An attorney who participated in a tax fraud scheme with a former Chabad of Poway rabbi in San Diego, Calif., was sentenced to one year and one day in custody.
Elliot Adler, 45, of San Diego, was sentenced over allegations he conspired with former Chabad of Poway Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein in a scheme to to commit tax fraud. Adler was also ordered to pay a $20,000 fine and to forfeit gold coins Goldstein gave him as part of the scheme, according to an Aug. 19 U.S. Department of Justice news release.
"For several years, Elliot Adler defrauded the United States while giving the false appearance of making charitable donations," U.S. Attorney Randy S. Grossman said in the news release. "This investigation and the resulting prosecutions should leave no doubt that the United States takes tax fraud seriously and those who perpetrate these schemes will be brought to justice."
Adler is alleged to have participated in the scheme with Goldstein, in which the now disgraced rabbi accepted charitable donations, returned about 90% of the money back to the donors and pocketed the remaining 10% for himself, according to the release. Donors then falsely claimed on their taxes that all of their donations went to the synagogue while Goldstein provided fake receipts.
Adler allegedly made "donations" in the scheme between 2011 and 2017, claiming a reduction in his personal income tax liability of about $500,000, the release reported.
"For years, attorney Adler chose to ignore the laws and ethical rules of conduct he swore to uphold and conspired with others using sophisticated schemes to commit tax fraud," Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy, of the FBI's San Diego field office, said in the release. "Such schemes erode the public's trust in the legal and charitable institutions within our community, but today's sentencing ends his criminal career. Financial crimes have long been a top FBI investigative focus and we remain steadfast in our efforts, in coordination with our partners, to bringing such fraudsters to justice."
In July 2020, Goldstein and several co-defendants entered guilty pleas on multi million-dollar tax evasion and fraud allegations, the release reported. Adler is the 11th and final individual to be sentenced for these crimes.
Special Agent in Charge Tyler R. Hatcher of IRS Criminal Investigation's Los Angeles Field Office, in the release, described Adler as "an educated and successful attorney, [who] knowingly broke the law by repeatedly committing tax fraud for over seven years."
"Adler stole over half-a-million dollars from the United States, and our special agents are committed to bringing thieves like him to justice," Hatcher continued, according to the release. "Our tax and financial systems rely on Americans to pay their fair share in order to ensure that our infrastructure, our national security and our education and benefits programs are funded. IRS Criminal Investigation is proud to work alongside the FBI and the US Attorney’s Office on this incredibly impactful investigation."
