A New Jersey accountant has become the latest domino to fall in a sweeping $1.3 billion tax fraud scandal, pleading guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States through abusive conservation easement tax shelters, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday.

Ofer Gabbay, a certified public accountant and senior tax manager at The Green Group, admitted in court on Tuesday to promoting fraudulent syndicated conservation easement schemes to wealthy clients in 2018 and 2019, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

His guilty plea adds fuel to the fire of a yearslong federal probe that has already resulted in decades-long sentences for two ringleaders—Georgia CPA Jack Fisher and attorney James Sinnott—who were convicted of orchestrating one of the largest conservation easement tax fraud schemes in U.S. history.

The $4-for-$1 Illusion: How the Scheme Worked

Syndicated conservation easement shelters allow landowners to take charitable deductions for donating easements that prevent land development. But prosecutors said Gabbay and others manipulated this legitimate concept into a money-printing tax dodge.

Led by Fisher, the scheme marketed a tantalizing pitch to deep-pocketed investors: $4 in tax deductions for every $1 contributed. Gabbay prepared backdated checks and falsified tax returns, helping clients reap millions in bogus deductions.

Fisher, the mastermind, recruited appraisers like Kate Joy (now a fugitive) to inflate land values by 30% to over 100%, boosting deduction sizes. Audio recordings at trial captured Fisher casually describing the inflation as industry standard. In truth, it was fraud.

Sinnott, who joined the plot in 2013, helped take the scheme to new heights. In their first year as a duo, the fraudulent deductions outpaced the prior decade combined, prosecutors said.

A Web of Kickbacks and Corruption

Federal court documents painted the operation as a well-oiled machine fueled by corruption. Fisher paid generous commissions to a network of CPAs and financial advisors to peddle the shelters. The DOJ described it as “a legion of professionals corrupted by kickbacks.”

Among them:

• CPA William Tomasello, whose firm received $2.4 million in commissions.

• CPA Victor Smith, who earned $491,000 promoting the shelters.

• CPA Herbert Lewis, sentenced to over two years for helping file $14 million in false returns.

• CPA Ralph B. Anderson, sentenced to two years.

• Attorney Vi Bui, sentenced to 16 months and ordered to pay $8.3 million in restitution.

Now, Gabbay joins the ranks of the guilty, admitting he knowingly advised clients to provide false documents and helped fabricate tax filings to support the shelters.

Fallout and Accountability

Despite working at The Green Group in Woodbridge, New Jersey, the firm said Gabbay’s misconduct was conducted independently, outside of his duties there.

"This plea has nothing to do with his work at The Green Group," managing partner Karlene Bauer told Law360.

The DOJ declined to comment further on ongoing matters. Gabbay himself has not responded to media inquiries.

As sentencing looms, Gabbay becomes a cautionary tale in an ongoing crackdown that has turned what once seemed like a legal tax loophole into a federal battlefield over accountability and abuse.