Husband Of Retired Tax Court Judge Pleads Guilty To Taking $1 Million In Fraudulent Deductions

Following up on my previous posts:

• Retired U.S. Tax Court Judge Indicted For Tax Evasion While She Sat On The Court (Apr. 5, 2016)
• What Is The Authority Of A Tax Opinion Written By A Judge Under IRS Audit Who Later Was Indicted For Tax Fraud? (Aug. 26, 2016)

Minneapolis Star Tribune, Twin Cities Husband of Ex-Tax Judge Admits Duping IRS; Charges Against Her Pending:

The husband of a former U.S. Tax Court judge has pleaded guilty to making nearly $1 million in fraudulent deductions on tax returns over much of her tenure on the bench and making several lavish purchases in that time through his consulting firm.

Robert Fackler, 63, of Minnetonka, who is in the process of divorcing Diane Kroupa, 60, admitted Friday in federal court in St. Paul to obstruction of an IRS audit in connection with allegations spanning from 2004 to 2010.

The couple allegedly understated their personal income by about $1 million and the amount they owed in taxes by at least $400,000, according to the charges against both of them. The case against Kroupa is still pending.

Kroupa, who was appointed to the court in 2003 and retired in 2014, and Fackler were accused in April of fraudulently deducting at least $500,000 of personal expenses they listed as expenses at Fackler's consulting firm, and another $450,000 in purported business costs for which clients had reimbursed Fackler.

Expenses labeled as business costs for Fackler's Grassroots Consulting instead went toward Pilates classes, wine club fees, Chinese tutoring, jewelry and airline flights to Alaska, Australia, the Bahamas, China, England, Greece, Hawaii, Mexico and Thailand.