As anticipated, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York filed official notice on Monday, July 17 that it intends to appeal U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan’s recent dismissal of criminal tax fraud charges against 13 out of 16 former KPMG employees. According to Judge Kaplan’s 68-page opinion, the substantive due process rights of the defendants at issue were violated when government prosecutors pressured KPMG into refusing to pay the defendants’ legal defense costs in exhange for an agreement not to name KPMG in the criminal action. Accordingly, Judge Kaplan ruled “with greatest reluctance” that dismissal was the only appropriate remedy. In a statement, U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia said that he “respectfully disagrees” with the ruling and pledged to “continue to pursue appellate review.”
See our recent updates on this ongoing litigation here, here and here.
