(Reuters) – A former longtime general counsel to Moody’s was sentenced by a New Jersey federal judge on Thursday to 8 months in prison for willfully failing to file personal federal income tax returns.
Federal prosecutors said John Goggins earned $54 million between 2018 and 2021 and failed to file federal income taxes during those years. Goggins stepped down as Moody’s senior vice president and general counsel last fall.
In addition to his prison term, U.S. Magistrate Judge Andre Espinosa sentenced Goggins to one year of supervised release and fined him $40,000, a spokesperson for the New Jersey U.S. attorney’s office said.
Goggins has also paid more than $3.1 million in restitution to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for Goggins said he regretted and accepted full responsibility for failing to file his returns, and was grateful “to the Court for considering the comprehensive measures of accountability and restitution he has taken in connection with his misdemeanor offenses.”
Goggins pleaded guilty in April to four counts of willful failure to file tax returns.
The criminal charges against Goggins had nothing to do with his work at investment analytics giant Moody’s, Goggins’ lawyer Christopher Ferguson and a company spokesperson have said.
Goggins retired from the company in September 2023 after more than two decades and was replaced as general counsel by Richard Steele.
The case is United States of America v. John Goggins, U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, 2:24-mj-11108.
