Ocala Dentist Sentenced To 3 Years In Federal Prison

Ocala, Florida – U.S. Magistrate Judge Philip R. Lammens yesterday sentenced Thomas W. Harter, D.M.D., (49, Ocala) to three years in federal prison for six misdemeanor counts of failure to file income tax returns.  The court also ordered Harter to pay $438,384 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), an amount representing the tax loss from his crimes. 

Harter was found guilty by a federal jury on September 17, 2013. 

According to the evidence and testimony presented at trial, Harter worked as a dentist in the Ocala area for approximately twenty years. He stopped filing federal income tax returns, beginning in the year 2000. From 2006 through 2011, Harter received a gross income, from his dental practice, of at least $1,709,230.  Despite this income, Harter willfully failed to file a single tax return or pay any income tax during that same time period.       

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation.  It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert E. Bodnar, Jr.