By Darrell Smith
dvsmith@sacbee.com
Lawyers for the state Attorney General's office on Wednesday alleged that tax attorney Roni Lynn Deutch violated court orders by diverting phone calls from would-be customers to family and former employees, who've started their own tax resolution businesses.
Attorneys made the claim at a morning hearing in Sacramento Superior Court to determine whether a court-appointed receiver would continue to operate the firm Deutch shut down in mid-May or whether the California State Bar would assume control.
Deputy Attorney General Conor Moore said the alleged phone referrals from Deutch could generate money that should go to court-appointed receiver Scott Sackett.
"There's a potential violation by going behind the receiver's back," Moore told Sacramento Superior Court Judge Shelleyanne W.L. Chang, adding he expected to have "conclusive evidence" by week's end.
Moore alleged that calls to Deutch's toll-free telephone line (888) TAX-LADY were being diverted to a call center and then to a tax resolution business operated by Deutch's brother, Scott Juceam, as well as to other firms opened by former Deutch associates, in violation of an April 20 court order.
Sackett said both the RoniDeutch.com website and the toll-free phone number have since been de-activated.
"We don't know who is paying for the call center, but there's some money that should be paid to the receiver," Moore said.
The allegations did not please Judge Chang, who had ordered a freeze on Duetch's assets in the April 20 ruling.
"The calls ... really bother the court," Chang said, calling the actions, if true, "flagrant violations of court rules."
Deutch was not present at the morning hearing.
The tax attorney faces allegations by the state AG's office that she cheated clients out of millions, owes hundreds of thousands of dollars in refunds and destroyed millions of pages of documents in violation of court orders.
In addition to destroying documents, Deutch was accused of failing to meet a court deadline to pay about $435,000 in refunds to clients and of diverting assets to family, friends and creditors in violation of court orders.
Earlier this month, a federal tax lien of $182,700 was filed against Deutch in Placer County.
Call the Bee's Darrell Smith at (916) 321-1040.
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