Announcement 2011-61 — Internal Revenue Bulletin 2011-39

Disbarred by consent, Suspended by consent, Censured by consent, Mone- tary penalty imposed by consent, and Disqualified by consent —In lieu of a disciplinary proceeding being instituted or continued, an individual offered a consent to one of these sanctions and OPR accepted the offer. Typically, an offer of consent will provide for: suspension for an indefinite term; conditions that the individual must observe during the suspension; and the individual’s opportunity, after a stated number of months, to file with OPR a petition for reinstatement affirming compliance with the terms of the consent and affirming current eligibility to practice ( i.e ., an active professional license or active enrollment status). An enrolled agent or an enrolled retirement plan agent may also offer to resign in order to avoid a disciplinary proceeding.

Suspended by decision in expedited proceeding, Suspended by default de- cision in expedited proceeding, Sus- pended by consent in expedited pro- ceeding —OPR instituted an expedited proceeding for suspension (based on certain limited grounds, including loss of a professional license and criminal convictions).

OPR has authority to disclose the grounds for disciplinary sanctions in these situations: (1) an ALJ or the Secretary’s delegate on appeal has issued a decision on or after September 26, 2007, which was the effective date of amendments to the regulations that permit making such decisions publicly available; (2) the individual has settled a disciplinary case by signing OPR’s “consent to sanction” form, which requires consenting individuals to admit to one or more violations of the regulations and to consent to the disclosure of the individual’s own return information related to the admitted violations (for example, failure to file Federal income tax returns);

The Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) announces recent disciplinary sanctions involving attorneys, certified public accountants, enrolled agents, enrolled actuaries, enrolled retirement plan agents, and appraisers. These individuals are subject to the regulations governing practice before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which are set out in Title 31, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 10, and which are published in pamphlet form as Treasury Department Circular No. 230. The regulations prescribe the duties and restrictions relating to such practice and prescribe the disciplinary sanctions for violating the regulations.

The disciplinary sanctions to be imposed for violation of the regulations are:

Disbarred from practice before the IRS —An individual who is disbarred is not eligible to represent taxpayers before the IRS.

Suspended from practice before the IRS —An individual who is suspended is not eligible to represent taxpayers before the IRS during the term of the suspension.

Censured in practice before the IRS —Censure is a public reprimand. Unlike disbarment or suspension, censure does not affect an individual’s eligibility to represent taxpayers before the IRS, but OPR may subject the individual’s future representations to conditions designed to promote high standards of conduct.

Monetary penalty —A monetary penalty may be imposed on an individual who engages in conduct subject to sanction or on an employer, firm, or entity if the individual was acting on its behalf and if it knew, or reasonably should have known, of the individual’s conduct.

Disqualification of appraiser —An appraiser who is disqualified is barred from presenting evidence or testimony in any administrative proceeding before the Department of the Treasury or the IRS.

Under the regulations, attorneys, certified public accountants, enrolled agents, enrolled actuaries, and enrolled retirement plan agents may not assist, or accept assistance from, individuals who are suspended or disbarred with respect to matters constituting practice ( i.e ., representation) before the IRS, and they may not aid or abet suspended or disbarred individuals to practice before the IRS.

Disciplinary sanctions are described in these terms:

Disbarred by decision after hearing, Suspended by decision after hearing, Censured by decision after hearing, Monetary penalty imposed after hear- ing, and Disqualified after hearing —An administrative law judge (ALJ) conducted an evidentiary hearing upon OPR’s complaint alleging violation of the regulations and issued a decision imposing one of these sanctions. After 30 days from the issuance of the decision, in the absence of an appeal, the ALJ’s decision became the final agency decision.

Disbarred by default decision, Sus- pended by default decision, Censured by default decision, Monetary penalty im- posed by default decision, and Disqual- ified by default decision —An ALJ, after finding that no answer to OPR’s complaint had been filed, granted OPR’s motion for a default judgment and issued a decision imposing one of these sanctions.

Disbarment by decision on appeal, Suspended by decision on appeal, Cen- sured by decision on appeal, Monetary penalty imposed by decision on ap- peal, and Disqualified by decision on appeal —The decision of the ALJ was appealed to the agency appeal authority, acting as the delegate of the Secretary of the Treasury, and the appeal authority issued a decision imposing one of these sanctions.

2011–39 I.R.B. 453 September 26, 2011

or (3) OPR has issued a decision in an expedited proceeding for suspension.

Announcements of disciplinary sanctions appear in the Internal Revenue Bulletin at the earliest practicable date. The

sanctions announced below are alphabetized first by the names of states and second by the last names of individuals. Unless otherwise indicated, section numbers ( e.g ., §10.51) refer to the regulations.

