No Automatic Disbarment for Former Herrick Partner Convicted of Federal Tax Evasion

Hal Lieberman, the attorney for Levine in the disciplinary matter and a former chief counsel for the First Department’s grievance committee (formerly called the departmental disciplinary committee), declined to comment Wednesday on the panel’s decision.

Angela Christmas, a spokeswoman for the First Department’s grievance committee, did not return a call seeking comment on Wednesday.

As a result of the criminal case launched in 2016, Levine, who was with Herrick Feinstein from 2003 to 2012, and Florida-based accountant Ronald Katz, eventually pleaded to one count each of corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede the IRS, and one count each of tax evasion. Four months after pleading, Levine he was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay $1.5 million in restitution to the IRS for his unpaid tax debt. In his criminal case, Levine was represented by Gerald Lefcourt and Sheryl Reich at Lefcourt’s criminal defense firm in Manhattan.

Acting U.S. Attorney Joon Kim said in a 2017 statement issued after Levine pleaded guilty, “As tax professionals, both Harold Levine and Ronald Katz well knew their obligations to report their income to the IRS. As they have now admitted, they instead engaged in a corrupt scheme to evade taxes on millions of dollars of income.”

According to prosecutors and court records, the pair evaded taxes from millions in fees from tax-shelter and other related Herrick Feinstein transactions. In one instance, $520,000 in tax shelter fees were routed by Levine to RKH Real Estate Holdings, a partnership entity owned by the pair, and used to purchase a home in Levittown. The home was used as a residence for an unnamed female employee of Herrick Feinstein with whom Levine had a “close personal relationship,” according to prosecutors. The individual lived there rent-free for five years, even as Levine and Katz claimed false rental property deductions for RKH Real Estate Holdings.

In another instance, according to court documents, Levine created an invoice in Herrick’s system for $134,000 for King Louie Enterprises, an entity controlled by Katz. Levine then transferred the sum from a Herrick escrow account holding funds from a recently executed series of tax shelter transactions.

Then, $116,000 was transferred from King Louie’s account to another account, LL Real Estate Operations, which Levine controlled, the documents indicated.

And Herrick Feinstein said in a 2017 statement that Levine “hid his clandestine tax evasion scheme from the firm and the government,” and “lied to his former partners, took extensive steps to conceal his actions and obstructed justice.” The firm added, “Once the firm learned of the wrongful conduct, we promptly alerted and cooperated with the government and the grievance committee.”

After Levine left Herrick, he took over the tax group at Moritt Hock & Hamroff, another New York-based firm, for a time. It was at Moritt Hock where Levine’s legal troubles first arose in 2014, when he was sued by federal authorities seeking to block his promotion of allegedly abusive tax shelters.