Impaired Judge’s 2012 Tax Court Decision Is Invalid, Couple Says

A couple is suing the US government to overturn a more than decade-old Tax Court ruling against them involving a disregarded offshore portfolio investment strategy transaction, arguing their case was decided by a judge “suffering from severe cognitive functioning impairments.”

In 2012 former US Tax Court judge Diane L. Kroupa said Scott and Audrey Blum were liable for gross valuation misstatements and negligence penalties related to creating a $45 million loss through the OPIS transaction. The couple argued that decision should be vacated because it was issued while Kroupa was suffering severe cognitive impairment and secretly involved in a tax-fraud ...