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Newton's Knopf Knocked for non-filing

June 24, 2009

Back in the day, Iowa lawyers were required to vouch that they had filed their tax returns every time they renewed their bar licenses. I wonder if that rule saved some attorneys from this sort of embarrassment:

Former Newton attorney R. Eugene Knopf has been sentenced to pay more than $26,000 in restitution after pleading guilty to two felony criminal charges for failing to file state income tax returns.
Knopf was placed on probation for five years after District Court Judge Glenn Pille suspended two five-year prison sentences and two $750 fines. He pleaded guilty in February to two of the four counts of fraudulent practice in the second degree, a class D felony, filed against him in April of 2008. His sentencing was on June 5 in Polk County.

According to court records, Knopf intentionally committed fraud by failing to file state income tax returns for four straight years — in fiscal years ending in 2001 to 2004.

Mr. Knopf's non-filing may go back as far as 1993.

There's something puzzling when a lawyer or CPA fails to file returns. Sometimes it's a symptom of a life that has gone off the rails. Sometimes it may be a sort of arrogance - they make their living manipulating the system, and eventually they think they can weasel out of any difficulty. Whatever the reason, it's a crummy way to end a career.

Tags: tax crime.