Pa. attorney pleads guilty to multiple charges of failing to pay income taxes

Scranton, Pa. — A Pennsylvania attorney who failed to pay taxes for three years pleaded guilty in federal district court this week.

Jill Moran, 55, was the owner and operator of The Powell Law Group, a Luzerne County-based law firm, and a member of the Trust Advisory Committee for mass tort litigation. As the owner of the law firm, she earned substantial legal fees, the US Attorney's office said in a press release.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Moran did not pay individual income taxes for 2016 on approximately $1.2 million she received, and also did not pay individual income taxes for substantial income that she received in tax years 2017 and 2018.

In total, Moran caused a tax loss to the IRS of between $250,000 and $550,000, the US Attorney's office said.

The following is a description of facts presented during Moran's guilty plea:

In 2009, Moran became the managing director and president of the Powell Law Group, when the founder and owner of the firm, Robert J. Powell, was suspended from the practice of law and ultimately disbarred. Moran and Powell agreed, however, that she would collect 10% and he would collect 90% of any future fees the firm earned after the payment of expenses. Specifically, The Powell Law Group represented thousands of plaintiffs in a mass tort litigation that settled for approximately $5.15 billion in 2015, from which the firm was expected to receive approximately $120 million in attorneys’ fees.

Prior to the attorneys’ fees disbursement, The Powell Law Group and its co-counsel used those future legal fees as collateral to obtain a series of loans totaling over $125 million. In 2014 and 2015, Moran received two disbursements of $500,000 each from those loan proceeds. Moreover, Moran received approximately $215,000 for her work on the Trust Advisory Committee.

In June 2016, most of the attorneys’ fees were finally disbursed and the loans were repaid. Nevertheless, Moran did not pay taxes on both the $1,000,000 she received in attorney’s fees that year, and the $215,000 she received for her work on the Trust Advisory Committee. Likewise, in both 2017 and 2018, Moran received substantial income, but nonetheless did not pay taxes on it.

On August 14, 2024, Robert Powell pleaded guilty to evading taxes on the millions of dollars in income he received in legal fees from the mass tort litigation. Powell awaits sentencing.

“Running a business is not a license to avoid paying taxes,” said IRS Criminal Investigation Acting Special Agent in Charge Denise Leuenberger. “Moran’s misconduct by not reporting her income cheated all Americans, since we all pay our fair share for the government services and protections that we enjoy.”