California Securities Attorney Charged with Tax Crimes

A grand jury in San Diego returned an indictment unsealed yesterday charging a California attorney with tax evasion, filing a false tax return and failing to file tax returns with the IRS. 

According to the indictment, from 2017 to 2019, Robert Blair Krueger Jr. was an attorney and sole owner of The Krueger Group LLP, a law firm in San Diego specializing in providing legal services for companies seeking to become publicly traded. During that time, he allegedly attempted to thwart the IRS’ ability to assess his income tax liability by, among other things, providing his return preparer with false and inaccurate information and causing inaccurate returns to be filed with the IRS that underreported the income he earned from his law practice. In addition, Krueger allegedly has not filed personal federal income tax returns since 2018.

If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for tax evasion, a maximum penalty of three years in prison for filing a false tax return and a maximum penalty of one year in prison for each count of failing to file a tax return. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.

IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Erika V. Suhr and Robert A. Kemins of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.