Accountant Testimony Allowed in $1.6 Million Tax Evasion Trial

The US government can compel testimony from the accountant for a physician who allegedly evaded $1.6 million in taxes because the accountant isn’t protected by attorney-client privilege, a district court held.

The US District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana denied Baton Rouge physician Melissa Rose Barrett’s motion to block the federal subpoena. The US alleges she willfully hid assets for more than 10 years. The court’s denial will allow Barrett’s accountant to testify over an incomplete 2012 IRS asset reporting form that Justice Department lawyers say excluded real property and a bank account from a list of assets. ...