RENEE MONTAGNE, host: On Fridays, we focus on money issues.</s>RENEE MONTAGNE, host: One of the Big Four accounting firms has apologized for      selling illegal tax shelters to wealthy clients.  The apology from KPMG      comes at a time when federal prosecutors are said to be trying to decide      whether to issue a criminal indictment in connection with the sales.      NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.</s>JIM ZARROLI reporting: Unlike other big accounting firms, KPMG denied for a long time that the      tax shelters it sold between 1996 and 2002 violated the law.  Then last      year the company transferred some senior executives who were involved      with tax operations and yesterday the firm acknowledged that some of its      partners had indeed sold illegal shelters.  KPMG said it deeply regretted      their conduct and it said it had taken stringent measures to make sure      the same thing doesn't happen again.</s>JIM ZARROLI reporting: The products sold by KPMG had names such as FLIP, OPIS and BLIPS.  They      were extraordinarily complicated but US officials say they had no other      purpose but to shelter money from taxes.  US officials say many millions      of dollars were put into the shelters.  The wealthy individuals who      purchased them received letters from law firms assuring them they were      legal, but after the Internal Revenue Service began investigating tax      shelters, the purchasers often learned they had to pay taxes anyway, and      a number have since gone on to sue KPMG. Yesterday The Wall Street      Journal reported that the Justice Department is weighing whether to bring      criminal charges against KPMG.  There was speculation yesterday that      KPMG's apology could be a precursor to some kind of deal with the      government that allows it to escape criminal charges.  The Justice      Department refused to comment on the case.</s>JIM ZARROLI reporting: Jim Zarroli, NPR News.
A large accounting firm, KPMG, is being sued by some of its clients over tax shelters it created. The Justice Department has declared the shelters illegal and is considering criminal charges.