Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

Former U.S. attorney pleads guilty to failing to file tax returns

A local lawyer who served as U.S. attorney for Nevada from 1975 to 1977 pleaded guilty today to failing to file federal individual and corporate income tax returns from 2006 to 2010, said Daniel G. Bogden, U.S. attorney for the District of Nevada.

Lawrence J. Semenza II pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge James C. Mahan to three misdemeanor counts of willful failure to file a tax return and agreed to pay restitution to the IRS of about $290,000.

“Regardless of one’s occupation, job title or position, everyone is responsible for filing and paying taxes on all of their income,” Bogden said in a statement. “It is important that American taxpayers understand and feel confident that everyone is playing by the same rules in filing and paying their taxes.”

According to the plea agreement, Semenza operated a law practice in Las Vegas as a subchapter C personal service corporation.

For the years 2006 through 2010, Semenza individually had taxable income of approximately $655,000, and the corporation had taxable income of approximately $345,000, but Semenza failed to file individual or corporate income tax returns for those years, officials said.

Semenza is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 3, 2014. The maximum penalty for each count is a year in prison and a fine of not more than $100,000.

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