New Orleans City Council President and declared candidate for Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams appeared via video conference in federal court on Friday and pleaded not guilty to charges of tax fraud.
Williams was indicted last month along with Nicole Burdett, an attorney who works for Williams’ law office. Burdett also pleaded not guilty on Friday.
He is accused of inflating business expenses between 2014 and 2018 to avoid paying nearly $200,000 in taxes and failing to report several cash payments of over $10,000, and was indicted on eleven felony counts.
The hearing took place in front of federal Eastern District of Louisiana Magistrate Judge Karen Wells Roby.