Theodore Freedman, a former Kirkland & Ellis senior partner, pleaded guilty yesterday to tax fraud for under-reporting his partnership income. The 65-year-old bankruptcy specialist, who resigned from the firm in 2010, entered a guilty plea on four counts of tax fraud before Southern District Judge Deborah Batts, admitting to under-reporting his income by more than $2 million between 2001 and 2004.
Accompanied by his attorney, Paul Shechtman of Zuckerman Spaeder, Freedman admitted his guilt pursuant to an agreement with the government. Under that agreement, he is required to pay $671,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service and $169,000 to New York state. He faces a maximum of three years in prison on each count when he is sentenced by Batts on Sept. 17.
Freedman was indicted in 2011, just less than one year after resigning from the firm, with the government also alleging he used Kirkland & Ellis' address for a fictitious solo practice on which he allegedly claimed hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses (NYLJ, July 15, 2011). Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Cohen handled the prosecution.
