Jim Mahon, a shareholder in Becker’s Business Litigation Practice, was featured in a Law360 article, for a unique argument in United States v. Lingat. The case challenges long-standing legal precedent of Klein conspiracy charges in tax cases. Instead of following the usual approach of comparing these charges to the Supreme Court’s limits on tax obstruction laws, Mahon, with support from Samantha Lesser, argues that Congress created specific laws, like sections 7212(a) and 7214, to handle these situations. He claims these newer, more targeted laws should replace the older and broader Klein conspiracy rule. This argument focuses on Congress’s intent, offering courts a fresh perspective to reconsider the outdated Klein precedent.
Click here to read the full article from Law360.
Jim Mahon has more than 40 years of experience as a civil and criminal litigator in Federal and State courts. Jim concentrates his practice on criminal and civil tax controversies, white collar criminal matters, and civil litigation. He represents clients facing criminal charges in state and federal courts, individuals under government investigation, and taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service and the NY State Department of Taxation.
Samantha A. Lesser is an attorney in Becker’s Litigation, Tax Controversy, and Corporate Practices. Her experience includes jury trials, arbitration, tax procedure issues, assisting delinquent taxpayers, and motion practice. She also has experience with corporate transactions such as reverse mergers, private placements, IPOs, Regulation D matters, SPAC, and VIE Structures. Additionally, she has investigated FINRA matters dealing with the Statutory Disqualification of Broker Dealers.