E&Y worker pleads guilty to tax fraud

Former Ernst & Young employee Belle Six yesterday pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit tax fraud.

Former Ernst & Young employee Belle Six yesterday pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit tax fraud.
Ms. Six was involved with sales and marketing in the New York-based firm’s VIPER group—an acronym for “Value Ideas Produce Extraordinary Results”—which was formed in 1998 to create and sell shelters, according to a statement issued by Michael J. Garcia, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York.
She admitted that the VIPER group members developed non-tax business reasons that could be advanced to justify the shelters to the Internal Revenue Service, and included those reasons in transaction documents, correspondence and other materials that would go to the IRS if clients were audited.
As part of the plea deal, Ms. Six will forfeit more than $13 million, representing after-tax compensation she received for tax shelter work after leaving Ernst & Young.
The plea comes one month after similar charges were filed against four current and former employees of the company (InvestmentNews, May 30) .
The government’s crackdown on illegal shelters has also targeted former employees of accounting firm KPMG LLP of New York.