CLEVELAND Goldberg CPA faces 9 charges

If convicted, the accountant faces up to eight years in prison and $450,000 fine.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
CLEVELAND -- Robert F. Elias, a Canfield accountant, has been accused of cheating on his taxes and helping Richard D. Goldberg, an imprisoned and disbarred malpractice attorney, underreport his income by nearly $3 million.
A federal grand jury issued a nine-count indictment Wednesday against Elias, 58, of Blueberry Hill Drive. He did not respond to a message left at his office.
Elias, a certified public accountant, is charged with three counts of tax evasion, willful failure to file tax returns and three counts of aiding in the preparation of false returns (1995-1997) for Goldberg.
The case was investigated by the IRS Criminal Investigation Division in Youngstown and is being prosecuted by David A. Sierleja, an assistant U.S. attorney.
Sierleja is also the attorney who prosecuted Goldberg.
If convicted, Elias faces up to eight years in prison and a $450,000 fine.
Elias failed to file tax returns for $90,608 income in 1996, $82,144 in 1997 and $97,328 in 1998, the government said.
Goldberg's sentence
Goldberg, 57, of Liberty was convicted in August 1999 in federal court of bilking his clients of more than $4.5 million.
He was sentenced to three years and five months, and six more months were added after he attended a New Year's Eve party in 2000 without court order.
The federal Bureau of Prisons Web site shows that Goldberg is expected to be released Feb. 20, 2004.
Elias is accused of helping Goldberg underreport his income by $890,798 in 1995, $798,616 in 1996 and $1,208,687 in 1997, the government said.
Goldberg has a trial set for February 2003 in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court on charges of forgery, theft and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity. The trial, based on his federal crimes, was delayed to allow Goldberg to complete a drug rehabilitation program, which ends this month.
meade@vindy.com