LITTLE ROCK — An attorney for Little Rock tax lawyer Barry Jewell said in opening statements Wednesday morning that his client is innocent of the federal fraud and tax evasion charges filed against him and instead it was his partner, Bobby Keith Moser, who stole money not only from clients' trust funds, but from his colleague as well.
Jewell, who is facing charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, three counts of money laundering and one count of income-tax evasion, went on trial Wednesday in federal court in Little Rock. The case is being heard by Chief U.S. District Judge Leon Holmes.
Moser is already serving a 15-year sentence handed down in 2005 for stealing more than a million dollars from clients.
The prosecutor, AssistantU.S. attorney George Vena, told jurors that he plans to prove that Jewell was a willing participant with Moser in bilking about $1.8 million from his clients' trust funds to maintain control over a business called Scanning Technologies Inc., make child support payments and pay operating expenses for their law firm.
"The key in trust fund is 'trust'," Vena said. "This case is about their clients' grief."
Defense attorney Sam Perroni said his client isn't a certified public accountant and only handled clients seeking pension and retirement services. He said Moser, however, was a financial genius and "self-proclaimed master of illusion" who easily hid his crimes from Jewell and the IRS.
"The prosecution will not be able to put one penny of stolen money in Barry Jewell's pocket,"Perroni said. "Ladies and gentlemen, this case is simply what I said before - guilt by association."
As for accusations that Jewell caused a client, Carl Evans, to file a false tax return, Perroni said Jewell deferred to Moser on the details of how Evans could cut his tax bill on a $3 million settlement from Comcast cable company in a copyright infringement suit.
A 2000 tax return presented Wednesday listed a lawsuit settlement of $250,000. According to the indictment, Jewell was paid $62,000 for setting up the tax plan in such a way that allowed Evans to keep more of the settlement.
"Barry Jewell didn't prepare any tax returns and didn't receive a dime for the work he did on this transaction," Perroni said. "That money was taken and guess by who ?"
Arkansas, Pages 10 on 09/04/2008