NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — A New Orleans city court judge has been indicted for allegedly filing false tax returns, the Department of Justice reported on Friday.
According to the indictment issued by a federal grand jury, Judge Ernestine Anderson-Trahan is accused of officiating hundreds of marriage ceremonies between 2013 and 2016 and not reporting the money she earned on her tax returns.
Trahan is believed to have earned between $80 and $100 for each ceremony she officiated at the courthouse. However, she is suspected of charging more for marriages conducted after business hours, outside of the courthouse, and on Valentine’s Day.
The Dept. of Justice then went on to report Trahan did not file any of the money she received on her 2013 to 2016 taxes. Additionally, she is suspected of performing legal work in 2013 and 2014, prior to becoming a judge, and failed to report that income as well.
Trahan’s court date is scheduled for January 24. If convicted, she could face up to three years for each of the four counts of tax fraud she faces.
