Deary Ray Files Class Action Lawsuit Against Syndicated Conservation Easement Tax Shelter Promoters in Georgia

On March 26, 2020, Deary Ray filed a class action complaint in Andrew Lechter, et al. v. Aprio, LLP, et al, in the Northern District of Georgia Federal Court.  The subject of the suit is Syndicated Conservation Easements.  Conservation Easements are typically a landowner’s dedication of a part or all of a parcel of land towards some presumably conservational purpose such as preservation of wetlands.  In the Lechter Class Action, the claims against the conservation easement promoter allege that the Syndicated Conservation Easements were pre-packaged, pre-arranged, and involved promoters’ and appraisers’ intent on deceiving not only the Plaintiffs and the members of the Class, but also the Internal Revenue Service.  The Deary Ray team on the case is led by David Deary, who has been reported as having “a long history of recognized successes with class action cases like these.”  Deary Ray intends to aggressively seek to recover against the promoters and professional advisors that recommended the Syndicated Conservation Easements to innocent purchasers.  For further reference, the IRS has addressed Syndicated Conservation Easements in Notice 2017-10 (12-27-2016).  The Department of Justice has previously sued to shut down certain syndicated conservation easement tax shelter promoters (12/20/2018).

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