SEATTLE — A Los Angeles man has agreed to pay $23 million in back taxes to the U.S. Treasury and return nearly $18 million in fees to a former client, Hollywood mogul Haim Saban.
Matthew G. Krane was sentenced Friday in federal court in Seattle to 2½ years in prison for his role in a bogus tax shelter. Krane earlier pleaded guilty to tax evasion and making a false statement on a passport application.
He was indicted in 2009 along with two principals of Seattle-based investment firm Quellos Group LLC, which targeted wealthy clients. The two Seattle-area men, Jeffrey Greenstein and Charles Wilk, were each sentenced in January to four years in prison.
Krane admitted he didn’t pay taxes on a $36 million kickback that prosecutors say he received for helping enroll Saban in Quellos’ tax shelter scheme. Saban was never informed of the illegal nature of the scheme.
U.S. attorney’s spokeswoman Emily Langlie says the Saban family issued a statement saying they will donate their recovered money to charity.
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