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The family had retained James R. Lisa, 68, to gather millions that had been moved into offshore bank accounts by relatives decades ago and to resolve any tax issues that arose as a result, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.
Soon after being retained, he moved more than $6 million back into the United States but told the family the funds still remained offshore, the U.S. attorney said.
Lisa kept them waiting for two years before giving them $4 million while claiming the remaining $2 million was "beyond his control," Sellinger said.
He also lied when he told the family he'd resolved the tax issue -- and even produced a bogus signed document that was purportedly from the IRS, the U.S. attorney said.
It contended that they owed $3 million in taxes and penalties on the money, he said.
Lisa ginned up a second phony agreement in which the IRS purportedly knocked the tax hit, including penalties, down to $2 million because only $4 million supposedly had been repatriated, Sellinger said.
"In fact, the IRS never entered into these agreements and the IRS employees who purportedly signed the documents never did so," the U.S. attorney said.
Everything came to light after the IRS audited a member of the family and Lisa ended up supplying bogus documents, Sellinger said.
Nicknamed "King James," Lisa was admitted to the New Jersey bar in 1984 and specialized in defending white-collar criminals.
Federal agents arrested him this past January after a grand jury in U.S. District Court in Newark indicted him on three counts of wire fraud and four counts of aggravated identity theft.
A federal judge granted pre-trial release with conditions, including that Lisa not commit another crime.
Three months later, he submitted a bogus letter -- purportedly from his criminal attorney -- in an application for a $22,000 loan, Sellinger said.
At this point, Lisa took a deal from the government rather than risk the possible outcome of a trial, pleading guilty last month to several counts stemming from both arrests, Sellinger said.
He also admitted that he failed to file individual income tax returns for tax years 2015 through 2022, and as a result, caused a tax loss to the IRS of at least $550,000.
U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty scheduled sentencing for Jan. 25, 2024.
Lisa will have to serve just about all of the time he's given behind bars because there's no parole in the federal prison system.
Sellinger credited special agents with the Office of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration's Mid Atlantic Field Division and IRS - Criminal Investigation's Newark Field Office with the investigation leading to the plea, secured by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Bender of his Camden office.
"Lisa’s multiple criminal acts were serious violations of his oath as an officer of the court and a betrayal of his clients’ trust," Sellinger said.
"The people of New Jersey must be able to rely on their attorneys without having to worry that they are being defrauded," the U.S. attorney added."Lisa’s guilty plea should reassure the public that our office will bring the full weight of the justice system on attorneys who violate federal the law.”
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