United States Senate Confirmation Sends Prominent L.A. Tax Attorney to Washington

United States Senate Confirmation Sends Prominent L.A. Tax Attorney to
Washington
President Bush Names Hochman Assistant Attorney General/Tax Division

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Nathan Hochman, one of the country's
leading tax litigators and a principal at Hochman, Salkin, Rettig, Toscher &
Perez, Beverly Hills, California, announced today that he will be returning to
government service next week to assume his new role in Washington, D.C. as
Assistant Attorney General for the Tax Division of the United States
Department of Justice.
Hochman will be sworn in on Tuesday, January 22, 2008 at the Department of
Justice offices.
Hochman, whom Attorney General Michael Mukasey described as having "a
superb record as an accomplished federal prosecutor and a recognized authority
on tax law," was nominated by President Bush in November and confirmed by the
full U.S. Senate on December 19, 2007. During Hochman's Senate Judiciary
Committee hearing on December 18, 2007, Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn, introduced
Hochman to the Committee and spoke of Hochman's "exemplary career," "tireless
commitment to public service," and leadership skills "beyond reproach."
In his new post, Hochman's official duties will be to head up all civil
and criminal federal tax enforcement across the nation, targeting abusive tax
shelters, unscrupulous tax preparers, and tax evaders. Hochman fills the post
once occupied by Eileen O'Connor, a seat that has remained vacant since June
of 2007.
Hochman, who served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Criminal
Division for the Central District of California from 1990 to 1997, was one of
the most productive prosecutors, handling many significant cases during his
prior tenure in government service. Hochman prosecuted more than 180 cases
involving tax crimes, bank fraud, health care fraud, defense contractor fraud,
education fraud, customs fraud, money laundering, thefts against government
programs, perjury, obstruction of justice, violent crimes, and a wide variety
of environmental crimes. From 1994 to 1996, Hochman served as the Office's
Environmental Crimes Coordinator and then spearheaded the Los Angeles Disaster
Fraud Tax Force, which was created after the 1994 Northridge earthquake
disaster. In that post, Hochman personally convicted over 70 individuals for
defrauding federal disaster assistance programs and was instrumental in
recovering more than $16-million. In recognition of his efforts, Hochman was
the recipient of numerous awards including the prestigious Department of
Justice's Director's Award, The Inspector General's Award of Excellence and
the Federal Bar Association's Young Federal Lawyer Award.
Hochman left his government post ten years ago to join the law firm
co-founded by his father, Bruce Hochman, a Canadian-born immigrant who became
one of the nation's leading tax lawyers. Bruce Hochman was a prominent civic
leader in Los Angeles and philanthropist who died in 2001.
At Hochman, Salkin, the 44-year-old tax law practitioner and government
criminal attorney has handled numerous tax, business, and white-collar
criminal cases on behalf of the firm's corporate and individual clients.
Hochman has been certified by California as a specialist in Criminal Law, has
tried over 25 cases, and argued over 20 appeals to the Ninth Circuit Court of
Appeals.
Nathan Hochman received his bachelor's degree from Brown University where
he graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. Hochman earned his JD with
distinction at Stanford Law School. Shortly thereafter, Hochman clerked for
the Honorable Stephen V. Wilson, a U.S. District Judge in Los Angeles.
SOURCE Hochman, Salkin, Rettig, Toscher & Perez

Cherie Kerr, +1-714-550-9900, cheriekerr@aol.com, or Jennifer Lee,
kerrpr@aol.com, both of KerrPR for Hochman, Salkin, Rettig, Toscher & Perez