Last of KPMG defendants found guilty

A federal jury yesterday convicted two former KPMG LLP executives and a tax lawyer of tax-evasion charges in one of the largest tax-shelter cases of all time, according to published reports. Found guilty were former KPMG tax partner Robert Pfaff and former senior tax manager John Larson, along with Raymond J. Ruble, a former tax lawyer at Brown & Wood, which is now known as Sidley Austin LLP of Chicago. Prosecutors spent more than three years making a case against an original group of 19 defendants — including 17 from KPMG — regarding the creation and sale of aggressive tax shelters for wealthy Americans that allowed them to evade hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes. Mr. Larson and Mr. Pfaff were convicted on 12 counts of tax evasion. Mr. Ruble was found guilty on 10 counts of tax evasion related to clients who evaded taxes through a vehicle known as a BLIPS tax shelter. Each of the three men was acquitted of conspiracy and one count of tax evasion. Mr. Ruble also was found not guilty on two counts of tax evasion. David Greenberg, a former tax partner at KPMG, was acquitted on the five counts of tax evasion that he faced. A conspiracy charge was dismissed against Mr. Greenberg earlier this month. The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced March 20, with each facing up to five years for each count. KPMG settled with the government for $456 million in 2005. The firm is based in New York.