Former U.S. Tax Court judge charged with tax evasion

A retired U.S. Tax Court judge and her husband have been charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, tax evasion, making and subscribing false tax returns, and obstruction of an IRS audit, allegations a U.S. attorney calls "deeply disturbing."

"Those of us appointed to federal positions must hold ourselves to an even higher standard," U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger said. The charges say between 2004 and 2010, Diane Kroupa, 60, and her husband, Robert Fackler, 62, understated their taxable income by about $1 million and the amount they owed in taxes by at least $400,000, The Associated Press reports. Kroupa was appointed as a tax court judge in 2003 by George W. Bush, and retired in 2014.

The Minnesota couple allegedly listed personal expenses as business costs for Fackler's consulting company, including wine club fees, Chinese tutoring lessons, flights, and Pilates classes. Richard Weber, the chief of IRS Criminal Investigation, said in a statement the allegations are "particularly troubling" since Kroupa regularly dealt with tax cheats in her courtroom. "Reporting personal expenses as business expenses on your tax returns is not tolerated, regardless of your job or position," he said.

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