Frank Butselaar Pleads Guilty to Tax Fraud Involving EDM Stars Tiësto and Afrojack
Frank Butselaar, a tax attorney who previously represented renowned EDM artists such as Tiësto and Afrojack, has entered a guilty plea for filing a false tax return in a New York district court, as reported by the US Department of Justice (DOJ).
A press release from the DOJ details how Butselaar “facilitated the establishment” of offshore accounts for these artists, alongside fashion models like Patricia van der Vliet and Daria Strokous. His admission verifies that he assisted Afrojack, whose real name is Nick van de Wall, in hiding international earnings from tax authorities while he was affiliated with a US law firm’s Amsterdam office.
Regarding Tiësto, whose actual name is Tijs Verwest, Butselaar reportedly failed to report “significant amounts” on his US tax returns between 2012 and 2017, while also doing the same for van de Wall in 2013. The total unreported income for both artists exceeded $70 million, with the DOJ noting that neither artist was aware of any “substantial changes” during the transactions, which typically involved transfers to family members.
This incident is not an isolated case; the use of offshore accounts to conceal earnings by high-profile electronic musicians has surfaced before. In 2021, Swedish House Mafia was implicated in the Pandora Papers, which similarly accused financial managers for artists like Shakira and Elton John of employing tactics to evade tax obligations.
“Today’s guilty plea, following an extensive investigation, illustrates our Office’s commitment to holding tax professionals accountable for deceitful practices,” stated US Attorney Damian Williams in the press release.
