Westchester attorney indicted on federal tax evasion charges
A White Plains federal grand jury has indicted state Sen. Thomas Libous, R-Binghamton, on a charge of lying to federal agents, and his son, Westchester County attorney Matthew Libous, on charges of tax evasion, it was announced Tuesday.
Thomas Libous, who represents a district that includes Broome, Chenango, Delaware and Tioga counties, is accused of making false statements to FBI agents who were investigating payments he allegedly caused an Albany lobbying firm to funnel to his son.
“As alleged, rather than serve the public he took an oath to serve, Senator Libous used his political position to garner favorable treatment for himself and his son,” said George Venizelos, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York field office. “Lying to FBI agents is a serious offense and his alleged criminal conduct is an injustice to the community he represents.”
Matthew Libous started working as an attorney at an unnamed Westchester County law firm in early 2006, a job that was allegedly arranged for him by his father. While working at the law firm, the indictment claims, Libous failed to report $57,580 of income from legal fees he took in from clients outside the scope of his employment and after he had been fired.
According to Martindale.com, an online directory of attorneys, Matthew Libous is the managing partner of Libous and Siano, a law firm with an office on Knollwood Road in White Plains. Phone calls to numbers listed for Libous and Siano revealed the numbers were not in service.
From 2008 to 2011, while holding an ownership interest in Wireless Construction Services L.L.C., Matthew Libous allegedly caused Wireless Construction Services to pay $244,218 in personal expenses on his behalf, including expenses for multiple casino trips, vacations, iTunes purchases, a gym membership, an Internet dating subscription, spa treatments, visits to tanning salons, clothing, food and student loan payments. Libous did not report any of that income on his tax returns, according to the indictment.
Thomas Libous is charged with one count of making false statements to a federal agent, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison. Matthew Libous faces five counts of filing false tax returns and one count of obstructing the administration of tax laws, and faces a maximum of three years in federal prison on each count.