A former Luzerne County attorney, who was involved in the noted “Kids for Cash” scheme that landed two county judges in jail, was sentenced yesterday in the U.S. federal court in Scranton to four years in prison on tax evasion charges.

Robert J. Powell, 65, of Palm Beach, Florida, was sentenced on charges relating to a fraudulent scheme to evade paying taxes for substantial legal fees he earned.

Powell in 2009, Powell pleaded guilty to multiple federal felony offenses for paying bribes to the Luzerne judges and assisting them in concealing the bribe payments from tax authorities. In 2011, he was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison.

According to court documents, Powell sought to evade a substantial tax due and owing the IRS for 2016 by using “nominee” bank accounts (accounts in others’ names), causing an accountant to file a request for a filing extension that falsely reported zero estimated tax liability for 2016, and making false statements during an IRS audit in 2019.

Powell did not file taxes for a period of approximately 15 years, during which he earned more than $18 million in income.

Officials said Powell’s conduct for which he was sentenced this week began around the time he pleaded guilty to the earlier offenses and continued throughout the time of his imprisonment and beyond.

Powell’s license to practice law was suspended in 2009, and he was subsequently disbarred in 2015, in connection with his earlier convictions. As a result, in 2009, he relinquished his ownership of the Powell Law Group, but retained the right to collect 90% of the remainder of any future fees collected by the firm after the payment of firm expenses.

Specifically, the Powell Law Group represented thousands of plaintiffs in a mass tort litigation that settled for approximately $5.15 billion in 2015, and the Powell Law Group was expected to receive approximately $120 million in attorneys’ fees from that settlement.

Prior to the disbursement of the attorneys’ fees, the Powell Law Group and its cocounsel used those future legal fees as collateral to obtain a series of loans totaling more than $125 million.

Instead of depositing the loan proceeds into The Powell Law Group’s bank accounts and using them to pay firm expenses, Powell instead directed the loans to nominee bank accounts that were under his control. He then used the loan proceeds for his personal debts and expenses, as well as his and his former law partner’s personal benefit.

Officials said Powell’s personal expenses included multiple luxury vehicles, a $1.25 million sportfishing yacht, and tuition and living expenses for private high schools and universities for his children.

They said his personal expenses also included buying a $2.65 million home in Palm Beach Gardens, to which he then made more than $1 million in renovations. Once Powell was informed he was the focus of a federal investigation, he transferred ownership of the home to a business partner, but Powell and his wife have continued to live in that home — now worth more than $6 million-rent-free.

In June 2016, most of the attorneys’ fees were finally disbursed and the loans were repaid.

Powell did not file a personal income tax return and pay taxes on the receipt of the fees in that year. After the initial disbursement and through October 2019, an additional $12 million in attorneys’ fees was distributed, and the Powell Law Group’s share continued to be directed into nominee bank accounts that Powell controlled. Powell received an additional $3.6 million of the fees during that time.