The Department of Justice has announced Tax Scam Promoter "Judge Rizzo" and Wife Sentenced to Prison:

Tax scam promoters John J. Rizzo and his wife, Carol A. Rizzo, were sentenced, respectively, to 43 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and 24 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release in connection with a tax evasion scheme, the Department of Justice and IRS announced today…. Both of the Rizzos-who have been in custody since their arrests in April 2003-were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roslyn O. Silver in Phoenix, Arizona….

On February 4, 2004, John J. Rizzo — a former municipal court judge — and Carol A. Rizzo each pleaded guilty to conspiring to impede and impair the IRS in the ascertainment and collection of income tax and willfully failing to file a federal income tax return for 2000….

“It is tragic when a former member of the judiciary, charged with upholding the law, encourages others to violate those laws,” said Paul K. Charlton, U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona. As described in the plea agreements, from 1999 to 2002 John Rizzo was a prominent speaker at offshore seminars hosted by Institute of Global Prosperity (Global Prosperity). At these seminars, Mr. Rizzo promoted the Millennium 2000 Reliance Defense Program to thousands of people resulting in more than $4 million in sales revenue for the Rizzos. The program included written materials taxpayers could use to establish purported good faith reliance defenses against potential criminal tax prosecutions.

(Hat Tip:  Our sister White Collar Crime Prof Blog.)