Two more defendants in the Ernst & Young tax shelter scandal were sentenced to prison Friday. Southern District of New York Judge Sidney Stein ordered Richard Shapiro, a lawyer and former Ernst & Young partner, to serve two years and four months behind bars, fined him $100,000 and ordered him to perform 160 hours of community service that will include speaking to bar groups and accounting professionals on his experience.
Former Ernst & Young partner Brian Vaughn was sentenced to one year and eight months in prison as well as the same special condition of supervised release that was imposed on Shapiro Friday and former Ernst & Young partners Robert Coplan and Martin Nissenbaum on Thursday. All four men were convicted of conspiracy and other charges by a jury in May. The National Law Journal incorrectly reported Friday that Coplan would not remain free pending his appeal to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Stein has allowed all four to stay out on bail pending appeal.
