Attorney sentenced to 33 months in prison for tax evasion

Longtime Las Vegas attorney Ian Christopherson was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison Monday for tax evasion.

Christopherson, 57, a 2008 judicial candidate, was convicted of two tax evasion charges in September 2011 after a five-day trial.

U.S. District Judge Miranda Du ordered Christopherson to pay the Internal Revenue Service more than $728,000 in restitution and serve three years of supervised release after prison.

Du gave Christopherson, who is free on his own recognizance, until March 20 to surrender to prison authorities.

Prosecutors had sought a 51-month prison sentence, but the judge said 33 months was sufficient.

Du, however, said it was clear that Christopherson had not shown respect for the law.

Christopherson told Du he was never in trouble with the law before and accepted responsibility for his actions.

"I'm very sorry," he said. "I apologize to the court for being here today."

He declined comment afterward.

According to his 2009 indictment, Christopherson "affirmatively attempted to evade" paying personal income taxes he owed for the 1994 and 1996 tax years.

The indictment accused Christopherson of making attempts to evade employment taxes he owed for 1994 through 1998 and unemployment taxes he owed for 1992 through 1998.

Christopherson, a member of the Nevada bar since 1989, was alleged to have concealed money and assets in a bank account that was established in the names of other people.

In the 2008 election, Christopherson unsuccessfully challenged District Judge Jessie Walsh. He was the only candidate who did not campaign for the job, calling himself the "uncandidate."

Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135.