Southfield CAR-HIT-U attorney convicted of tax fraud after not reporting more than $2.6 million

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (FOX 2) - Southfield personal injury attorney Carl L. Collins III was convicted of tax fraud by a jury Wednesday.

Collins owned the law practice CAR-HIT-U, as well as a real estate company, First Third LLC, and two medical-related companies, MedCity Rehabilitation Services LLC, and Alpha Living LLC.

According to federal officials, he did not report substantial income he received from these businesses and deposited into undisclosed Interest on Lawyer’s Trust Accounts (IOLTA) bank accounts to be used by lawyers solely to hold money in trust for clients. By doing this, he was able to conceal these funds from his tax preparers and the IRS.

Collins was convicted of filing false personal tax returns for 2012, 2015, and 2018, filing a false 2012 amended return and filing a false 2015 corporate return for Alpha Living. 

Officials said evidence showed Collins did not report about $600,000 in income he earned in 2012. On his 2015 personal return, Collins also did not report over $800,000 in income. On his 2018 personal tax return, Collins omitted approximately $300,000 in income that he deposited into another undisclosed IOLTA account. 

He did not report an income of more than $2.6 million in total.

Collins will be sentenced March 21, 2023.