A Ladera Ranch tax attorney who pleaded guilty to not reporting $1.68 million income was sentenced Monday to five years of probation and ordered to perform 500 hours of community service.
Ania Lowenthal of Trabuco Canyon pleaded guilty in November to three counts of subscribing to a false tax return. In the plea agreement she was accused of embezzling from a dead person’s family trust that she oversaw, but was not charged with those crimes.
Lowenthal agreed to pay $644,579 in restitution and transfer two properties acquired through the trust to the IRS.
The settlor of the trust died in March 2016, and in December of that year Lowenthal allegedly embezzled $1.1 million from a bank account for the trust and used it to buy a residence in Coto de Caza. In May of 2017 she embezzled $500,000 from the trust to acquire another residence for her mother in Rancho Santa Margarita, according to the IRS.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin D. Lichtman recommended 18 months behind bars, but acknowledged that Lowenthal made efforts to give up the property and has expressed “sincere remorse.”
Lichtman added that the case “presents difficult questions” on whether the defendant deserved prison time and that there were “compelling personal circumstances” that factored in.
U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney said the question of prison time was only in play because the defendant is an attorney. He also questioned why the defendant was not facing embezzlement charges, but Lichtman and the defendant’s attorney, Kate Corrigan, said the Attorney General’s Office, which would prosecute those charges, is aware of the allegations and has not filed a case.
Carney also noted that the embezzlement was not done “in a sophisticated way.” He also pointed out that the trust was not harmed because the value of the properties were improved and the trust lost no money.
The judge said, “I’m struggling to understand why did she do this?”
Lowenthal tearfully told the judge about her “complicated relationship” with her mother, who is suffering from dementia. Lowenthal is the primary caregiver and as her ailing immigrant mother’s condition advances she only speaks her native tongue of Polish, so Lowenthal is the only one in the family who can converse with her now.
Much of the family strife goes back to when her parents had to give up custody of her blind and deaf sister when she was a year old and Lowenthal was 3, she said.
“Nobody would talk about it,” she said.
It wasn’t until her mother in an advance stage of dementia that the truth came out, she said.
“When she told me she was blind and deaf that destroyed me,” she said.
She recounted how “controlling and abusive” her father was and that she went through “10 heart attacks with my dad” over the years, she said.
Lowenthal said she was “truly sorry for my crimes.”
She added that she understands that “taxes are the lifeblood” of public services.
“I’m embarrassed and ashamed,” she said. “I failed, I made massive mistakes.”
She noted that her 25-year career as a tax attorney “has come to an abrupt end.”
Going forward, she vowed to be “less selfish,” and wants to continue her charity work. She said she told many of the agencies she volunteers for about her crimes and that many of the representatives she works with called her and wished her well at sentencing.
“All of them sent me their prayers,” she said. “Whatever I can do to help is in my heart.”
Lowenthal said because of her sister she has a particular passion for volunteering for hospitalized or disabled children. As the wife of a combat veteran she also volunteers for veterans’ charities, she said.
“My goal now is to live a life of service,” she said. “I made extremely bad decisions, but I take full responsibility… I assure you, your honor, you will never see me in your courtroom again.”
Lowenthal said the pressure of taking care of her mother clouded her judgment.
Carney noted that if the defendant violates the terms of her probation she would end up behind bars.
Corrigan said her client had a check for $7,000 “to put a dent” in her $20,000 tax debt. Lowenthal can pay the rest as well as $644,579 in restitution in monthly installments, and that she can perform 20 hours a week in community service until she’s done.