Business & Tech

Pikesville Attorney Pleads Guilty to Federal Tax Crimes

Stanley Needleman of Pikesville failed to report more than $1.5 million in income to his Baltimore law practice.

Pikesville attorney Stanley Needleman, 68, pleaded guilty Thursday to a federal charge of income tax evasion as well as another charge of not disclosing large cash transactions as required by law, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland. Needleman failed to report more than $1.5 million in income from 2005 to 2009, according to prosecutors.

In a search of Needleman's home in April, federal agents found that the defense lawyer had more than $1.15 million in cash in two safes in his basement along with ledgers that detailed the legal fees paid by his clients over roughly the same time period.

“The defendant probably thought he could avoid detection by hoarding the money in his basement instead of spending it on a lavish lifestyle, but a thorough investigation proved him wrong," U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said. "This case should help to deter similar crimes by lawyers and other businesspeople who accept cash payments.”

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As part of the plea agreement, Needleman has agreed to disbarment before his sentencing on Dec. 15. He also faces up to five years in prison for tax evasion and 10 years for structuring financial transactions to avoid reporting large cash recepts and deposits.

Needleman was required to file a form each time he received a cash payment of $10,000. As a defense attorney, Needleman received one-time fees of more than $10,000 in cash from many clients and filed the required form just once, prosectors said.

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As part of his plea agreement, Needleman has agreed to pay restitution for tax losses to the IRS of more than $543,000 and to the state of Maryland for more than $117,000, and to forfeit more than $492,000 to the DEA in connection with the structuring scheme.

During the investigation before the raid on the lawyer's home, federal investigators had covertly reviewed Needleman's tax returns and bank records for 2005 to 2009 to see how much money he deposited and reported for his Baltimore practice, the press release stated. They concluded that, from 2006 to 2010, he was depositing and reporting less money than the number of and types of federal and state cases would have paid.


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