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Massachusetts CPA Disbarred on Appeal

The move to disbar a Massachusetts CPA by the Internal Revenue Service has been sustained on appeal. The Office of the Chief Counsel disbarred Charles Edgar, who had face the original action because he represented clients before the IRS even though his CPA license had been revoked in 2010 based in part on a 1995 felony conviction.

Edgar was also a lawyer whose license was suspended in Massachusetts because of the same conviction. He was denied reinstatement in 2001. He had been sentenced to serve a year and a day and was on probation at that time. There is also years of litigation involving Edgar's disability claims for a back injury and child support. The hearing panel in 2001 noted Edgar's "reports of his income and ability to engage in employment are contradictory and manifest a disregard for the truth." It reported he was conducting a tax preparation and bookkeeping business at the time and planned to expand that.

An administrative law judge approved the IRS disbarment in November 2013. However, Edgar, who was based in Chatham, Mass., appealed claiming he was not given an adequate chance to present his case regarding the charges that he present two false powers of attorney to the IRS in representing clients.

Edgar was convicted of knowingly making false statements to the government and mail fraud. However, he argued that the conviction was 18 years ago and thus well outside a five-year statute of limitation. The appellate authority, Bernard Weberman in the Office of the Chief Counsel, held that the five years runs from the 2010 revocation of his CPA license by Massachusetts, not from the conduct itself that led to the conviction.

Weberman also found that "the record makes clear that that Mr. Edgar was evasive and misleading as to his CPA status in his dealings with the IRS during the examinations in question." He also noted that the two incidents regarding power of attorney had occurred more recently.

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