A Milwaukee attorney has been sentenced to 16 months in federal prison after failing to pay $2.4 million in taxes, according to an announcement from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
Eric Lenzen, age 44, was officially sentenced on Oct. 15 after previously pleading guilty to two counts of misdemeanor failure to pay taxes. Lenzen did not pay income taxes between 2016 and 2021.
Lenzen previously worked at the law firms
Husch Blackwell and
Dykema Gossett, according to
a Reuters report. Neither firm immediately responded to a request for comment on Thursday.
"Lenzen failed to pay the taxes he owed even though he was earning a lucrative salary and funding a lavish lifestyle that included spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on private plane travel, jewelry, and extensive home remodels, as well as golf clubs,” according to the announcement.
In addition to serving a 16-month term of imprisonment, Lenzen was ordered to pay $2,462,705.50 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service, plus penalties and interest.
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service and prosecuted by assistant United States attorney Julie F. Stewart.