Oil industry investor Morris Zukerman was sentenced to 70 months in prison for evading $45 million in taxes, a scam that included a bogus $1 million charitable donation and fibs to his own accountants. He was also fined $10 million.
"I recognize and profoundly regret the criminal offenses I committed," Zukerman told U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres during the hearing in a Manhattan federal court room, reading from a prepared statement. "This is painful to acknowledge."
Zukerman’s schemes were even more robust than those uncovered by prosecutors. As his case moved toward sentencing, Zukerman, 72, filed amended tax returns showing that his undeclared income was more than $17 million higher than what the government alleged in its indictment, prompting prosecutors to argue that Zukerman doesn’t deserve leniency.
They sought a sentence of as long as 84 months.
"There are two words and two words alone that explain the conduct in this case: unmitigated greed," Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Stanley Okula said. "The defendant is in a financial position enjoyed by very few in this country. There was no economic need for him to do what he did."
Defense lawyers disagreed and said the revised tax returns demonstrated their client was being forthcoming. They sought a sentence with limited time, saying Zukerman’s advanced age raised health concerns and made recidivism unlikely.
‘Citizenship Award’
The judge appeared skeptical of defense arguments throughout the hearing, asking his defense lawyer at one point: "Do you think he should get a good citizenship award for paying his back taxes?" Though she declined to impose a prison term at the top of the guideline range, she raised Zuckerman’s fine far above the maximum guideline of $250,000.
Zukerman’s family members, who sat behind him during the hearing, wept as the sentence was imposed, and he hugged them afterward. He declined to comment as he left the courtroom.
In his guilty plea last year, Zukerman admitted claiming millions of dollars in bogus deductions, providing false information and documents and failing to report profits, including $28 million from the sale of a company.