Castro & Co. Files $247 Million Federal Defamation Lawsuit Against Moodys Gartner

A year-long investigation has revealed that an attorney living in Spokane, Washington, is allegedly responsible for orchestrating and executing an unprovoked two-year campaign of harassment, slander, and defamation against John Anthony Castro, J.D., LL.M.; a well-respected, thoroughly published, and internationally recognized International Tax Attorney in Washington, DC. Newly acquired documents indisputably confirm that Roy Andrew Berg of Spokane, Washington, orchestrated the filing of allegedly false and fraudulent complaints in Florida, Washington DC, and Texas. The Attorneys General of those jurisdictions have been notified and may be launching a criminal inquiry.

In response, Castro & Co. has filed a federal lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas against Roy Andrew Berg and his employer, Canadian-based law firm of Moodys Gartner, for over $200 million in damages, which can be viewed here: https://bit.ly/2DZRWay.

Background

Dr. Castro is licensed with the U.S. Department of the Treasury. As an enrolled agent and federal tax practitioner, Dr. Castro is authorized to practice federal and international tax law in all 50 states, U.S. territories, and the 68 countries with which the U.S. has a tax treaty; however, his practice is limited to the practice of tax law since he is operating as a federal practitioner. In accordance with the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Sperry v. Florida, 373 U.S. 379 (1963), individual state bars do not have jurisdiction over federal practitioners; click here https://bit.ly/2pLxkOQ. This was recently confirmed by the Texas Supreme Court in the case In Re Andrew Silver, No. 16-0682 (Tex. 2018); click here: https://bit.ly/2DXZXgf. In the Silver case, the Texas Supreme Court also held that the federal common law attorney-client privilege applies to communications between federal practitioners and clients even if that federal practitioner is not licensed with the state bar. This is also confirmed on the Florida Supreme Court’s own website: click here: https://bit.ly/2GbfdMw (PDF Page 5, Section 11). Other attorneys have chosen the traditional state licensing route, such as Joshua Scott Milam, J.D., LL.M., who heads the Dallas office for Castro & Co.; click here: https://bit.ly/2Gho7Ea. This even became a question for former Harvard law professor and current United States Senator Elizabeth Warren during her senatorial campaign; click here: https://bit.ly/2IY1EOd.

The alleged two-year campaign of harassment began on March 3, 2016. Castro & Co. received a letter from the Florida Bar at their Orlando office indicating that an individual had filed a complaint against Dr. Castro for allegedly engaging in the unauthorized practice of law. But it didn’t stop there. In November of 2016, Roy Berg filed a similar fraudulent complaint with the DC Bar, and, in March 2017, Roy Berg also filed a fraudulent complaint with the Texas Bar. Knowingly filing a false complaint with a governmental agency is a criminal offense in Florida, DC, and Texas for which an individual may be criminally prosecuted. It didn’t stop there.

In September 2017, Roy Berg allegedly sent an anonymous defamatory email to several clients of Castro & Co. falsely accusing Dr. Castro of criminal activity.

Finally, in March 2018, Roy Berg directly contacted a corporate client of Castro & Co. to again defame Dr. Castro; except this time he used his business email account with Moodys Gartner, the Canadian law firm Roy Berg is employed by.

Having dealt with enough for over 2 years, Dr. Castro, armed with newly acquired documents from the Florida Bar verifying the original complainant as Roy Andrew Berg and receiving copies of the emails and other documents Roy Andrew Berg had sent to corporate clients as well the DC and Texas Bars, Dr. Castro filed a federal lawsuit for defamation and tortious interference against Roy Andrew Berg and his employer, Moodys Gartner, for $247 million.

This is a developing story with more to come.

Castro & Co. is a Washington DC-headquartered law firm specializing exclusively in international tax and estate planning. The firm is managed by John Anthony Castro, J.D., LL.M. Dr. Castro is a graduate of and earned his Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Taxation with a Certificate in International Taxation from Georgetown University Law Center. Dr. Castro earned his Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.) from the University of New Mexico School of Law in Albuquerque; one of the top law schools in the U.S. Dr. Castro has been published in the Nevada Law Journal, Tax Analysts, the International Bar Association’s Tax Journal in the United Kingdom, and the SMSF Adviser in Australia.Dr. Castro is internationally recognized as one of the foremost authoritative sources on matters of international tax law with offices in Washington, DC, Miami, Orlando, and Dallas.

If you need any additional information, please call Castro & Co. during regular business hours at 202-792-6600.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180327006396/en/