in april 2008, the venue for the trial was changed to the united states district court for the central district of california. at a hearing in july 2008, francis pleaded not guilty to tax evasion. his attorney, robert bernhoft, said that tax returns for the businesses were prepared and filed by a former accountant and not shown to francis. bernhoft said that when the accountant left the company, he reported the returns to the internal revenue service (irs) to collect a bonus from the tax whistleblower program.