A San Diego lawyer was sentenced in federal court for conspiring with a former San Diego rabbi to commit tax fraud, using code language about “tefillin wrapping” to hide their intentions
A Jewish lawyer was sentenced to a year in prison for his involvement in a tax evasion scheme that also involved a local rabbi in Poway San Diego, USA, the rabbi involved was charged in July 2020, and sentenced to 14 months in prison last January. The prosecutors said that the two devised a “90/10” scheme “, the lawyer made donations to the rabbi, of which the rabbi transferred 90% of the funds back to the lawyer while taking another 10% for himself.
This program began in 2010 with amounts of tens of thousands of dollars, which snowballed into larger amounts over time. Prosecutors also say the attorney falsely claimed the fraudulent contributions were tax deductible on his tax returns, which reduced the amount of personal income tax he paid by a total of about $500,000 between 2011 and 2017.
The two communicated in a coded language, referring to the cash as “chala” and the source of the money as “the baker”. The rabbi would invite his partner to “wrap tefillin” when he would arrange deliveries of checks, cash and gold. Prosecutors say the lawyer’s participation in the scheme included receiving a million dollars back in gold coins from the rabbi during 2018.
Apart from the two, 11 other people who were involved in the plot were also charged in the past. The lawyer pleaded guilty, and as part of his punishment he had to return the gold. His license to practice law has been permanently revoked, according to the California State Bar Association.