A 65-year-old Dutch tax consultant named Frank Butselaar, who previously worked with famous DJs Tiesto and Afrojack, has been given a 2.5-year prison sentence in New York for tax fraud. Prosecutors aim to make him pay $19.25 million in restitution, representing the tax savings he illegally created for the DJs and others through offshore accounts according to Business Insider.
Between 2012 and 2018, Butselaar orchestrated a scheme to hide about $100 million in foreign income for wealthy clients, including the two DJs and several Dutch models. He did this by creating shell companies and trusts in Cypress and Guernsey, falsely listing friends and family members as beneficiaries while his actual clients maintained control of the funds.
The DJs, who were U.S. tax residents at the time, were apparently unaware of the fraud and haven’t been charged. According to the Business Insider article quoting Butselaar’s lawyer, they’ve settled with the IRS for a small portion of the owed taxes. Butselaar, formerly a partner at Greenberg Traurig’s Amsterdam office, pleaded guilty to one count of aiding in filing a false tax return after initially fighting the charges. Having already spent 21 months in detention, he has about six months left to serve.
The judge has 90 days to determine whether Butselaar must pay the full $19.25 million in restitution. His lawyer argues he shouldn’t have to pay since he wasn’t the taxpayer. Meanwhile, both DJs continue their successful careers.
