A Chatham resident who spent twenty years as general counsel to Moody’s, the company that rates the creditworthiness of state and local government bonds, has admitted to not filing federal income taxes between 2018 and 2021.
John Goggins, 63, pleaded guilty on Thursday to a four-count information, acknowledging that he earned $54 million during those four years but didn’t file any federal income tax returns.
He faces one year in prison as part of an apparent plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s office. He is scheduled to be sentenced on September 6.
“Mr. Goggins deeply regrets and accepts full responsibility for failing to file certain personal income tax returns,” said his attorney, Christopher Ferguson. “This is a personal matter that has nothing to do with his work at Moody’s.”
Goggins retired from Moody’s last September. It’s not immediately clear if Moody’s knew about the investigation against their top lawyer.
Before joining Moody’s, he worked as counsel at Dow Jones, and in private practice.