2 lawyers convicted in scheme to get film-industry tax credits without paying required expenses
Two prominent lawyers were convicted Monday by a federal jury in New Orleans for their roles in a scheme by three business partners to obtain film-industry tax credits from the state of Louisiana without paying required expenses.
Found guilty of conspiracy and mail fraud charges were attorneys Michael Arata, a Louisiana practitioner who is married to a deputy mayor of New Orleans, and Hollywood producer Peter Hoffman, as well as Hoffman’s wife, Susan. She was acquitted on 14 wire-fraud charges and Arata, who was found guilty of seven wire-fraud charges, was acquitted on 12 others, reports the New Orleans Advocate. Peter Hoffman was found guilty of 19 wire-fraud charges.
The trio argued at trial that they had done nothing wrong and had, in fact, rehabbed a decrepit mansion into a post-production facility for the film industry, just as they said they did.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Hollywood producer, his wife, and New Orleans lawyer convicted in scheme to defraud La. film tax credit program
Deadline Hollywood: “Peter Hoffman Says He’s Being ‘Targeted’ By Federal Prosecutors In Louisiana Film Tax Fraud Case” “
