Paul Stockler, a prominent Anchorage criminal defense attorney, was sentenced Friday to more than a year in prison for failing to file income tax returns for three years.
Stockler pleaded guilty in June 2014 to three counts of willfully failing to file the tax returns for 2006, 2008 and 2009. According to the federal prosecution team based in Washington, D.C., it was determined that Stockler's actions resulted in a loss of $886,058 to the government.
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"This case is a reminder that no one is above the law," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline Ciraolo, who works for the Department of Justice's Tax Division.
"As an attorney who has defended individuals charged with financial crimes, Mr. Stockler was particularly aware of his obligations under the tax laws and the consequences of violating them. Taxpayers who willfully disregard their legal responsibilities will be held to account," Ciraolo said.
In the months leading up to Friday's hearing, Alaska lawyers and Stockler's clients came forward to urge the court to be merciful to a man they say often represented clients for free. His lawyer fought to keep him out of jail.
Neither Stockler nor his attorney in the tax case, Marcus Topel of San Francisco, immediately responded to requests for comment.
Prosecutors say Stockler hasn't paid the money owed for the three years he didn't file. At the same time, the defense lawyer has spent money on gambling, cars and property.
Beyond the years for which he's charged, the government revealed in its sentencing memorandum Stockler failed to file "timely" income tax returns for four years, failed to file and pay employment taxes, and he once submitted a form that did not disclose certain retirement assets.
Stockler said in court filings his money troubles stem largely from big losses in day-trading stocks in 2005 and 2006. He was trading in part with money he was holding for Mark Avery, a man recently convicted of 11 felonies in a federal fraud case.
U.S. District Court Judge Ralph Beistline postponed further action in the case, specifically, setting a date for Stockler to turn himself in for incarceration. Stockler is expected to appeal the sentence, said special agent Ryan Thompson of the IRS Seattle field office.
The case was handled entirely by the DOJ team as the local U.S. Attorney's Office recused itself due to Stockler's membership in the Alaska Bar Association and his many interactions with the office, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Feldis said.
The conviction sets in motion action on Stockler's law license. A copy of the conviction will be sent to the Alaska Supreme Court, which decides whether to impose an interim suspension – suspending an attorney's license until more formal proceedings are pursued by the bar association, said association counsel Maria Bahr.
The Supreme Court places that suspension on attorneys based on the seriousness of the offense, Bahr said.