Tax Lawyer Robert Wood-Duke Lacrosse Tax Lien Highlights How Lawsuits Are Taxed

If you’re like me, you were shocked to learn that exonerated Duke Lacrosse player Reade Seligmann—falsely accused of rape—got a whopping $20 million settlement.  That’s the calculation by which some explain an IRS tax lien claiming he owes nearly $6.5 million in tax.  See Ex-Duke Lacrosse Star Insists Tax Bill a ‘Mistake’.  An IRS tax lien filed Feb. 17 in New York City claims $6,492,377 in tax from 2007, the year Seligmann and two others settled with Duke.  While the settlement was never disclosed, some have speculated:

• Daily Mail: Were the Duke Lacrosse Players Wrongly Accused of Rape Paid $20 Million Each in Secret Settlement?

• New York Daily News: IRS Claims Former Duke Lacrosse Player Reade Seligmann Owes Millions, Lawyer Says Bill Is Mistake

Even if accurate, I can’t say whether that’s a reasonable sum for having your life upended.  Still, I can’t help but compare it to far smaller amounts received by innocent victims locked in prison for decades for crimes they too didn’t commit.  Just one example:  Robert Lee Stinson was awarded $25,000 for 24 years of wrongful imprisonment, and there was some question whether he might get an additional $90,000.  See Justice Denied: The Journal for the Wrongly Convicted.

Read more at Forbes.com