Prominent Lawyer Admits Hiding $5M, Faces 4-Plus Years in Prison

A prominent Pennsylvania lawyer known for his suits alleging police brutality has admitted hiding $5.2 million in income.

Lawyer John Karoly Jr. of Allentown could face more than four years in prison as a result of his guilty plea and will have to repay an estimated $1.96 million in back taxes, the Associated Press reports.

Under the plea deal, prosecutors will drop charges alleging that Karoly conspired to forge the wills of his brother and sister-in-law after they died in a plane crash. Charges will also be dropped against two others originally charged in the conspiracy, Karoly’s son John Karoly III, and a friend. The plea also calls for Karoly to drop any claim to his brother’s estate, the Legal Intelligencer reports.

Karoly’s lawyer, Robert Goldman, told AP the tax problems were partly due to his client’s busy schedule. "He works seven days a week, 15 hours a day," Goldman said. "That's not an excuse, it's just a lesson for others to learn."

Karoly still faces a bench trial for a separate charge that he took a tax deduction for a $500,000 donation he made to a private foundation that was later returned to an organization he controlled.