Lawyer with several Akwesasne clients sentenced for tax evasion

HOGANSBURG, New York – An attorney who represented several members of the Mohawk community of Akwesasne on some high profile cases has been sentenced for evading the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Stanley L. Cohen, 61, of New York City will be spending 1.5 years in a U.S. federal prison, followed by a year of supervision.

Cohen pleaded guilty in April to obstructing and impeding the IRS, according to the Watertown Daily Times.

Court heard investigators found that Cohen had kept no paper trail of income and payments for fees from clients and also failed to file tax returns from 2005 to 2010.

Court also heard some $643,000 was transferred to Cohen’s office from clients, many from Akwesasne, through a wire transfer at a convenience store near the reserve between 2004 and 2008.

The U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York also said evidence shows irregularities between claims on tax returns in 2004 and deposits to Cohen’s bank account.

Among several cases, Cohen represented one of the six defendants convicted in a conspiracy to rob Daniel Simonds in 2008 in Stockholm, New York. During a struggle, Simonds was shot dead in what prosecutors called a drug-related robbery.

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