City & State Name Professional Disciplinary Sanction Effective Date(s) Designation

Arizona

Tucson Parra, Oscar C. Attorney Suspended by default decision in expedited proceeding under §10.82 (attorney disbarment in California)

California

Newport Beach Burton, Thomas W. Attorney Suspended by default decision in expedited proceeding under §10.82 (attorney disbarment and conviction under international money laundering conspiracy and aiding and abetting)

Alameda Gilpin, Scott E. Attorney Suspended by default decision in expedited proceeding under §10.82 (attorney disbarment)

San Jose Kidwell, Thomas B. Attorney Suspended by default decision in expedited proceeding under §10.82 (attorney disbarment)

El Cajon Luebkeman, Theodore C.

Attorney Suspended by default decision in expedited proceeding under §10.82 (attorney disbarment)

Indefinite from July 14, 2011

Indefinite from July 5, 2011

Sacramento O’Neal, Michael E. Attorney Suspended by default decision in expedited proceeding under §10.82 (attorney disbarment and conviction under 26 U.S.C. §7206, aiding and assisting the filing of a false income tax return)

Parra, Oscar C., See Arizona

Posin, Mitchell L., See Nevada

September 26, 2011 454 2011–39 I.R.B.

City & State Name Professional Disciplinary Sanction Effective Date(s) Designation

California (Continued)

San Diego Prozinski, Deidre J. Attorney Suspended by default decision in expedited proceeding under §10.82 (attorney disbarment)

Colorado

Lakewood Cabral, Alfonso S. Attorney Suspended by default decision in expedited proceeding under §10.82 (suspension of attorney license)

Arvada Duggan, Daniel S. Attorney Suspended by default decision in expedited proceeding under §10.82 (suspension of attorney license)

Iowa

Dubuque Netti Jr., John E. Attorney Suspended by default decision in expedited proceeding under §10.82 (suspension of attorney license)

Louisiana

Octave, Shantel C., See Texas

Massachusetts

Quincy Kirby, Gerald M. Attorney Suspended by decision in expedited proceeding under §10.82 (suspension of attorney license)

North Adams McDonough, Matthew J.

Michigan

Attorney Suspended by decision in expedited proceeding under §10.82 (suspension of attorney license)

Indefinite from July 5, 2011

Indefinite from July 22, 2011

Indefinite from July 14, 2011

Indefinite from July 18, 2011

Indefinite from July, 8 2011, but at least 6 months

Livonia Matusz, Mark M. CPA Suspended by consent for admitted violation of §10.22 (failure to exercise due diligence in preparing own Federal individual income tax returns for tax years 2003–2005)

2011–39 I.R.B. 455 September 26, 2011

City & State Name Professional Disciplinary Sanction Effective Date(s) Designation

Mississippi

Pascagoula McElroy, John S. CPA Suspended by default decision in expedited proceeding under §10.82 (revocation of CPA license)

Nevada

Las Vegas Posin, Mitchell L. Attorney Suspended by default decision in expedited proceeding under §10.82 (suspension of attorney license in California)

New Jersey

Newark Frohling, John B. Attorney Suspended by decision in expedited proceeding under §10.82 (attorney disbarment)

Neptune Martz, Edward J. Attorney Suspended by decision in expedited proceeding under §10.82 (suspension of attorney license in New York)

New York

Spencer Gugino, Mark C. Attorney Suspended by decision in expedited proceeding under §10.82 (suspension of attorney license)

Martz, Edward J., See New Jersey

East Meadow Shah, Hemang CPA Suspended by decision in expedited proceeding under §10.82 (conviction under 26 U.S.C. §7206, making and subscribing to a false U.S. tax return)

Ohio

Columbus Smith, Patrick E. CPA Suspended by default decision in expedited proceeding under §10.82 (revocation of CPA license)

Indefinite from July 14, 2011

Indefinite from July 18, 2011

Indefinite from July 6, 2011

September 26, 2011 456 2011–39 I.R.B.

City & State Name Professional Disciplinary Sanction Effective Date(s) Designation

Texas

Houston Miller, Clyde Attorney Suspended by decision in expedited proceeding under §10.82 (suspension of attorney license)

Pearland Octave, Shantel C. Attorney Suspended by decision in expedited proceeding under §10.82 (suspension of attorney license in Louisiana)

Indefinite from January 25, 2011

Indefinite from July 18, 2011

2011–39 I.R.B. 457 September 26, 2011