Kodiak physician indicted on federal tax evasion charges covering five years

A federal grand jury has indicted a Kodiak physician on five counts of attempting to evade income taxes, one for each year from 2018 through 2022. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Alaska highlighted the case Friday as part of a national federal crackdown on tax fraud.

The indictment was filed Sept. 17 in federal court in Anchorage. The indictment says the physician owns his medical practice and that its income was to be reported on his personal tax return.

For 2018 and 2019, prosecutors allege he signed false business and personal returns, kept falsified books and hid the practice's cash income from his accountants.

For 2020 through 2022, prosecutors allege he did not file returns by his extended deadlines. They say he hid cash by keeping incomplete records of it, destroying cash receipts and deposit slips, and not depositing it. The indictment says he still has not filed a 2021 personal return.

Prosecutors also allege he made false statements to investigators, including about his cash income. The alleged conduct runs through about May 2024.

The indictment does not say how much income was allegedly hidden or how much tax is allegedly owed.

Each count carries up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000. The U.S. Attorney's Office said an indictment is only an allegation and the physician is presumed innocent.

He made his first court appearance Oct. 9 in Anchorage. Available court records show no plea or trial date, and no statement from him or his attorney.

The national effort, announced by the Justice Department, the IRS and IRS Criminal Investigation on Oct. 14, counted 76 defendants and more than $490 million in intended losses in cases brought by 35 U.S. attorneys' offices, including Alaska's.