visited Williams’ office to pick up money for personal expenses like groceries, and Williams said he often paid for things with a loan or cash. Postpaid card.

Defense attorneys asked if Barthelemy could provide any evidence that she collected cash from the office.

“If someone asked me, I might be able to,” Barthelemy said. “But no one ever asked me.”

Other tax problems

Souther and Barthelemy face tax problems of their own.

Prosecutors charged Barthelemy with failing to file tax returns; They did so through an information document, a sign that she agreed to plead guilty and cooperate with the government. She is scheduled to enter her plea on July 27, according to court records.

Souther is charged with four felony counts of willfully failing to file federal returns for four consecutive years ending in 2018. In February, he signed a plea deal that, if accepted by a judge, would drop three of the charges against him.

look forward

Next week, prosecutors are expected to call to the witness stand Robert Hertzberg, an attorney who worked for Williams’ firm, who is accused of willfully failing to file federal tax returns.

Moore will return to the stand Monday as cross-examination of the witness continues.

Attorneys told Judge Lance Africk on Friday that they hope the trial will end next week.