I’ve been under the weather the last two days, fighting a bout of the flu. That’s better than these individuals, including some doctors who should (one day) have a prescription to fight off the malady.
Dr. Steven Herman was a plastic surgeon, with a practice in Norwalk, Connecticut and Manhattan. I say “was” because he’ll be spending 20 months at ClubFed. Dr. Herman started by committing tax evasion; he took $883,000 from his medical practice and didn’t report the income. Then he asked friends and household employees to buy money orders payable to him at post offices. He would have them buy (typically) four $700 money orders, so that the $3,000 requirement for reporting wouldn’t happen. That’s a second felony, structuring. Finally, he billed a health insurance company for procedures that were cosmetic, but he told the insurance company that they were medically necessary. That’s a trifecta, and it earned Dr. Herman the prison time, $800,000 in a civil settlement to the IRS, $150,000 in restitution to the insurance company, $236,000 in forfeiture because of the structuring, and a fine of $60,000. You can read the story here.
Meanwhile, phony trusts snagged three in Morgantown, West Virginia. Dr. Max Harned and his wife were found guilty last November of hiding money in trusts; they face up to 25 years in prison according to this AP Story. And a forest service employee who hid $1.1 million in trusts faces nine years in prison. I missed the first story of Dr. Harned’s indictment last June. Dr. Harned apparently told IRS agents, “I’d like a piece of you, I’d kick your butt” and “I’m a very good shot.” All three convicted in West Virginia were clients of Las Vegas attorney Robert A. Jones. Mr. Jones told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he’d win both of these cases. Apparently he needs to buy a new crystal ball.
It’s a shame that these medical practitioners haven’t spent some money in finding a cure for the flu. If they had been successful, they wouldn’t have any money problems.