A federal jury in Chicago has found attorney Michael Abramson guilty of tax fraud, witness tampering, and violating a court order. The 75-year-old Wilmette resident was convicted on all 15 charges following a week-long trial. U.S. District Judge Manish S. Shah has scheduled sentencing for May 1, 2024.

Abramson was accused of filing false individual tax returns for himself and false corporate returns for Leasing Employment Services Co., Inc., where he held an ownership interest. Evidence presented during the trial showed that Abramson spent over $1 million on personal expenses for a woman with whom he had a romantic relationship. These expenses were falsely labeled as commissions or loans and included in the company's tax returns as assets.

The court had previously ordered Abramson not to contact witnesses, including his bookkeeper, who was expected to testify at the trial. However, weeks before the trial's initial start date of February 5, 2024, Abramson provided the bookkeeper with her past court testimony marked with his handwritten notes and instructed her to review it before testifying. Despite being told not to bring these notes to law enforcement meetings, the bookkeeper handed them over to authorities.

The convictions were announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Ramsey E. Covington, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Chicago Field Office; and Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI's Chicago Field Office. The prosecution team includes Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard M. Rothblatt and Edward A. Liva Jr.