He starts work this Monday … but David Kautter now says he “wishes he had handled that situation differently”. He and his former colleagues at Ernst & Young say that he did not know about the firm’s ingenious, inventive, and illegal work to create tax shelters saving their clients $2 billion in taxes, for which they collected $123 million in fees (as part of a settlement with the IRS, they had to hand over $123 million. Two of his colleagues pleaded guilty to related charges (obstructing an investigation, falsifying documents, and more). That was in 2003, and the charges carried a maximum penalty of $250K and 20 years (they actually got between 20 and 36 months, and sentences against two others were later overturned). No, Kautter didn’t know anything. He was just the boss of those two. And he wishes he had handled the situation differently.
This summarizes a Daily Beast Story, with multiple sources, and here is the related press release from the SEC+FBI.
This Intercept story has the detail about the sentences for Ernst&Young employees, and the painful detail that Democrats on the Senate Committee did not object — Kautter’s confirmation was unanimous. There are related stories in Salon and Quartz — but I haven’t seen anything here on DK.
Of particular interest would be whether Kautter or his department at E&Y has in the past worked for the Mercer’s, for example — they are negotiating a $7 billion dollar tax bill (according to the Daily Beast story) with the IRS, just about now.