But, Your Honor, There’s A Coronavirus Pandemic—Higa & McGrath

While Texas was being pelted by snow and freezing temperatures and rolling blackouts, I decided to catch up on a little light reading related to tax crimes. Who doesn’t like good reading material when the house is pitch black and all you have is the glow from your phone’s display to light up the page? Nevertheless, I came across two recent court decisions—one in Hawaii, one in Ohio—whereby each defendant was serving prison time related to tax crimes and each defendant filed a motion for compassionate release under Section 3582(c)(1)(A) and each defendant invoked the COVID-19 pandemic. Two cases with similar backgrounds/fact situations are always interesting for comparison purposes. In this case, one court granted the defendant’s motion, while the other court denied the defendant’s motion.

Modification of Prison Terms, Generally

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More than 200 global tax and economic crime experts have identified key areas for international action following the fifth OECD Forum on Tax and Crime, in London. In a week dominated by media coverage of offshore issues, the Forum brought experts on tax, customs, anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, policing, and prosecution together to agree priorities for action.

The Forum is the latest in a series of OECD-led events and an important opportunity for the international community to strengthen collaboration in tackling these global issues.

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