A Star, North Carolina, medical doctor was sentenced today to 12 months and one day in prison for evading the payment of his income taxes, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and United States Attorney R. Andrew Murray for the Western District of North Carolina.
According to documents and information provided to the court, from May 2012 to December 2015, Dr. David Russell, 66, took several actions to evade payment of federal income taxes, interest, and penalties he accrued over six previous tax years. Russell ignored a duly-issued Internal Revenue Service (IRS) summons to appear before an IRS collections officer with his pertinent financial records. After the IRS sought and received a court order compelling Russell to comply with the summons, he provided minimal information and omitted records related to any financial accounts and assets he may have had. Russell also hid his assets from the IRS by depositing his paychecks on a reloadable debit card and having wages issued in the name of a company he controlled rather than directly to himself. He also used a business to pay personal expenses. In addition to evading the payment of these taxes, Dr. Russell failed to timely pay the taxes due for the years 2013 through 2015.
In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Conrad ordered Dr. Russell to serve one year of supervised release and to pay a $10,000 fine. Restitution will be ordered at a later date.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and United States Attorney Murray thanked special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorney Kevin Schneider and Assistant Chief Todd Ellinwood of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case.
Source: US Department of Justice
