Chicago Attorney Convicted of Tax Fraud and Witness Tampering Charges

CHICAGO - A federal jury has convicted a Chicago attorney of committing tax fraud, attempting to tamper with a witness, and violating a court order.

MICHAEL ABRAMSON, 75, of Wilmette Ill., was convicted Tuesday on all 15 tax fraud, witness tampering, and violation of court order charges against him. The jury returned the verdicts after a week-long trial in federal court in Chicago. U.S. District Judge Manish S. Shah set sentencing for May 1, 2024.

Abramson was an attorney in Chicago when he filed and caused to be filed false individual tax returns for himself and false corporate returns for a company in which he held an ownership interest - Illinois-based Leasing Employment Services Co., Inc. Evidence at trial revealed that Abramson provided more than $1 million for personal expenses to a woman with whom he was romantically involved. He then took deductions on what were falsely characterized as commissions or loans and included the fraudulent loans as an asset on the company's tax returns. The expenses Abramson characterized as purported loans included funds expended on behalf of the woman related to a condo in Chicago's Gold Coast neighborhood, several luxury automobiles, and payments for travel, shopping, and restaurants.

Following the indictment in this case, the Court ordered Abramson not to have any contact with witnesses, including Abramson's bookkeeper, whom Abramson knew would be an important witness at trial. Weeks before trial was initially set to begin on Feb. 5, 2024, Abramson gave the bookkeeper a copy of her previous court testimony, on which he had made handwritten notes changing, supplementing, or otherwise scripting her answers, and told her to review it before trial. Although Abramson told the bookkeeper not to bring the notes to a meeting with law enforcement, the bookkeeper nonetheless turned the scripted transcript over to law enforcement.

The jury convictions were announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Ramsey E. Covington, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Chicago Field Office, and Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard M. Rothblatt and Edward A. Liva, Jr.