Yagman found guilty of tax evasion, fraud
Civil rights attorney Stephen G. Yagman, whose relentless quarter-century crusade against police brutality drew both admiration and ire, was convicted Friday in federal court of 19 felony counts of tax evasion, bankruptcy fraud and money laundering.
The verdict, if upheld on appeal, would end the career of the combative and pioneering litigator, who brought hundreds of cases against the Los Angeles Police Department and other law enforcement agencies.
Yagman, 62, could be sentenced to more than six years in federal prison, according to Assistant U.S. Atty. Alka Sagar.
The Venice attorney leaned back in his chair with an impassive expression as U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson read the jury's verdict.
After the jury filed out, Sagar argued that Yagman should be taken into custody or put on electronic monitoring before his sentencing, scheduled for Sept. 24. But Wilson ruled that he was not a flight risk and allowed him to remain free on a $100,000 bond.
Yagman and his attorney, Barry Tarlow, declined comment after the verdict.
It was a rare moment of restraint for Yagman, whose record of litigation was matched only by his vociferous criticism of all manner of authority.
In court filings, Tarlow argued that the case was a "vindictive prosecution" for Yagman's "contentious history with federal law enforcement agencies."
Yagman had railed against federal prosecutors and judges for failing to uphold civil rights laws. In 2002, he filed the first federal suits challenging the Bush administration's policy of imprisoning terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
As a special prosecutor, he pursued charges against the FBI sniper who killed the wife of white separatist Randy Weaver in the Ruby Ridge shootings. And he sued the IRS for violent conduct by an agent and won a $650,000 settlement.
But after a contentious four-week trial, in which Yagman was on the stand for several days, the jury didn't believe his claim that he was unfairly targeted.
It upheld every count and act alleged in the June 2006 indictment: that he hid his assets, committed bankruptcy fraud and laundered money in a scheme to avoid paying more than $200,000 in state and federal taxes.
Prosecutors alleged that Yagman had transferred the deed of his house to his girlfriend, K.D. Mattox, and deposited all of his income into her account, while signing checks in her name. They also claimed he had filed for bankruptcy in New York so trustees would not find his assets in California.
