Three of the remaining four defendants in the KPMG tax shelter case were convicted of tax evasion charges.
They included former KPMG tax partner Robert Pfaff and former senior tax manager John Larson, who were both convicted of 12 counts of tax evasion. Also convicted was Raymond Ruble, a former partner with the law firm Brown & Wood, who was convicted on 10 counts. However, the jury acquitted the fourth defendant, former KPMG tax partner David Greenberg, of five counts of tax evasion.
The case at one time included 19 defendants and was billed as the largest tax shelter trial ever. KPMG was accused of marketing a variety of strategies that allowed its clients to avoid paying billions of dollars in taxes. KPMG entered into a deferred prosecution agreement in August 2005 that allowed the firm to avoid conviction. The firm agreed to pay a $456 million fine and change its business practices.
Judge Lewis Kaplan later dismissed 13 of the original defendants in July 2007 on the grounds that prosecutors had exerted undue pressure on KPMG not to pay for their defense. Two other defendants pleaded guilty to tax fraud charges. After numerous delays the trial got underway in October of this year.
