Team Members
Meet the Attorneys Behind the Strategy
Mr. Pribe has served as:
- An Assistant United States Attorney in Los Angeles handling civil and criminal tax-controversy matters for over 18 years.
- For six years of those 18 years, Mr. Pribe served as the deputy chief of the Tax Division at the United States Attorney’s Office.
- A trial attorney at the Tax Division of the United States Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. for over nine years.
- A lawyer at an Illinois law firm for about five years.
With over 32 years of legal experience—27 of which have been devoted to tax controversy—Mr. Pribe has proven experience in successfully navigating complex and delicate tax-controversy matters to a favorable resolution through negotiation and litigation. Mr. Pribe is a former deputy chief of the Tax Division at the United States Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, former federal tax prosecutor, and former trial attorney at the United States Department of Justice, Tax Division.
Mr. Pribe has practiced in federal district court in both civil and criminal matters. He has also practiced in federal bankruptcy court and state court, and he has argued before the Ninth Circuit.
Mr. Pribe evaluates each case on its own with a clear-eyed, level-headed, and sure-handed approach that yields well-developed, determined, and formidable advocacy. Mr. Pribe’s experience allows him to fairly evaluate litigation hazards and develop not only the best litigating position but also the best negotiation position.
Subject matters that Mr. Pribe has litigated include:
- FBAR penalty (reporting of foreign accounts).
- Estate-tax liability, including liability of beneficiaries and executors for the estate-tax liability.
- Alter-ego, single-enterprise, and successor-in-interest doctrines.
- Economic-sham, substance-over-form, and step-transaction doctrines.
- Valuation disputes.
- Trust-fund recovery penalty (IRC § 6672).
- Employee-retention credit.
- Captive insurance.
- Civil damages for unauthorized collection actions (IRC § 7433).
- Reasonable-cause defense to penalties.
- Preparer/promoter penalties.
- Preparer/promoter injunctions.
- Net-operating-loss carrybacks.
- Jeopardy assessments.
- Summons enforcement.
- Third-party summons.
- Partnerships / TEFRA.
- Transferee liability.
- Bad-debt deductions.
- Cancellation-of-indebtedness.
- Collection statute of limitations.
- Bankruptcy issues.
- Lien priority.
- Erroneous refunds.
- Mailbox rule / timely mailing.
Representative matters
- Represented the United States in a case involving broad-based, corporate-owned life insurance, which the Government asserted was an abusive tax shelter. According to one public court filing, the anticipated tax benefits of the transactions at issue exceeded $1 billion. Xcel Energy, Inc. v. United States, case no. 04-cv-1449 PJS- RLE (D. Minn.).
- Obtained a favorable judgment for $378 million in a case involving alter-ego, single-enterprise, successor-in-interest, and transferee issues. United States v. Comco Management Corp., et al., case no. 08:08-cv-668 JVS(RNBx) (C.D. Cal.).
- Successfully conducted a bench trial by obtaining a favorable judgment in an abusive tax-shelter case involving offsetting options contributed to a partnership. Legal issues included application of the economic-sham, step-transaction, and substance-over-form doctrines. Maguire Partners-Master Investments, LLC, et al., v. United States, 2009 WL 4907033 (C.D. Cal. 2009), aff’d sub nom. Thomas Investment Partners, Ltd., et al., v. United States, 444 Fed. Appx. 190 (9 th Cir. 2011).
- Successfully conducted a bench trial by obtaining a favorable judgment regarding a penalty for failure to report foreign accounts (FBAR). United States v. Bohanec, 263 F.Supp.3d 881 (C.D. Cal. 2016).
- Successfully argued before the Ninth Circuit regarding whether a criminal defendant’s due-process rights were violated and other issues relating to the Sentencing Guidelines and proof of the tax loss. United States v. Levy, 390 Fed. Appx. 726 (9th Cir. 2010).
- Obtained a favorable judgment in a $24 million FBAR case. United States v. Sarshar, No. CV 24-3572-DMG (AGRx), 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 186560 (C.D. Cal. Aug. 19, 2024).
