Southern District of Texas | Personal injury attorney convicted of obstructing justice

HOUSTON – A 56-12 months-old Houston resident has been uncovered guilty on several counts similar to a intricate tax fraud plan, announced U.S. Legal professional Alamdar S. Hamdani. 

A federal jury convicted Richard J. Plezia for conspiracy as very well as two counts of creating wrong statements and falsification of a record next a thirty day period-lengthy trial and close to eight hours of deliberation.

“We are a nation of rules, where attorneys swear to uphold people laws” said Hamdani. “When attorneys, like Plezia, corrupt their oath for their own get, such steps can corrode the public’s assurance in our lawful procedure. It is essential to discourage such carry out, and we are delighted with the jury’s verdict holding Plezia accountable for his crimes.”

“I can inform you that justice was served and the professionalism of our exclusive agents from the get started of the circumstance to the testimony all through the demo is a testament to the excellent function IRS-Prison Investigation (CI) does to bring conspiracies like this to finality,” said Specific Agent-in-Cost Ramsey E. Covington of IRS-CI’s Houston Area Business. “We are here to serve our group by doing the job with the United States Attorney’s Business office to convey legal routines, especially all those with tax and fiscal ties, to an conclusion.”

The evidence in-depth a sophisticated tax fraud plan in which Plezia funneled about $500,000 through his business account from legal professional Jeffrey Stern. The money was provided to case runner Marcus Esquivel, from whom Stern was illegally getting individual harm scenarios.   

Independently, Plezia himself was illegally purchasing circumstances from Esquivel and yet another situation runner. On his tax returns, Stern took illegal tax deductions for his payments to many runners like Esquivel. This brought about close to $4.3 million in tax reduction to the IRS. Plezia filed wrong returns, incorrectly declaring the go-by means of payments from Stern by way of Plezia to Esquivel as profits and using corresponding incorrect deductions for internet marketing and promotion.

In 2016, Plezia lied to authorities, professing he had not paid Esquivel for case referrals. Two yrs later on, he again lied. He claimed the approximately a few yrs of go-through payments had been the result of Stern financing a significant toxic tort situation Plezia was managing. To again up his fake story about the cash flow, Plezia made falsified documents in response to a federal grand jury subpoena. These incorporated an alleged 2010 letter from Plezia to Stern proposing the financing arrangement and invoices allegedly from Esquivel that purported to monthly bill Plezia for services on the tort scenario.

Each Stern and Esquivel formerly pleaded responsible and offered testimony that the payments as a result of Plezia had almost nothing to do with the tort situation. The jury heard corroborating evidence from multiple lawyers and healthcare providers who had been involved in the matter.

U.S. District Choose Lee H. Rosenthal presided over the demo and established sentencing for May possibly 31. At that time, Plezia faces up to 20 several years for the falsification of documents and 5 years on just about every of the other convictions.

Plezia was permitted to continue to be on bond pending that hearing.

Stern and Esquivel, both of those of Houston, are also pending sentencing.  

IRS-CI done the investigation. Assistant U.S. Lawyers Robert S. Johnson and Richard Bennett are prosecuting the scenario.