Back
in
November,
after
his
trial
had
already
started,
a
former
Biglaw
tax
partner
pleaded
guilty
to
one
count
of
aiding
or
assisting
in
the
filing
of
a
false
or
fraudulent
tax
return.
It
seems
that
he
was
helping
his
high-profile
clients
—
including
DJs
Tiësto
and
Afrojack
—
hide
millions
upon
millions
of
dollars
from
the
IRS,
and
it
was
likely
that
he
could
face
time
in
federal
prison
for
doing
so.
(Neither
DJ
has
been
charged.)
Earlier
this
month,
his
sentence
was
handed
down.
Frank
Butselaar,
who
worked
at
Greenberg
Traurig’s
office
in
Amsterdam
from
the
mid-2000s
until
late
2013,
was
charged
in
2022
with
tax-related
crimes.
According
to
prosecutors,
he
was
involved
in
“a
long
running,
international
fraud
scheme”
meant
to
assist
his
famous
clients
conceal
offshore
income
from
the
IRS.
Butselaar
—
who
has
already
been
in
custody
for
21
months
—
was
recently
sentenced
to
30
months
in
prison.
Reuters
has
additional
details:
In
a
statement,
Butselaar’s
defense
lawyers
Kerry
Lawrence
and
Samidh
Guha
said
“our
goal
remains
to
get
Mr.
Butselaar
home
to
his
loved
ones
as
soon
as
possible”
and
that
the
sentencing
hearing
was
“a
step
in
that
direction.”
…“Butselaar
knew
that
he
was
breaking
the
law,”
prosecutors
told
the
judge
in
a
court
filing
before
the
sentencing.
“But
he
did
it
anyway
to
boost
his
professional
standing
and
build
a
client
base
in
industries
that
are
driven
by
word-of-mouth
recommendations.”
Prosecutors
are
asking
that
Butselaar
pay
$19.25
million
in
restitution,
while
his
defense
team
claims
that
he
doesn’t
owe
any
money
to
the
IRS.
Judge
sentences
ex-Greenberg
Traurig
tax
lawyer
to
prison
[Reuters]
Staci
Zaretsky is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law,
where
she’s
worked
since
2011.
She’d
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