- Obtained a favorable decision in a bankruptcy appeal to the district court as to whether the IRS’s tax claim was a priority claim in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case. In re Intercare Health Systems, Inc., case no. 2:13-cv-9097 DOC (C.D. Cal.).
- Obtained a favorable judicial decision regarding claims that the IRS improperly placed and failed to properly release a federal tax lien. Walton v. United States, 2:23-cv-9671 JFW(SSCx), 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 108545.
- Obtained favorable summary-judgment decision regarding whether a memorandum of settlement conveyed property and, consequently, whether a federal tax lien attached to that property. Ahn v. United States, 2:18-cv-10293 SVW, 2019 WL 8886022 (C.D. Cal.).
- Obtained favorable summary-judgment decision regarding whether, inter alia: (1) the IRS improperly levied while installment agreements were pending; and (2) the IRS violated the minimum-bid and public-sale rules. Chow v. United States, 8:18-cv-716 JLS, 2020 WL 1652553 (C.D. Cal. 2020).
- Obtained a favorable judgment in a jeopardy-assessment case involving an American citizen permanently residing in Canada whom the IRS claimed had an interest in real property in California. Dengin v. Commissioner, 2:17-cv-2485 R, 2017 WL 2889678 (C.D. Cal. 2017).
- Obtained a favorable summary-judgment decision regarding whether a taxpayer realized cancellation-of-indebtedness income, which was affirmed on appeal. Rubin v. United States, 2:16-cv-2567 RGK, 2019 WL 7205995 (C.D. Cal.); aff’d 859 Fed. App’x 152 (mem.) (9th Cir. 2021).
- Obtained a favorable summary-judgment decision regarding the trust-fund-recovery penalty. United States v. Derparseghian, 2:15-cv-8653 AB, 2017 WL 1788679.
- Obtained favorable court orders regarding three related IRS summonses involving the IRS’s investigation into captive-insurance plans.
- Obtained a favorable summary-judgment decision regarding whether a settlement amount was properly included in taxable income. Tritz v. Koskinen, No. SACV 14-1653 AG (JCGx), 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 86229, 118 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 2016-5098 (C.D. Cal. June 30, 2016).
- Obtained a favorable summary-judgment decision in a case involving personal liability of beneficiaries for federal estate tax. United States v. Estate of Hurd, No. CV 12-7889-JGB (VBKx), 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3350, 115 A.F.T.R.2d (RIA) 2015-389 (C.D. Cal. Jan. 8, 2015).
- Obtained a favorable summary-judgment decision in a case involving issues relating to fraudulent conveyances. United States v. Boyce, 38 F. Supp. 3d 1135 (C.D. Cal. 2014).
- Obtained a favorable summary-judgment decision in a case involving a reasonable-cause defense to a late-filing penalty. Knappe v. United States, No. CV 09-07328 DMG (PJWx), 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 145419 (C.D. Cal. Oct. 22, 2010); aff’d. 713 F.3d 1164 (9th Cir. 2013).
- Obtained a favorable summary-judgment decision regarding whether a taxpayer owed federal tax liability with issues relating to statute of limitations and delay in service. United States v. Gichon, 2:21-cv-1218 JVS(Ex), 2021 WL 4913553 (C.D. Cal.).
- Obtained a favorable decision regarding the IRS’s issuance of a third- party administrative summons. Delta Hospice of Inland Valley, Inc. v. United States, IRS, 5:22-mc-01 JGB (SHKx), 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 135731, 2022 WL 2965765 (C.D. Cal. May 5, 2022).
Honors and Awards:
- United States Department of Justice Assistant Attorney General’s Special Contribution Award.
- Mitchell Rogovin National Outstanding Support to the Office of IRS Chief Counsel.
- United States Department of Justice Tax Division Special Act or Contribution Award.
- United States Department of Justice Tax Division Outstanding Attorney Award (received on two occasions).
Education
- Juris Doctor (J.D.), University of Illinois College of Law (magna cum laude).
- Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) (History), University of California, San Diego.
Bar Qualifications
- California
- Illinois (inactive)
