NEW ORLEANS — Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams will be in court on Wednesday as he and his fellow law partner defend themselves against tax fraud allegations.
Williams and Nicole Burdett are scheduled to be in federal court on Wednesday afternoon. They are accused of inflating their expenses and not reporting cash payments in order to owe less in taxes.
Williams has said his tax preparer was to blame.
The pair were supposed to go to trial in January, but those plans were pushed back when U.S. District Court Judge Martin Feldman ruled certain evidence against Williams could not be admitted into court, including evidence of Williams’ past tax troubles.
On Wednesday, the appeals court will hear arguments on why the government feels that evidence should be included.
Williams’ case has also affected another local high-profile case in the federal court. Former longtime St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Jack Strain was supposed to be sentenced in federal court on Wednesday on a bribery charge, but the case has been pushed back until next month because of the Williams case, according to court filings.
Strain pled guilty last year to a bribery charge involving a kickback scheme tied to an inmate work release program. The scheme was exposed in part thanks to WWL-TV investigative reporter Katie Moore and the New Orleans Advocate. Strain faces a maximum of 10 years and a $250,000 fine in that case. He is already serving four consecutive life sentences after being convicted on eight charges involving sex crimes against children.
In court filings, Strain’s attorney said they want a delay in his sentencing until after the Williams case is heard by the appeals court. At issue in the Williams’ case is whether the government can introduce evidence that Williams had a history of late tax payments of late filing. The judge said in part that evidence had very little in common with the new charges of tax fraud.
Attorney William Gibbens is listed as an attorney in both the Williams case and the Strain case.
It is unclear if the delay in sentencing for Strain is because of a scheduling conflict or if there is a correlation between the two cases.
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