A former Idaho State representative convicted of conspiracy to defraud the federal government was sentenced to jail and a six-figure fine.
John Green, who represented the Post Falls area, will serve six months in federal prison for his role in the tax evasion program. Green also owes nearly $ 680,000 in reparation and will serve three years probation after his release.
Green helped a client, Thomas Selgas, avoid paying $ 1.1 million in income taxes for more than a decade. Selgas would buy gold coins and deposit them into bank accounts associated with Green’s legal practice.
Green then used that money to pay for the customer’s personal expenses.
A jury sentenced both men in January 2020.
Selgas’ charges included charges of conspiracy to defraud the government and charges of tax evasion. He is serving 18 months in prison, three years probation, and owed $ 1.3 million in compensation. His wife Michelle Selgas was acquitted.
Green’s colleagues in the House of Representatives voted in favor of his deportation shortly after he was convicted of a crime, although some lawmakers are discussing this characterization. According to Legislative Librarian Eric Glover, it was the first time a member of the Idaho Legislature was expelled.
Those convicted of a crime are banned from holding public office in Idaho until they have gone through the civil rights restoration process.
The federal prosecutor had ordered a judge to sentence Green to five years in prison, calling him a “tax curmudgeon” who had not filed tax returns in two decades.
In their motion for a tougher sentence, prosecutors said Green had submitted a psychiatrist notice to the US probation department stating that he had a “delusional disorder that is closely focused on certain aspects of the tax law.”
Green’s attorney says he will appeal his case.
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