Ex-BigLaw partner pleads guilty in tax case; he can’t remember when he stopped filing returns
A former partner at McDermott Will & Emery in Miami has pleaded guilty to three counts of failing to file a tax return based on allegations he failed to report more than $8.2 million in partnership profits.
Steven Siff, 56, of Davie, pleaded guilty on Thursday, report the South Florida Sun Sentinel and Law360 (sub. req.). He was accused of failing to report the profits between 2001 and 2011, though Siff told the judge he couldn’t remember exactly when he stopped filing returns. It could have been as early as 1997, Siff said, or it may have been as late as 2000.
Siff has agreed to pay more than $900,000 in restitution. He also faces a possible fine of $300,000 and a possible sentence of three years in prison.
Siff reported himself to the Florida Bar in October 2012 after a subpoena was served on his law firm, the Sun Sentinel says. Siff’s lawyer, Bruce Udolf, said his client is working as a paralegal or clerk and no longer practices law.
Siff told the bar he suffered from depression and a gambling addiction.
