Land Deal Promoters Plead Out DOJ’s First Criminal Easement Case (1)

Two Atlanta tax professionals pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in what the U.S. Justice Department touted as its first criminal case involving tax-advantaged land deals known as syndicated conservation easements.

The land deals involve promoters encouraging investors to buy into land deals to qualify for tax deductions available when donating land for conservation purposes.

Stein Agee and Corey Agee, who pleaded guilty Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge W. Carleton Metcalf, promoted and sold the easements from at least 2013 to 2019, the Department of Justice said.

The deals were designed to generate tax breaks through partnerships ...