July 24, 2012

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. - Danny Dwain Moore, 57, of Unicoi, Tenn., was sentenced on July 23, 2012, in U.S. District Court, to serve 24 months in federal prison. Moore pleaded guilty in September 2011, to an information charging him with willfully making and subscribing a false federal tax return.

In addition to the prison term, the Honorable J. Ronnie Greer, U.S. District Judge, ordered Moore to serve one year on supervised release and pay restitution to the IRS of $847,622.87.

Moore has been licensed as a veterinarian in the State of Tennessee since 1980. After maintaining two traditional veterinary clinics for a number of years, he sold those practices in the mid-1990's to focus on multi-level marketing and on-line business ventures. After his first venture became less profitable in the early 2000's, Moore began a second business venture, The Natural Vet® also known as The Natural Horse Vet and The Natural Pet Vet, an on-line business specializing in the sale of natural holistic veterinary products for horses and pets. Unlike the first venture, The Natural Vet proved to be highly profitable, with annual credit card sales through the business exceeding $1.5 million by 2007.

After filing frivolous trust returns for tax years 2001 and 2002, listing no tax liability, and filing no individual income tax returns for those years, he did not file any individual income tax returns for tax years 2003 and 2004. Beginning with his 2005 individual income tax return, Moore began filing false joint returns omitting all his business income. He filed similar false returns for tax years 2006, 2007, and 2008. On the returns, he reported only minimal dividend income and, on the 2007 and 2008 returns, his wife’s wages. He intentionally omitted reporting any income from his business, The Natural Vet. Moore signed the returns, listing his occupation as “American Citizen,” and filed the returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). In fact, Moore’s corrected gross income for those tax years was approximately $1.9 million with a corrected tax due and owing of $555,314.

“In our tax system, citizens have a responsibility to comply with the nation’s tax laws. Any attempt to intentionally evade the payment of federal income tax is a serious crime. Part of our mission is to assure honest taxpayers that everyone pays their fair share,” stated Christopher Henry, Special Agent in Charge, IRS-Criminal Investigation, Nashville Field Office.

The indictment and subsequent conviction of Moore was the result of an investigation conducted by the IRS- Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Smith represented the United States.