Beanie Babies billionaire Ty Warner dodged a potential jail term for tax evasion on Tuesday, instead earning two years of probation for hiding millions of dollars from the Internal Revenue Service. The decision is a relief for Warner, whose tiny stuffed animals were a defining toy craze of the 1990s, and a win for his lawyers at Scandaglia & Ryan, Caplin & Drysdale and Kirkland & Ellis.
Warner pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion in October for hiding nearly $25 million in Swiss bank accounts from 1996 through 2008. As part of his plea deal, he agreed to pay a $43 million civil penalty and fork over more than $16 million in back taxes.
