Edward Adams.

A University of Minnesota law professor and former Big Law attorney must pay $5,000 in fines for tax fraud and spend two years on probation—a sentence longer than prosecutors had sought.

Edward Adams, who underreported his income from 2008 to 2010, has been on the faculty of the Minneapolis law school since 1992. His position—teaching financial subjects including corporate finance and secured transactions—persuaded U.S. District Senior Judge Donovan Frank of the District of Minnesota on Jan. 23 to impose a longer probation than the one year prosecutors wanted.

"You clearly knew more than most that what you were doing was illegal and unethical," Frank said during sentencing, according to coverage in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Frank said that as a law professor, Adams has a responsibility to serve as an example for students and uphold legal ethics. As part of his sentence, Adams must complete 200 hours of pro bono work with area legal aid providers.

"I promise you I will never find myself in this situation again," Adams said in court.

Adams, who practiced at Latham & Watkins before becoming a law professor, has a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School, an MBA from the University of Minnesota and had clerked for Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, according to the school's website.

Adams remains on leave from teaching, said a University of Minnesota spokesman on Friday, adding that "his status will be reviewed in accordance with university policies and procedures."

The spokesman told the Star Tribune in a Thursday article that Adams has been on paid leave from the law school since 2017. That year he was indicted on 18 counts related to an alleged $4 million embezzlement scheme. Officials have yet to decide whether he will return to teaching. He has been earning a $170,820 annual salary during that time.

Adams was represented by a team of lawyers from Williams & Connolly and Faegre Baker Daniels, who had requested a sentence of six months' probation. The 2017 indictment alleged that he stole more than $4.38 million in funds from those who invested in the synthetic diamond company he helped run, and directed an additional $2.54 million from the company to his own law firm between 2006 and 2013.

Prosecutors dropped 17 of those charges in October under a deal in which Adams pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor offense.

"I have always maintained my innocence as to the original charges that were brought against me, and I am grateful that all of them have been dismissed," Adams said in an email message Friday. "I look forward to putting this whole episode behind me and moving on with my life. I have been very fortunate to have the support of my wife and son, friends, and colleagues throughout this process, and I cannot thank them enough."

According to court documents, Adams agreed in 2015 to pay $118,000 in taxes he owed from 2008 to 2010.