Prosecutors indict web of players involved in tax shelters

Seven people involved in setting up tax shelters sold to wealthy individuals were indicted by federal authorities, including the chairman and chief executive of BDO Seidman and a well-known tax attorney.

Those indicted include BDO Seidman executive Denis Field and tax attorney Paul M. Daugerdas, according to The New York Times.

The indictment said one shelter, known as SOS, was sold to 550 wealthy clients and generated $3.9 billion in bogus tax losses in two years, the Times reported.

The Times said the indictments are the largest crackdown on tax shelter promoters since mid-2005. At that time, the accounting firm KPMG admitted to wrongdoing over its work with questionable shelters and paid $456 million to the government to settle the case.