Attorney gets a 5-month sentence for tax evasion

2/6/2007

A Toledo attorney convicted of failing to pay more than $321,000 in federal income taxes was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court to five months in prison.

Joseph Weisberg, 65, of 8331 Fossil Drive, Sylvania, who pleaded guilty last August to federal tax evasion, was sentenced by Judge David Katz.

The sentence, which will be served at a Bureau of Prisons institution, will be followed by three years of supervised release. Judge Katz ordered Weisberg to be placed under house arrest for the first five months of the release period.

An attorney for nearly 30 years, Weisberg was indicted in July, 2005, for failing to pay federal income taxes for various years from 1989 to 2001.

The indictment said the attorney purposely concealed his personal funds from the IRS by keeping the profits of his law practice in his client trust account and withdrew funds to pay personal expenses, including utility costs, items from a jewelry store, and credit card debt.