CHICAGO
A federal grand jury indicted a Chicago lawyer for dodging taxes on income he received two decades ago, including income he got from a lawsuit against tobacco companies, authorities stated Friday.
Daniel P. Soso, 63, of Alsip, was charged with one count of income tax evasion. He allegedly failed to pay income tax on nearly $800,000.
The indictment alleges that in 1996, the Illinois Attorney General entered into a written contract with several law firms who represented the state in its lawsuit against certain tobacco companies to recover, among other things, money damages incurred by state residents, officials stated.
The law firm share a contingent fee equal to ten percent of the money the state received from its litigation, according to authorities.
One of the law firms agreed to pay Soso and another person a portion of the attorney fees awarded but this monetary agreement would be hidden from the Illinois state, official stated.
Between 1993 and 2013, officials stated Soso failed to pay approximately $779,615.86 in taxes.
In addition, the indictment alleges that Soso took a variety of acts to evade the payment of these taxes. This included the use of nominee bank accounts; making false statements to the IRS concerning his sources of income; and causing the circumvention of levies issued by the IRS to third parties to recoup taxes due from Soso.