Former Luzerne County Attorney pleads guilty to tax evasion

EYEWITNESS NEWS (WBRE/WYOU) — Officials say a former Luzerne County attorney pleaded guilty to tax evasion.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District announced that 65-year-old Robert J Powell from Palm Beach, Flordia pleaded guilty to one count of criminal information charging him with tax evasion for the calendar year of 2016, in connection with legal fees he earned while associated with The Powell Law Group, P.C., a Luzerne County-based law firm.

According to court documents, Powell attempted to avoid tax that was due and owing the IRS for 2016 by using nominee bank accounts, causing an accountant to file a request for a filing extension that falsely reported zero estimated tax liability for 2016, and making false statements during an IRS audit in 2019.

Powell’s license to practice was suspended in 2009 and he was disbarred in 2015, officials note.

The statement states, as a result, he lost his ownership to The Powell Law Group, however, he retained the right to 90% of the remainder of any future fees collected by the firm. The firm represented thousands of plaintiffs in a mass tort litigation that settled for $5.15 billion in 2015, from that settlement the law firm received $120 million, the release continued.

Instead of depositing his loans into a bank account, Powell directed the loans to nominee bank accounts and then used those loans for personal debts and expenses, investigators reported.

As stated in the release, from 2010 through 2022 Powell did not file for an income tax return and received millions in income resulting in taxes that were due but not paid to the United States.

Officials add in the plea agreement Powell agreed to pay restitution to the IRS in an amount that is to be determined.

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