A former trader for Swiss/Re pleaded guilty to tax evasion in a scheme where, according to the Daily News, he said "he was single and living in London when he really lived with his wife in the Village." Llewellyn Connolly was trying to avoid paying about $1 million in taxes for 2007 and 2008, but now he'll have to pay $2,642,018 in back taxes and penalties—plus pay a $350,000 fine and serve 300 hours of community service. But $3+ million and 300 hours of community service is worth not going to prison, right?
Connolly's 2005 and 2006 returns had been challenged by the state; when the state questioned his 2007 and 2008 returns (stating he was single and in London), "Connolly gave auditors phony credit card receipts for nights spent in the Gramercy Hotel and other hotels in Manhattan... Auditors also got a bogus moving van bill suggesting he had shipped his household furnishings to Virginia," the News reports.
The 44-year-old took the deal for the two felony counts of tax evasion because he was originally facing between five and 15 years in prison. His lawyer told the News that Harvard/Harvard Business graduate had "computer, math and science skills" he could use in his community service with ex-cons.
