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In a twist to an ongoing legal case, Tiësto's former lawyer, currently serving a prison sentence for fraud, has made a claim in his defense.
On March 12, 2025, a report from NME stated that the Dutch DJ's former attorney, Frank Butselaar, argued in court documents that the renowned DJ should pay off a sizable portion of his outstanding debts to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rather than the attorney.
The statement was made after Frank Butselaar was sentenced to 30 months in prison in February 2025 for hiding millions from the IRS.
Convicted lawyer Frank Butselaar alleges Tiësto should settle IRS charges
On Wednesday, March 12, 2025, the legal team of Butselaar, led by attorney Kerry Lawrence, suggested that the former was paid hourly and the artists with whom he had worked, including the Dutch DJ, were liable to pay to the IRS.
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"Mr. Butselaar was paid an hourly rate to help his clients. If anyone is held liable to pay taxes on the millions of dollars in income, it should be the artists who earned it, not Mr. Butselaar," the statement read.
Furthermore, Kerry Lawrence told Business Insider that her client was not a taxpayer and must be obliged to pay the amount to the IRS. Instead, Lawrence argued that Butselaar's clients, including Tiësto, had spent a small portion of the tax, and the government was not looking into this matter.
"We're claiming he shouldn't have to pay anything. He's not the taxpayer. They've paid up, I think, a very small portion of it, and the IRS is not looking to them for anything more," Kerry Lawrence said.
The legal trouble stemmed when the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) discovered over $100 million concealed in illegal offshore accounts. Frank Butselaar claimed that these accounts concealed the sum on behalf of his celebrity clients, including Tiësto and DJ Afrojack.
Moreover, the court documents read that the two DJs were able to save a total of $19 million in United States taxes due to the tax-shelter scheme proposed by Butselaar from 2012 to 2018.
Furthermore, the prosecutors stated that the two DJs were considered residents of the United States for tax purposes because they had lived there for a while and must have paid taxes regardless of the location where they earned money.
However, the prosecutor further stated that the Dutch DJ Tiësto was unaware that the offshore account was illegal, and, therefore, had paid over nine million in taxes to the IRS "voluntarily."
According to New Music Entertainment, Butselaar will return $28 million to the court later this week, which was supposed to be paid in taxes to the IRS.
In addition, on Thursday, March 13, 2025, Butselaar will appear in the courtroom and face a hearing to pay the remaining $19 million to the IRS.
As of now, it is stated that the prosecutors have agreed to drop to $15 million payment if Frank Butselaar pays the sum to the IRS without any difficulty. Butselaar's legal team has not yet responded to this deal.
DJ Tiësto has not yet issued a public statement referring to Frank Butselaar's claims.
