Convicted Child Molester Properly Denied Legal Fee Tax Deduction

A pediatric geneticist convicted of sexually abusing a minor owes $357,000 in taxes after wrongfully deducting his legal fees as business expenses, the Tenth Circuit affirmed Friday.

William French Anderson was convicted of lewd acts and continuous sexual abuse of a minor following allegations that he molested his research assistant’s daughter. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2006, and a California appeals court affirmed the convictions.

The IRS disallowed William’s deductions for about $360,000 in consequent legal expenses on their 2013-2014 returns. He and his wife, Kathryn, challenged the resulting deficiencies in US Tax Court, then appealed ...