Aberdeen Lawyer Confesses to Hiding Money from IRS

Aberdeen, NJ - An Aberdeen lawyer who previously practiced in Jersey City admitted Tuesday to accepting cash kickbacks from doctors who gave him personal-injury client referrals, and then putting the cash in different bank accounts to hide it from the IRS, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Magdy Fouad Anise, a/k/a “Michael Anise,” 52, of Aberdeen, pleaded guilty in Newark federal court to an indictment charging him with structuring approximately $200,000 in cash kickbacks.

Anise was an attorney at Anise & Anise, Attorneys at Law, located in Jersey City. From 2009 through 2011, he received cash kickbacks from doctors and others in exchange for personal-injury client referrals. In lieu of cash, Anise asked a doctor who gave him kickbacks to pay him with gold bars, give money to Anise’s church and pay Anise’s mortgage, federal prosecutors say.

Anise admitted that from 2009 through 2012, he made cash deposits into five different bank accounts for less than $10,000, the amount that would have triggered the attention of the IRS.

A currency transaction report (CTR) otherwise would have been required by the IRS. Many people involved in illegal activities are aware of these reporting requirements, Fishman said, and take active steps to avoid CTRs in order to avoid detection of the movement of large amounts of U.S. currency. These steps are referred to as “structuring." Structuring techniques can involve making multiple cash deposits or withdrawals in amounts of $10,000 or less on the same day, or consecutive days, in order to avoid CTR filings.

Anise is facing a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.