South jersey doctor sentenced to six months in prison
for tax evasion
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
July 31, 2012 |
CAMDEN, N.J. – A doctor from Burlington County, N.J., was sentenced today to six months in prison and six months of house arrest with electronic monitoring for evading taxes on income diverted from his medical practice for his personal use, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Scott Salkind, 58, of Medford, N.J., previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Jerome B. Simandle to an Information charging him with one count of income tax evasion. Judge Simandle also imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From 2005 through 2008, Salkind, a licensed doctor of osteopathy, failed to report more than $1 million of income on his federal income tax returns by diverting corporate business receipts into a shell company bank account under his control. He then withdrew the money by purchasing cashier’s checks payable to himself and used the money to pay personal expenses.
Salkind owned and operated three offices in New Jersey, where he practiced medicine under the name General Medical of New Jersey Inc. He did not participate in any insurance company plan or belong to any insurance company network of doctors. Instead, Salkind had an agreement with his patients that he would submit an insurance claim to the patient’s medical insurance company for the services provided and accept whatever amount the insurance company paid as payment in full. He would not charge his patients a co-payment, any deductible or for any services the insurance company did not pay. Payments from the insurance company were either made payable to General Medical and mailed directly to the practice or they were made payable, and mailed directly to, the patient. Salkind instructed his patients that when they received an insurance payment check they should give it to him.
Salkind maintained a business checking account at Wachovia Bank in the name of General Medical, where he deposited his business income. Deposits into this account consisted of insurance payment checks payable to General Medical. The deposits into this account were used to arrive at gross receipts reported on the General Medical corporate income tax returns for 2005 through 2008. Salkind also maintained a business bank account in the name of a fictitious company, into which he also deposited insurance payment checks. When the insurance checks cleared, he withdrew the money by writing checks to himself to purchase cashier checks made payable to himself.
In addition to the prison term and house arrest, Judge Simandle sentenced Salkind to three years supervised release and fined him $15,000. Salkind had already paid $430,000 in restitution and penalties prior to sentencing.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge John R. Tafur.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason M. Richardson of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Camden.
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Defense counsel: Robert Agre Esq., Haddonfield, N.J.
